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Fairy fort / earthen ringfort in Ballyglass West (dunkellin By.)

Fairy fort / earthen ringfort

What is recorded here

Two conjoined raths on an east-facing slope in Ballyglass West still hold their earth and stone banks, though field walls have cut through them and a barn now sits where the south chamber once stood. Inside the northern ring, a low mound and a buried passage wait beneath the grass, while three small cairns mark the spot where people probably cleared stones for pasture. The ruins are not complete, but they remain vivid enough to show that this was a lived-in place, not a forgotten heap of dirt.
On an E-facing slope in grassland. When initially visited by the Survey in September 1982, these conjoined raths (GA113-013---) and GA113-013002-) were poorly preserved. Field walls cut through the enclosing elements from NE to SE and from W to WSW. The N rath, irregular in plan (41m E-W; 33m N-S), was defined by a bank of earth and stone, overlain by a later field wall, from NW through N to NE. Traces of the bank were also visible at SE, and at SSE it was overlain by the bank of S rath. Within the interior was a low earthen mound, aligned E-W, and a Man-made underground passage (GA113-013001-). To S of the mound were three small cairns; probably field-clearance rubble. The S rath, subcircular in plan (28.5m E-W; 24.5m N-S), was also defined by a bank of earth and stone. Stone-facing was visible at NNE. Gaps at ESE and NW appeared to be modern. Within the interior was another low earthen mound, aligned NW-SE, at NW end of which was a blocked-up Man-made underground passage (GA113-013003-). Development work in 1984 resulted in the destruction of most of the S rath and a barn now occupies the W half of its interior. Another possible Man-made underground passage (GA113-013004-) lies c. 45.5m to S. (McCaffrey 1952 262, no. 43) Compiled by: Galway Archaeological Survey, UCG Date of upload: 14 October 2016 This monument is subject to a preservation order made under the National Monuments Acts 1930 to 2014 (PO no. 6/1984).

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What survives
Recorded monument

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