What is recorded here

Fairy forts hide in plain sight, wearing the clothes of ordinary farms. Ballyshane is no different: a broken earth bank, a shallow ditch, a concrete well, and a gap that still points south. The fairies did not leave a palace; they left a shape the land remembers. People walked through that gap for centuries, busy with life, never asking permission. The fort waits for eyes sharp enough to see the boundary between the seen and the unseen.

In tillage, on ENE-facing slope. Shown as circular enclosure on 1842 OS 6-inch map. S half of site remains (38.1m WSW-ENE) defined by earthen bank (H1.1m) E->W, with external fosse (D 0.8m). Bank stone faced in parts. Gap to S, used as gateway, leading to laneway running S. Well, at base of fosse to W, encased in concrete. The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Cork. Volume 2: East and South Cork' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1994). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload/revision: 14 January 2009

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