What is recorded here

Fairy fort / earthen ringfort in Ballythomas is a fairy fort or earthen ringfort in Ballythomas, County Tipperary, Ireland. It sits on ground sloping northeast inside a lush meadow, mapping as a rough circle where western and eastern field boundaries touch the bank. The southern half has been levelled, the northern interior holds a large hollow, and scrub hides the northwestern sector without revealing a bank.

Situated on ground sloping to the NE in lush meadow. Depicted on the 1st and latest ed. OS 6-inch maps as roughly circular in shape with a field boundary abutting the bank in at W and E, being incorporated in N half of site. An aerial photograph (CUCAP, BDL 64) shows the S half of the site levelled. The interior is very uneven, with a large hollow at N and the NW sector is heavily overgrown with scrub; no bank evident. The above description is derived from 'The Archaeological Inventory of County Tipperary. Vol. 1 - North Tipperary' compiled by Jean Farrelly and Caimin O'Brien (Dublin: Stationery Office, 2002). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload/revision: 22 September 2008

A fairy fort or earthen ringfort in Ballythomas is a likely early-medieval defensive or domestic site, characterized by a circular bank and ditch. Local folklore often associates such forts with fairy dwellings, and they were sometimes avoided to prevent disturbance of the supernatural inhabitants.

The monument record does not grant public access. Check the route and ask the landowner before entering private land.