What is recorded here

Fairy forts are human ringforts mislabelled by folklore; this is a rath in Ballyhimock, County Cork, a circular earthworks about forty metres across on a north-facing pasture slope. Its bank once marked the townland boundary from west to north-northeast, and mappers still drew it in 1842, 1905 and 1935. Ploughing and field works levelled much of it, but a dump-built stone bank survives inside the fence line and the lost curve still shows as a shadow in aerial photographs. The fairies never lived there; people did, and forgot or were forgotten.

In pasture, on N-facing slope. Depicted as hachured circular enclosure (diam. c. 40m) with bank incorporated into townland boundary W->NNE on 1842, 1905 and 1935 OS 6-inch maps. Levelled; dump-constructed stone bank survives in field fence system NW->NNE; levelled bank NNE->NW visible as shadow site in aerial photograph (GSIAP, R522). The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Cork. Volume 4: North Cork' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 2000). 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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