Fairy fort / earthen ringfort in Rathanny

On the E-facing slope of a low hill, in hillocky terrain in pasture with meandering streams. The River Ara flows roughly N-S c. 10m from the E side of the ringfort. There is a standing stone (TS067-129----) 57m to the NNW and another (TS067-130----) 124m to the WSW. An oval enclosure (dims. 16.2m N-S; 19.3m E-W) defined by an earthen bank (int. H 0.5m; ext. H 0.9m; Wth at crest 1.5m; Wth at base 4m) with some stone (diam. 0.1-0.15m) protruding and a wide, flat-bottomed outer fosse (Wth 4.5m; D 1.5m) from SSW-W-N. The bank and fosse are not visible in the S sector, these may have been destroyed by a field bank which runs roughly E-W along the S side of the ringfort. The bank is disturbed in the SE quadrant where there may have been an original entrance. The interior slopes with the E-SE slope of the hill. Hawthorn and whitethorn bushes are growing around the bank in the N and W sectors. The interior is relatively free of scrub but is somewhat overgrown with thistles and nettles. The ringfort has subject to cattle poaching. Compiled by: Jean Farrelly Date of upload: 12 December 2012

A fairy fort or earthen ringfort in Rathanny is a circular earthwork typical of early-medieval Ireland, likely dating to between the 5th and 10th centuries. Local folklore associates such sites with the faé, and they were often believed to be entrances to the Otherworld or homes of mythical beings.