Fairy fort / earthen ringfort in Walshestown South

Situated on a slight rise, in gently undulating pasture. Depicted on the 1837 ed. OS 6-inch map as a circular shaped enclosure planted with some trees around the perimeter. Depicted on the revised 1913 ed. OS 25-inch map as a slightly modified subcircular-shaped earthwork. Monument described in 1970 as a roughly circular-shaped area (diam. 47m) enclosed by a steep bank and a wide flat-bottomed steep sided fosse. There are modern gaps at N and E. The remains of a possible causewayed entrance (Wth at top 3.5m; basal Wth 1m) are visible at SSE. The outer perimeter has been disturbed by a modern field boundary from SW-W-NW. A short stretch of bank on the outer edge of the fosse at SE may be a later feature. A number of hut sites (WM018-120001-) are located within, abutting the interior of the bank. Monument is visible today as a subcircular-shaped tree-lined enclosure on Digital Globe aerial photography. See attached plan and profile of monument surveyed and drawn by the ASI. Compiled by: Alison McQueen, Vera Rahilly and Caimin O’Brien Date of upload: 11 February 2019

A fairy fort or earthen ringfort in Walshestown South is a circular enclosure likely dating to the early medieval period, used as a defensive or agricultural settlement. It is associated with local folklore regarding fairy inhabitants, common in Irish tradition for such sites.