What is recorded here

Blackthorn choked the entrance until people cut it back, but the ring on the Monaghan drumlin still hides its own boundary beneath grass and moss. Lisarrilly is a fairy fort, a circular earthen trap wide enough for a small village and tall enough to keep out what does not belong. The fairies may have built it to exclude people, or people may have built it to exclude fairies, and both claims fit the shape of the hole.

Situated on the broad summit of a drumlin. This rath is depicted on McCrea’s Map of County Monaghan (1793). It is a circular overgrown area (diam. c. 33m N-S; c. 33m E-W) defined by a large earthen bank (at N: Wth of base 5m; int. H 1m; ext. H 3.2m), and outer fosse (at N: Wth of base 3m; ext. D 0.5m) NW-E. The perimeter could hardly be traced elsewhere and the original entrance was not identified. There is a local tradition of a soutarrain in the interior, but no physical evidence of one. The growth of blackthorn has been removed by 1995 (OSAP). The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Monaghan' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1986). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Revised by: Michael Moore Date of revision: 29 January 2018

This remains an important historical record, but the official description says the monument is no longer visible or has been destroyed. The monument record does not grant public access. Check the route and ask the landowner before entering private land.