Promontory fort — coastal in Baile Na Habha (tc Cill Chuáin)

Doonroe/An Dún Rua lies at the foot of Mount Brandon between 2 narrow inlets of the sea, Coosatna and Coosavuddig (Brandon Creek). It is a large promontory, about 300m square, naturally isolated on its S, landward side by a deep wide trough which runs between the 2 inlets. This measures 20m in width and an estimated 10 to 15m deep. The natural defence provided by the steep-sloping side of this trough has been augmented by stone walling along its upper edge. Westropp (1910, 190-2) traced this for over 120m and described it as 12 to 15 feet thick and high; much less survives today. The best preserved portion lies towards the NE, between the cliff edge and the entrance which lies 40m to SW. It continues SW for a further c. 50m from the entrance and peters out where a track leads uphill to the turf-cuttings on the summit of the promontory. It is likely that stones were removed from the wall to provide material for this track. Though the wall is in very poor condition, it appears to have consisted of 2 drystone revetments separated by a 5m wide ledge or berm. The lower, outer revetment rises about 2m, the upper one a maximum of 3m to the level of the interior. At no point is there any evidence of an internal face to the wall. For the most part the walling has collapsed and often all that survives is an unfaced scarp. W of the recent turf track the line of the wall is continued by a fairly steep scarp and it is possible that no walling ever existed in this area. The entrance cuts at right angles across the defences for a length of about 13m and varies from 3m in width internally to almost 10m externally. Westropp records an external width of only 1.6m and this suggests that there has been considerable interference since 1910. The sides of the entrance were lined with upright slabs or slabs on edge, but only 2 or 3 remain in situ. There is no trace of the enclosure noted by Westropp as abutting the wall about 35 feet (c. 10.7m) from the entrance. However, at the SW corner of the interior he noted another which still survives. This is a sub-circular enclosure measuring a maximum of 42 x 36m with a possible entrance at NE defined by 2 upright slabs set .9m apart. The low, narrow enclosing bank is composed of grass-covered earth and peat with numerous stones. The majority of the stones, c. 1.5m long and less than .5m high, are set transversely across the width of the bank. At the E end of the S wall is a modern sheep-shelter or turf-shed. The above description is derived from J. Cuppage, ‘Corca Dhuibhne. Dingle Peninsula archaeological survey. Ballyferriter. Oidhreacht Chorca Dhuibhne’ (1986), no. 265. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 4 August 2013