Fairy fort / earthen ringfort in Cool

Internal diam. 17m This is one of a group of 4 univallate raths located in close proximity to one another on the E side of Corrin Hill (1096 feet/334m), c. 300 to 400m W of a small tributary of the Finglas river. They command an extensive view over the tributary valley and NE along the main valley as far as Tralee Bay. The surrounding land provides rough grazing, but a series of cultivation ridges, located directly uphill of the group, indicate more intensive land use at some stage in the past. The fairly level, circular interior, containing the remains of a pair of conjoined huts, is enclosed by a single earthen bank, now much eroded. Internally it ranges in height from .2 to .9m. Externally it is up to 1.5m high on the downslope side, but on the upslope side there is no visible external height. It averages 2.6m in width at base. A .8m wide entrance gap at SSE slopes 1m down to the exterior. The outline of a pair of conjoined huts is discernible in the SW sector. Both are about 3.5m in internal diameter and the enclosing banks are nowhere more than .6m high. There are entrance gaps at the E side of each but there does not appear to have been any internal communication between the two. The above description is derived from J. Cuppage, ‘Corca Dhuibhne. Dingle Peninsula archaeological survey. Ballyferriter. Oidhreacht Chorca Dhuibhne’ (1986), no. 366. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 6 August 2013