Fairy fort / earthen ringfort in An Ghairfeanaigh

Internal diam. 23.5m A circular univallate ringfort situated on the E slopes of Sugarloaf hill, overlooking the lower Garfinny valley and Trabeg. The enclosing bank or wall is now reduced to a bank of grass-grown stone collapse, and has been almost completely obliterated from NW through W to S where straight field fences now define the enclosure. The bank is up to 2.4m high externally and 1m high internally. Curran (no. 18) referred to this site as Garfinny Cathair and the nature of the present enclosing bank suggests that it consisted of a stone wall, now collapsed. The 2 circular hut-sites in the interior lie in an E-W line across the centre. Both are enclosed by banks of grass-grown stone collapse and only very short sections of the inner and outer wall-faces are visible. The W hut is 4m in diameter internally and the enclosing bank is up to 1.5m high. The entrance faces SE. The E hut is 3.5m in diameter and 2 short sections of the inner wall-face stand to a maximum height of .95m. The entrance faces W and its N side is linked to the N side of the entrance to the 1st hut by a straight stony bank. The area between the 2 huts is also partly enclosed to S by low banks and may be the site of a 3rd hut or of a courtyard area roughly D-shaped in plan. The above description is derived from J. Cuppage, ‘Corca Dhuibhne. Dingle Peninsula archaeological survey. Ballyferriter. Oidhreacht Chorca Dhuibhne’ (1986), no. 567. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 7 August 2013