Fairy fort / stone ringfort in Gleann Fán

Internal diam. 25m Cathair na Máirtíneach: This roughly circular cashel is located on the lower S slopes of Mount Eagle, overlooking Dingle Bay. Much of the interior is occupied by the remains of several structures which have undergone considerable change since their original construction. A fragment of a rotary quernstone and a fragment of a millstone lie loose in the interior, and Macalister (1899, 322-3) recorded an inscribed slab from the site. Cashel wall: This is preserved to a maximum height of c. 2m and consists of a rubble core faced internally and externally with drystone masonry. The inner face along much of its W half was completely obscured by collapse until 1984 when the OPW carried out restoration work. This section of the inner face is now exposed to a maximum height of .6m, and 2 short stretches of a lower terrace, .3m wide, have been revealed to a height of .27m. The modern wall which overlay and obscured much of the outer face in the E half of the site has now been removed. The N part of the site is bounded at present by a straight field wall, but a low stony platform outside this indicates the original outline. Entrance: The lintelled entrance at SE measures 2.9m in length, 1.5m in width and c. 1.6m in height. Two opposed upright slabs are set into the passage walls at about their mid-point. The block of secondary masonry which partly blocked the outer end of the passage has now been removed. Structure 1: The entrance passage opens directly into a sub-rectangular drystone hut which is built up against but not bonded into the cashel wall. The hut measures 2.25m x 2.1m internally and in 1858 it retained its corbelled roof (Du Noyer, 11-3); however, the walls now stand to a maximum height of 2.3m. It is not clear to what stage of the site's history this feature belongs but it is clearly secondary to the enclosing wall and entrance. Access to the interior of the cashel is by means of a flight of steps recently provided in the NE angle of structure (1), but Du Noyer's plan shows a narrow entrance in the SE corner. The latter entrance appears to have been closed up by 1899 (Macalister, 247-50), and a wide entrance gap had been broken through the cashel wall directly S of the original main entrance to the enclosure. This section of the wall was restored sometime after 1951 (Graham, 141-3) Structure 2: The NW quadrant of the enclosure is occupied by a sub-rectangular drystone structure within which are 2 later structures, possibly animal shelters. The main structure measures 4.3m x 5.2m internally. and there is a .85m wide entrance at SE. The walls stand to a maximum height of 1.25m internally but rise only slightly above the external ground level. Built into the E corner is a sub-rectangular drystone chamber measuring 1.56 x 1.5m internally. The walls now stand to a maximum height of 1.6m, but the corbelled roof was intact in 1899 (Macalister). The lintelled entrance at NNW is .75m high and .42 to .31m wide. A slab spans the internal angle between the S and W walls to form a small niche. A length of secondary walling isolates the NW corner of the main structure, forming a small enclosed area measuring 2.32m x 1.85m internally. Structure 3: An irregularly-shaped dry stone-built corbelled structure measuring 4.8m NNW-SSE x 1.85m SSW-NNE internally. The walls rise to a maximum height of 3.5m internally and the .45m wide gap at top is closed by a series of stepped slabs. The lintelled entrance passage at SE is .85m long, .7m wide and 1.25m high, and its inner end is marked by 2 upright jamb stones and a low sill stone. Structure 4: Structure 3 opens onto the NW side of a circular clochaun which measures 5.7m in diameter internally, its corbelled drystone wall now standing to a maximum height of 1.6m. The entrance passage at SE is 2.45m long and .8m wide, but the walls on both sides appear to have been modified, that on the S side being provided externally with a dry stone-built buttress, c. 0.9m high. A small enclosure in the SW part of the interior, measuring 2.25m x 3.2m internally, has been created by the addition of a curved length of secondary walling. Structure 5: The S part of the wall of structure 4 forms the N side of a sub-rectangular enclosure measuring 5.45m E-W x 2.45m N-S internally. The walls of the latter survive to a maximum height of .7m. Access is provided by a .45m wide entrance gap at the NE corner. There is also a gap at the NW corner, but on Macalister's plan this section of the wall is shown as intact. Structure 6: Situated in the SE part of the cashel, this consists of the foundations of a circular drystone-built clochaun, the S wall of which has been rebuilt and incorporated into the irregularly-shaped drystone corbelled chamber which now occupies the S half of the clochaun interior. The original clochaun measures 4.6m in diameter internally, and its neatly-constructed corbelled wall is c. 0.65m high. The SE facing entrance has been adopted as the entrance to the later structure. The latter measures 2.65m x 1.7m internally and the corbelled roof is closed by slabs at a height of 2.75m above the floor. The lintelled entrance passage is 2.7m long and c. 0.85m wide. The innermost lintel is set 1.6m above the floor but the remainder of the passage is 2. 1m high. The upright jamb stones near the inner end of the passage are on line with the inner face of the earlier clochaun and probably mark the inner end of the original entrance. The N wall of the passage extends as far as, but is not bonded into the wall of structure 4. Wall Passage: Contained within the thickness of the cashel wall at E is an L-shaped wall passage of drystone construction. The original entrance in the inner face of the cashel wall is now blocked but access is possible through a hole in the roof. The passage extends 1.1m W from the entrance and then continues N for 4.75m. It is .75m wide and .83m high. Inscribed stone: Macalister (1899, 322-3) was informed locally that this stone had been discovered within structure 4 but he considered that it may have been a fake, of recent manufacture. It measured .46m in length and the markings included a circle, an equal-armed cross and a cross-in-circle (now in NMI). The above description is derived from J. Cuppage, ‘Corca Dhuibhne. Dingle Peninsula archaeological survey. Ballyferriter. Oidhreacht Chorca Dhuibhne’ (1986), no. 570. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 7 August 2013