Promontory fort — coastal in Baile Mhic An Daill

Doon/An Dún: Steep cliffs descend precipitously to the sea from the summit of the E-W ridge that bounds the S side of the Reenbeg peninsula. A spit of land, projecting S from these, has been provided with 2 lines of defences in addition to the not inconsiderable defences provided by nature. This is the promontory fort referred to by Westropp (1910, 281-5) as Doon Eask. On the summit (543 feet/165m) of the ridge, above the promontory, are the remains of a 3m wide wall which curves around from the E cliff edge, possibly continuing downslope to meet the cliff edge on the W side also. Described by Westropp as being 3 to 4 feet (.9 to 1.2m) high, the outer and inner faces survive now to a height of only .7m. From the summit of the ridge the land slopes steeply to the narrow neck of the promontory, about 75m from the defending wall, and beyond this the promontory continues to slope steeply downhill before rising sharply again to a rocky pinnacle at the S end. At the base of the slope, 3 banks and fosses and an inner wall extend 45m across the promontory. As well as the general N-S trend of the slope between these and the mainland, the land also slopes downhill to E, and a 2.2m wide causeway crosses the defences at their highest point, about 8m from the W cliff edge. The defences are staggered, the banks on the W side lying opposite the fosses on the E side. A .5m high outer bank is visible to E of the causeway only. The outer fosse rises 1.5m to the middle bank which is up to 4m wide. The middle fosse is c. 3m wide and rises 1.6m to the inner bank. The inner, rock-cut fosse is 4m wide and rises 3.5m to the top of the wall which forms the innermost defence. This latter consists mainly of a natural ridge of rock, but at least 3 courses of drystone walling survive in the vicinity of the causeway. Berms or platforms occur on the inner flanks of both the inner and middle banks. A later wall skirts the E edge of the defences and continues N as far as the neck of the promontory. The interior of the fort rises in natural terraces to a rocky pinnacle. About midway down the slope on the S, seaward side, a line of upright slabs runs E-W across the slope; these may have been deliberately positioned though there are many other instances of vertical slabs which have simply become detached from the rock-faces. The terrace below these has been faced with stone. This walling survives to a height of 1.5m and runs N-S for 4m then continues W to meet the edge of the promontory. Its function is not known though slight depressions at either end could represent hut-sites. Relig an Dúna, a burial ground with headstones, has been recorded on this S side facing the sea (OSNB Dingle, book 2, 3; An Seabhac 1939, 39); the upright slabs mentioned above may be related to this. Two slabs lying outside the E end of the outer fosse were marked as a 'Giants Grave' on the OS maps, but there is no reason to suppose that this was ever the site of a megalithic tomb (De Valera and Ó Nualláin 1982, 70). This feature is known locally as Leaba na bhFiann (An Seabhac). The above description is derived from J. Cuppage, ‘Corca Dhuibhne. Dingle Peninsula archaeological survey. Ballyferriter. Oidhreacht Chorca Dhuibhne’ (1986), no. 262. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 4 August 2013