Doonmore — Dún Sheáin

National Monument No. 10040. Doonmore/An Dún Mór and Doonbeg/An Dún Beag: A large promontory projecting SE into Dingle Bay, on the W side of the entrance to Trabeg. Coosgorm, a narrow inlet of the sea, cuts deep into the S side of the promontory about 100m from its SE tip; the isolation of the seaward section is completed by an artificial bank and fosse which extend c. 75m across the remaining neck. Although Westropp (1910, 286-7) refers to the site as Dunsheane, the greater portion of the promontory fort is known as Doonmore, and Doonbeg is the name given to a smaller, inaccessible projection on the S side of Coosgorm. The earthen bank is 10m wide at base, 3m high internally, and 6.6m high above the base of the fosse. A 1.5m wide wall, comprised of several courses of large horizontally-laid slabs, runs intermittently along the top of the bank. The fosse rises 3m to the field beyond, at which level it is 8 to 9m wide. The presence of some very large stones at the base of a field wall outside the fosse suggested to Westropp that this, 'at least in part', formed an outer defence work. However, except for the extreme W end, it does not follow the line of the fosse but swings away to run NE to the cliff edge. At the W end of the defences a 4m wide causewayed entrance provides access to the interior. At the E end, although the fosse extends to the cliff edge, the bank stops short of it, and Westropp described 'an old-looking gateway' here. The stumps of the 2 pillar stones stand 1.5m apart at this point. Westropp also recorded a souterrain at the foot of the inner edge of the bank. This is not now accessible but its position, 10m E of the causeway, is marked by a burrow-like hole, some large stones, and subsidence of the bank immediately to E. A low, earthen field boundary extends SE across the interior from the causeway to the cliff edge. Westropp noted 3 circular hut-sites along the cliff edge to NE of this. These could not be located. However, 4 possible hut-sites are closely grouped near the cliff edge to SW of the boundary, and a 5th occurs near the S side of Coosgorm. They consist of circular depressions excavated back into the sloping ground on one side and enclosed by a low bank on the other. They range in diameter from 3 to 5.5m. Doonbeg is now linked to the mainland by only a narrow isthmus which falls very steeply from Doonmore, the descent being almost sheer in places. Beyond this is a small, upstanding triangle of land enclosed by a bank. In 1910 (Westropp, 286-7), a fosse was visible across the grassy slope 'just above the saw-like remnant of the neck’. The above description is derived from J. Cuppage, ‘Corca Dhuibhne. Dingle Peninsula archaeological survey. Ballyferriter. Oidhreacht Chorca Dhuibhne’ (1986), no. 270. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 4 August 2013