Fairy fort / earthen ringfort in Ráth Ciaráin

A circular enclosure and 'Cave' are incorrectly positioned near this location on the first edition of the OS map. This is rectified on the second edition map, though only the 'Cave' is marked. The enclosure survives as a U-shaped earthen bank, closed on its E side by a modern field wall. The bank is composed of earth and a large quantity of small stone, and encloses an area measuring 15m N-S x 18.6m E-W. It barely rises above the interior of the site, but it splays widely outwards giving a basal width of 6.5m. It is 4m wide on top, and rises a maximum of 1m above external ground level at S. The interior of the enclosure is level and apparently featureless. An opening to a souterrain (KE087-056001-) is located in the external face of the bank at SW. The souterrain is stone-built, 20.7m in total length, and comprises five separate passages. These have a maximum width at floor level of 1.3m and are up to 1.9m high. Their walls, slightly corbelled, are of drystone construction and are roofed with lintels. The present entrance, .76m x .46m, gives access to the first passage, which has a slightly curved course in a NW direction. It is 6.2m long, and 1.2m inside the entrance, in the SW wall, is a small blocked ope which may have been the souterrain's original entrance. The second passage is separated from the first by a large stone slab which is secured between the roofing lintels and hangs to within .6m of the present floor level. This passage is 5.5m long and is the highest and widest in the souterrain. A narrow shaft, probably an air-vent, is located in its W wall at roof level. This passage and the remaining ones are aligned N-S. Access to the third passage is gained through an inserted wall with a lintelled creepway, .6m high, .6m wide and .9m long. The passage is 3.7m long and its floor slopes up towards the fourth passage, from which it is separated by a slab projecting from the W wall. The fourth passage is 3m long with an uneven rock floor. A horizontally positioned slab, located just below the roofing lintel at the passage's N end, marks the entrance into the collapsed fifth section of the souterrain. A large perforated slab located in the centre of the enclosure appears to overlie this section of the souterrain, and may have marked a second point of entry. The above description is derived from A. O'Sullivan and J. Sheehan (compilers), 'The Iveragh peninsula: an archaeological survey of South Kerry'. Cork University Press (1996), no. 541. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 29 July 2013