Knockmore Fort — Townplots West

In pasture, located adjacent to the N boundary of the townland, straddling a rise in rolling terrain dotted with drumlin-like knolls. This rath is named ‘Knockmore Fort’ on the on the 1838 and 1922 OS 6-inch maps. It consists of a broadly oval area (46m N–S; c. 49m E–W) defined SE–N by a substantial earthen bank (Wth c. 4m; int. H 0.2m; ext. H 2m, at NW), which has been levelled at NNE–ESE to a low undulation. On the W arc, the bank has been incorporated into the line of a later N–S field fence. Outside the bank at SSW and NW traces of a fosse (Wth c. 3.5m) with discrete remnants of an external bank (Wth c. 2.6m; int. H 0.7m; ext. H 0.4m, at NW) can be seen. The interior is partitioned roughly centrally by a scarp on a roughly N–S axis; this coincides with a marked drop of over 1m in ground level between the higher W half and the lower E half. Hawthorn grows on the perimeter at W and N. There is another rath (MA015-043) located 165m to SE. Compiled by: Jane O’Shaughnessy Date of upload: 6 December 2018