Fairy fort / earthen ringfort in Laralae

In pasture, located on a NE-facing slope, providing good views to NE–SE. This rath is not indicated on the 1838 OS 6-inch map; it is shown on the 1916 edition as a subcircular hachured enclosure. Slightly raised, broadly oval area (47.4m E–W; 52.3m N–S) defined by a bank of earth and stone, outside which it is enclosed by a fosse, with remnants of an external bank surviving at NW–NE. The inner bank (Wth 5.5-6m; int. 0.55m at NNE, 0.9m at SSW; ext. H 1.75m at NNE, 1.2m at SSW) incorporates stones in parts, which may be remnants of stone facing, perhaps the result of being subsumed into relatively recent field walls. The fosse (Wth 3m) is evident as a shallow depression on the W half of the circuit, changing at N–E to a low terrace, and petering out SE. The external bank (Wth c. 2-3m; ext. H 0.4m) survives as a low sod-covered rise. The original entrance is likely to have been at ESE where there is a gap (Wth c. 2m) in the inner bank. The W half of the interior is fairly level, but there is an E-W spine of raised ground in the centre, with a gentle slope down to NE and SE. A shallow, stony depression (5.3m E–W; 2.2m N–S) in the raised spine may indicate the location of a souterrain (MA082-026002-). A square, stone-built structure (3m N–S; 3m E–W; H 1m), most likely a ruined vernacular shed, is built into the external face of the inner bank at S and partly overlies the fosse. The rath interior is grassy; hawthorn and blackthorn bushes and brambles growing on the perimeter. Compiled by: Jane O’Shaughnessy Date of upload: 20 December 2021