Fairy fort / earthen ringfort in Garrankyle

Just below the top of a hill on an E-facing slope, in a river valley, with a river flowing 70-100m to the N and E, in pasture. A subrectangular enclosure (dims. 42m N-S; 34.6m E-W), almost pentagonal in shape, with straight and curving sides. It is defined by substantial earthen bank (int. H 0.65-1.45m; ext. H 1.55m-3.1m; Wth at crest 1.8m; overall Wth 5.4-6m), an intervening wide, flat-bottomed fosse (Wth 2-3.3m) and outer scarp (int. H 1.45m) which from N-E-S is surmounted by a field boundary (int. H 0.8m; ext. H 1.3m; Wth 2.4m). This boundary may incorporate an outer bank. The earthen faces on either side of the fosse have been truncated by cattle and there are some old badger sets in the bank. There is a cattle gap in the SW quadrant (Wth 2.2m) which is 5m from the SW angle. There are two possible entrances, one upslope in the NW (Wth 2.3m) quadrant, but no corresponding break in the scarp which is quite high at this point, and one downslope in the bank in the SE quadrant (Wth 4.6m). The interior slopes gently to the E with the natural fall of the land. A large area (dims. 16m x 10m; D 1.3m) in the N sector of the interior has been dug out, probably during the 20th century. According to the landowner there is a tradition of a souterrain in this monument, perhaps the digging was an attempt to locate it. The landowner also mentioned a spring within the monument, roughly in the SW area of the depression. The ground in this area is wet. The monument is quite overgrown with trees around the bank and in the interior and there are large bramble bushes in the interior. Compiled by: Jean Farrelly Date of upload: 12 July 2013