Trahanee

Located in enclosed pasture overlooking northerly cliffs on Inishmurray. Indicated on the 1837 and 1912 OS 6-inch maps, where it is named ‘Trahanee’. This is a National Monument (no. 117) in state ownership. The main feature at this site is a small drystone enclosure (SL001-010001-) –this may possibly be the remnants of a cell or clochaun – surrounded by a low circular bank (SL001-010002-). There is a quarry pit (SL001-010004-) adjacent to the monument. This group of features overlooks a holy well (SL001-010004-) that lies below a sharp break in slope defined by outcropping bedrock. There is no associated cross slab. This small, angular enclosure (SL001-010001-) is of random rubble construction. The wall terminals expand at either side of a narrow entrance break in the south. The corners at north-west and north-east are rounded externally but, overall, the internal plan is angular, almost square. The enclosure is 2 m wide within walls 1.5 m wide at the base and up to 1.2 m high. The loose, vacuous, rubble construction of this enclosure could not have persisted from antiquity; it has probably been repeatedly re-built. The above description is derived from the results of a survey of the archaeological monuments on Inishmurray undertaken in 1997-1999 and published in: Jerry O’Sullivan and Tomás Ó Carragáin 2008 Inishmurrary. Monks and pilgrims in an Atlantic landscape. Volume 1: Archaeological Survey and Excavations 1997-2000. Cork. The Collins Press.

Trahanee is a ringfort on Inishmurray, likely dating to the early medieval period, and is recorded as a National Monument (no. 117). It is associated with local folklore surrounding fairy activity, common to many such sites in the region.