Promontory fort - coastal

The National Monuments Service's description

Situated along the boggy indented coastline of N Mayo. It has a good view along the coast and is overlooked by higher ground to the S and W. The headland is flanked by a steep gully on either side and a grassy steep slope leads down to the sea to the N. A triangular N-facing headland measuring 30m long and 30m wide is cut off from the mainland by a single earthen bank and ditch. The convex bank is round topped and visible only near either cliff edge. It stands 1.4m above the base of the ditch which is flat bottomed and 4m wide at the top. Only a faint rise in the ground level outside the ditch suggests that there was a counterscarp bank. An entrance causeway crosses the defences near the western cliff edge. Besides this the site is featureless. The interior is flat and level and is partly overgrown with ferns and reeds. The land outside the site is wet and it slopes gently down towards the fort.

These descriptions are derived from the MA thesis of Markus Casey 1999 The coastal promontory forts of Ireland. A survey of counties Sligo, Mayo, Galway and Clare. Unpublished MA thesis, National University of Ireland, Galway. In this instance the entry has been revised and updated in the light of recent research.

Date of upload: 5 December 2018

References

Casey, M. 1999 The coastal promontory forts of Ireland. A survey of counties Sligo, Mayo, Galway and Clare. Unpublished MA thesis, National University of Ireland, Galway.