Ringfort - rath

The National Monuments Service's description

In pasture, located on a low NE–SW ridge of elevated ground, overlooking an expanse of flat, wettish land to S–SW, which borders the Fiddaunglass River. The S boundary of the townland coincides with the river.
Named ‘Lisheen’ on the 1838 and 1922 OS 6-inch map, this rath consists of a sub-circular area (54m N–S; 53.5m E–W) defined by a substantial, stone-faced bank (Wth 4.2m at WNW; 2m at NE; int. H 0.4m at NWW, 0.55m at NE; ext. H 1.4m at WNW, 0.55m at NE). The dry-stone facing is well preserved on the external face of the bank at W–N, and visible intermittently elsewhere. Remnants are also evident on the inner bank face. At E–SE the bank is truncated by or incorporated into a later linear property fence on a NNE–SSW axis, and another field fence abuts the rath at W. On the SW arc the bank is largely degraded to a scarp, but at SW–N it retains a pronounced external slope (max. ext. H 2m at SW), compensating for a natural fall of ground.
The interior slopes down from centre to S–SW. Much of the space in the E half is taken up with a square enclosure used as a children’s burial ground (MA038-089002-).
The enclosing bank is thickly ringed by ash trees, blackthorn, hawthorn and brambles, and is eroded in parts by animal burrows. A blackthorn thicket encroaches on the SW quadrant of the interior, and overgrowth also obscures the children’s burial ground.
There is an enclosure (MA038-090----) 160m to NE, and a rath (MA038-091----) 115m to SE.

Compiled by: Jane O'Shaughnessy

Date of upload: 1 August 2019