Promontory fort - coastal

The National Monuments Service's description

Situated near the western extremity of Achill Island with the cliffs of Dooega visible close by to the N. The area is one of mountainous bog and poor sheep grazing. The ground slopes steeply down towards the fort from the N and the view from the site is panoramic. This site was described in detail by Westropp (1914a 306-8) and is marked on the 1920 edition of the OS map as 'Entrenchment site of and he named the headland 'Gubadoon'. The site consists of a large S-facing headland roughly oval in plan measuring 185m N-S by 250m E-W. It is defended at its neck by a straight bank and fosse and has further traces of earthen banks in the interior. The bank running across the neck of the headland is of earth with traces of stone revetting towards the eastern end. It measures only 0.4m in height and is round topped averaging 4m in width at its base. About 25m from the western end is a 2m wide gap which is defined by upright slabs and this is likely to be the remains of an original entrance. The outer fosse is shallow visible mainly as a 5m wide band of darker vegetation. At the eastern end it averages only 0.3m in depth deepening to 1m towards the west where stone facing is also visible. A faint rise is visible at the gap in the bank suggesting a causeway once crossed the fosse here. A very shallow depression running along the inside of the bank suggests that the bank was recently built up with scraw perhaps being used as a field fence. The interior is hilly. From the air several earthen banks are visible in the eastern end of the interior but these do not form any discernible pattern. On the ground they are quite indistinct and are partly obliterated by the recent removal of scraws from the turf. There is no trace of the section through the defences seen by Westropp although some huts on one of the islets off the southern edge of the headland can be seen from the air.

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 Unpublished MA thesis, National University of Ireland, Galway.

Date of upload: 5 December 2018

References

Westropp, T.J. 1914 The promontory forts and early remains of the islands of Connacht. Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 44, 297-337.