Ringfort - rath

The National Monuments Service's description

In rough, damp pasture, located on a rise the W bank of the Mullaghanoe River, a small N-flowing river/stream.
Roughly D-shaped area (c. 51m E−W; 59m N−S) defined by a bank, and enclosed by an external fosse. The straight side is at E. and lies parallel to the river, which probably dictated the D-shaped plan.
The enclosing bank (Wth 9-10m at W, 5.9m at E; int. 1.1m at W; 0.55m at E; ext. H 2.4m at W, 3m at E) is substantial, particularly on the W half. The fosse (Wth 4.4m at W, 4.8m at E; ext. D 0.7-1.1m at W−SW; 1.2m at E) is broad; the N arc it is less well defined and shallower; at E it is flat-based, and wettish in the base. There is a stone wall on the outer edge of the fosse on the W arc, with remnants also on the N arc –this appears to be a later field wall.
The 1838 OS 6-inch map shows a small looping branch of the river passing directly by the straight E side of the enclosure, and, according to local information, in the past the stream flowed through the fosse on the straight E side of the rath. By the time of the 1920 edition, the river appears to have been canalised, and its course changed slightly; a flat, dry gap (Wth 5m) now intervenes between the fosse and the stream.
At the NE, there is a break (Wth 4m) in the bank and a narrow stony causeway (Wth 1m) across the fosse. There is another break (Wth 2m) in the bank at SE, and outside this the line of the fosse is partly infilled or obliterated.
According to local tradition, there is a souterrain (MA063-005001-) in the W half of the interior, and a children’s burial ground in the NW quadrant. The rath is densely ringed with blackthorn; interior obscured by ferns. There is another rath (MA063-004001-) 175m to N, and an enclosure (MA063-006----) 190m to SW.

Compiled by: Jane O'Shaughnessy

Date of upload: 6 July 2020