Ringfort - rath

The National Monuments Service's description

In pasture, located on a low rise, providing good views over the surrounding rolling grassland. It lies close to the W boundary of the townland; the Roscommon border, which follows the course of a river, is 800m to E.
Broadly oval area (35.8m N−S; 31.5m E−W) defined by an earthen bank. The bank (Wth 5.5m at SW, 4.5m at NE; int. H 0.45 at SW, 0.4m at NE; ext. H 1.6 at SW, 1.7 at NE), which is composed of sandy gravelly soil, is broadly slumped, with a very low internal rim. According to local information, the bank had an internal stone facing, which was robbed out to build field fences. The W half of the interior is level. There is a gently slope down from the centre towards the E, where there is a gap (Wth 4m) in the bank , which may be the location of an original entrance. There are two unconnected souterrain passages in the interior, one at SW (MA063-017002-) and the other at NW (MA063-017003-); they are indicated as ‘Caves’ on the 1838 OS 6-inch map, but are not shown on the 1920 edition. They appear to represent two souterrains, but it is possible that they are two discrete sections of one souterrain.
Grass cover, with a few hawthorn trees on the perimeter.

Compiled by: Jane O'Shaughnessy

Date of upload: 7 July 2020