Ringfort (Rath), Fynagh, Co. Galway

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Ringforts

Ringfort (Rath), Fynagh, Co. Galway

On the edge of Fynagh in County Galway, an oval earthwork sits in a state of quiet dissolution, its original shape still legible if you know what to look for.

This is a rath, a type of ringfort that once served as an enclosed farmstead, typically dating to the early medieval period in Ireland, roughly between the sixth and twelfth centuries. Thousands of them survive across the island in varying conditions, but this one has worn down considerably, its defining features reduced to fragments of a former whole.

The structure measures approximately 48 metres along its north-north-east to south-south-west axis and around 33 metres across its shorter east-south-east to west-south-west span, making it a modest but not insignificant example of the form. It is defined by a bank of earth and stone, and originally accompanied by an external fosse, the term for a defensive or boundary ditch dug around the perimeter. That fosse now survives only along the arc running from the north-east, through the east, and around to the west; the southern portion has been lost. At the south-west, a gap roughly 2.9 metres wide may represent the original entrance, the point where the enclosure opened to allow access. Associated with the rath is a possible house site, suggesting that whatever domestic life once unfolded here left at least a faint physical trace beyond the enclosing bank itself.

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Pete F
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