Hut site, Toraigh, Co. Donegal

This rocky promontory, stretching 700 metres north to south and varying between 50 and 220 metres east to west, represents the highest point of the island and contains one of Ireland's most intriguing concentrations of archaeological sites. The area's strategic importance is immediately apparent; a narrow 40-metre-wide isthmus forms a natural defensive ditch leading to the southern section, where the grass-covered remains of a stone wall, approximately 40 metres long and 2 metres wide, mark what may have been the site of the 'Little Castle' recorded in the Civil Survey of 1654-56.

The peninsula's defences become increasingly elaborate as you move northward. About 80 metres east of the entrance, a 105-metre-long earthen and stone bank with an accompanying fosse runs from the cliff edge, punctuated by a deliberate gap that likely served as a controlled access point. Beyond this lies a fascinating complex of structures including square enclosures built against the linear bank, mysterious lines of water-rolled beach stones arranged in geometric patterns, and at least four small stone-built hut sites with walls constructed from upright stones filled with rubble. Further north, where the peninsula narrows to just 50 metres wide, stands the impressive fortification known locally as 'Balor's Fort', named after the mythical Fomorian king. This consists of four massive earthen banks with three intervening ditches, rising successively with the natural slope and crossed by a tapering causeway that narrows from 5 metres on the outer side to just 2 metres at the inner entrance.

Within these formidable defences, scattered across the gentle south-facing slope, lie the remains of at least twenty hut circles, most measuring around 10 metres in diameter with substantial earthen and stone banks up to 3 metres wide. These structures, along with a rock-cut well, appear to have been built directly on the island's rocky surface before or during the early development of the turf layer. Three of these sites are known locally as 'Diarmuid and Grania's', though their exact purpose remains unclear. The easternmost section of the peninsula, dominated by the blade-edge tower of rock called Tor-more, is virtually inaccessible except for a small level area protected by a rock-cut fosse 10 metres wide and 1.5 metres deep. Here, perched precariously on the cliff edge, stands a collapsed stone enclosure about 10 metres in diameter, a testament to the determination of Tory Island's ancient inhabitants to utilise every defensible scrap of land on this remote Atlantic outpost.