Ringfort, Barnacleagh, Co. Wicklow

Co. Wicklow |

Ringforts

Ringfort, Barnacleagh, Co. Wicklow

In the townland of Barnacleagh in County Wicklow, a ringfort exists mainly as a cartographic memory.

The enclosure measures roughly 35 metres in internal diameter, a size typical of the ringforts, or raths, that served as enclosed farmsteads across early medieval Ireland, but at ground level there is nothing to see. No earthen bank, no visible ditch, no obvious trace in the grass of the south- and south-east-facing slope where it sits.

What survives instead is a name and a line on paper. The 1838 Ordnance Survey six-inch map records the site in careful hachuring, the short radiating strokes cartographers used to indicate relief and earthworks, and labels it 'Raheen', a diminutive of the Irish word ráth, meaning a ringfort or fortified enclosure. The name is affectionate in its smallness, suggesting the site was already understood as something modest or partially diminished by the time the surveyors arrived. That the OS mapped it at all indicates there was something visible in the early nineteenth century, earthworks legible enough to be recorded with reasonable confidence. Whatever stood then has since been levelled, most likely by agricultural activity in the intervening generations.

Rated 0 out of 5

Visitor Notes

Review type for post source and places source type not found
Added by
Picture of Pete F
Pete F
IrishHistory.com is passionate about helping people discover and connect with the rich stories of their local communities.
Please use the form below to submit any photos you may have of Ringfort, Barnacleagh, Co. Wicklow. We're happy to take any suggested edits you may have too. Please be advised it will take us some time to get to these submissions. Thank you.
Name
Email
Message
Upload images/documents
Maximum file size: 100 MB
If you'd like to add an image or a PDF please do it here.

Advertisement