Ringfort (Rath), Ballyan, Co. Limerick
Co. Limerick |
Ringforts
A ringfort that has swallowed itself in vegetation is not unusual in Ireland, but the one at Ballyan in County Limerick has an internal detail that rewards a closer look.
Running across its level interior is a secondary earth-and-stone bank, roughly 30 metres long, aligned on a north-northeast to south-southwest axis and merging with the main enclosing bank at the south. In effect, the interior of this rath, as a ringfort of earthen construction is often called, has been divided in two, a feature that raises quiet questions about how the space was used and whether that division was original to the site or added later.
The enclosure itself is roughly circular, measuring approximately 46.6 metres north to south and 51.3 metres east to west, and is defined by an earth-and-stone bank standing around a metre in height on its exterior face. The southern and south-eastern arc of the bank is the best preserved stretch, while a gap of nearly six metres interrupts the circuit at the north-northeast, most likely the original entrance. A linear field boundary has been incorporated into the bank along the south-western to west-south-western side, suggesting the enclosure was absorbed into later agricultural use over the centuries. The site was recorded by Denis Power and uploaded to the national record in August 2011.
The fort sits in low-lying, gently undulating ground and is contained within a small field that has been largely overtaken by dense vegetation, which makes the earthworks easy to miss from any distance. The interior is under rough grazing where vegetation allows, and the subdividing bank, though modest in height at around 0.45 metres, becomes legible once you are actually standing within the enclosure and looking south. Access to sites of this kind typically depends on landowner permission, and the overgrowth means that the approach on foot requires some patience. The south-eastern portion of the main bank, being the most intact, gives the clearest sense of the original scale of the enclosure.