Ringfort (Rath), Colgagh, Co. Sligo

Co. Sligo |

Ringforts

Ringfort (Rath), Colgagh, Co. Sligo

A low circular bank sitting in quiet pasture north of Colgagh Lough in County Sligo might not stop a casual walker in their tracks, yet this ringfort carries a small structural curiosity worth noting.

Its interior rises roughly two metres above the surrounding ground, not because of any great engineering effort but because the builders chose to work with a natural hillock that was already there, letting the land do some of the work. That kind of opportunism was common in early medieval Ireland, when a rath, an earthen ringfort enclosed by a bank and ditch, was typically the defended farmstead of a single family or small community, and any existing elevation was worth incorporating.

The fort itself is circular, with a diameter of around 28 metres, enclosed by a broad bank of earth and stone nearly 7.6 metres wide, though it rises only modestly above the interior surface. Unusually, no fosse, the encircling ditch that normally accompanies such a bank, is visible at ground level, which either reflects the original design or the effects of centuries of agricultural activity. At the southern side, a gap of just over two metres in the bank, accompanied by a ramp sloping outward, preserves what appears to be the original entrance. A later drystone field wall, running roughly north-northeast to east-southeast, has been laid directly on top of the bank along part of its circuit, a reminder of how these ancient boundaries were quietly absorbed into the working landscape of subsequent generations. Sitting 120 metres to the southwest is a cashel, a similar enclosure but built primarily of stone rather than earth, making this a corner of the Sligo countryside with a notable concentration of early settlement evidence in a compact area.

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 (Rath), Colgagh, Co. Sligo. 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