Ringfort (Rath), Doonycoy, Co. Sligo

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Ringforts

Ringfort (Rath), Doonycoy, Co. Sligo

A few dozen metres back from the rocky Sligo shoreline, a low circular rise in the pasture at Doonycoy turns out to be something considerably older than it first appears.

What looks like a gentle swell in the ground is in fact a rath, the Irish term for a ringfort, an enclosed circular settlement typically built during the early medieval period, roughly between the fifth and twelfth centuries. These earthworks were once so common across Ireland that tens of thousands are thought to have existed, yet a surprising number survive, quietly folded into the working landscape.

This particular example measures nearly 47 metres across its northwest to southeast axis, enclosed by an earthen bank some 4.6 metres wide. The bank still stands to an internal height of around 0.8 metres, and its northwest section is the best preserved stretch. A gap of roughly 3.4 metres on the western side is thought to mark the original entrance, though a modern field boundary running north to south now cuts partially across it, blurring the threshold between the ancient and the contemporary. The proximity to the shoreline, only about 50 metres to the north, suggests whoever built and used this enclosure had a close relationship with the coast, whether for fishing, trade, or simply the practical matter of keeping a watch on the water.

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Pete F
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