Ringfort (Rath), Ré Na Ndoirí, Co. Cork

Co. Cork |

Ringforts

Ringfort (Rath), Ré Na Ndoirí, Co. Cork

What makes this particular ringfort in Ré Na Ndoirí quietly compelling is not just its age but its layering: what looks like a single enclosure turns out, on closer inspection, to contain the ghost of a second, inner bank, hinting at a more complex history than the grass-covered earthworks first suggest.

Ringforts, known in Irish as raths, were enclosed farmsteads typically built during the early medieval period, roughly between the fifth and twelfth centuries. Most consisted of a circular bank and ditch protecting a family's dwelling and livestock. Here, that familiar pattern has an additional wrinkle buried within it.

The fort sits in rough pasture on a north-facing slope, set just below the crest of a ridge. Its main enclosure is nearly circular, measuring 43 metres north to south and 42 metres east to west. A substantial earthen bank, standing about two metres high on its interior face and stone-faced on that inner side, defines the perimeter, with an external fosse, a defensive ditch, running around the eastern and northern arc to a depth of roughly 0.8 metres. The entrance, wide enough at 3.6 metres for a cart or livestock, faces north-east and is approached by a deliberate ramp rather than a simple gap in the bank. That detail alone suggests some care in the original construction. More unusual is what survives inside: approximately eleven metres from the outer bank, the remains of a second, much-reduced bank run in a rough arc, accompanied by its own shallow damp fosse. A gap in this inner feature aligns with the main entrance, suggesting it once functioned as a coherent inner enclosure or subdivision of the interior space. The floor of the fort is slightly raised, and faint cultivation ridges crossing it on an east-west axis point to agricultural use at some point after the fort's defensive or residential function had faded.

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), Ré Na Ndoirí, Co. Cork. 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