06. The Lisheen Ringfort, Ballinrooaun.

The Lisheen Ringfort, Ballinrooaun.

Extract from the History of Moylough-Mountbellew, page 145, by John A.Claffey, M.A.,Ph.D.

Co-ordinates: 285520 National Grid: M588441.

This ringfort is known locally as the Lisheen and is regularly referenced by locals as such. It is roughly circular bivallate ringfort is situated at the top of the southern slope of a hill. It has an excellent view in all directions. To the east it gives the nearby road a curved deflection. The fosse (i.e. excavated depression) and both banks survive from approximately NW to SE. The remaining section of fosse and banks are almost totally gone. Because of the eroded condition of the site most of the measurements given below are of necessity approximate estimates.

The internal diameter of the ringfort of a N/S axis is 39.50 metres. The internal bank (which has slipped considerably inwards) is 20 cm high inside and 3.10 metres in width. Its height on the outside is 1.30 metres. A considerable of material appears to have been taken from this bank. The fosse which is flat-bottomed is 2.10 metres wide. The height of the outside bank is one metre to the bottom of the fosse. The outer face of the bank is now level with the field. The distance from crest to crest of the bank is now 5 metres. The banking material is largely of earth, but there are traces of stone, particularly in the outer bank to the north and east. Here on the inside face of the bank are the possible remains of a revetment.
No obvious entrance survives. The interior is very uneven and featureless apart from a slight hollow in the west.