Gary Boyne
Doon Ring fort, County Mayo, Ireland
Doon ringfort near Burriscarra Abbey on the shore of Lough Carra in County Mayo in Ireland
- Some Information about Ringforts in Ireland -
In the last survey of the number of ringforts in the Republic of Ireland in 1970, there were calculated to be 50,000 - 70,000 in existence. The discrepancy arising from what is considered to be an intact ringfort.
A ringfort, or in the vernacular a "fairy fort", is a circular mound on the landscape that indicates the onetime existence of a historic / pre-historic settlement.
The circular mound being all that has survived from the defensive perimeter that enclosed a cluster of dwellings that were inhabited by a small community; the said dwellings themselves having rotted away over time.
The words used in the Irish language for these settlements were: 'rath', 'dún', 'cashiel', and 'lios', depending on regional variations across the country. As a noun, the word "dún" derived from the Irish verb for 'close' translates as 'enclosure'. Second only to "bally", "dun" is the most common root in placenames in Ireland.
Doon Ring fort, County Mayo, Ireland
Doon ringfort near Burriscarra Abbey on the shore of Lough Carra in County Mayo in Ireland
- Some Information about Ringforts in Ireland -
In the last survey of the number of ringforts in the Republic of Ireland in 1970, there were calculated to be 50,000 - 70,000 in existence. The discrepancy arising from what is considered to be an intact ringfort.
A ringfort, or in the vernacular a "fairy fort", is a circular mound on the landscape that indicates the onetime existence of a historic / pre-historic settlement.
The circular mound being all that has survived from the defensive perimeter that enclosed a cluster of dwellings that were inhabited by a small community; the said dwellings themselves having rotted away over time.
The words used in the Irish language for these settlements were: 'rath', 'dún', 'cashiel', and 'lios', depending on regional variations across the country. As a noun, the word "dún" derived from the Irish verb for 'close' translates as 'enclosure'. Second only to "bally", "dun" is the most common root in placenames in Ireland.