forts historical around aran islands

The length of trail is 8km (5 miles). The actual walking will take you 2 - 2.5 hours, but there is a lot to see on the Trail, so you should allow 4 - 5 hours if you are to enjoy it fully.

The route is marked by yellow arrows on limestone plaques, with an occasional - walking man - symbol. There are stiles wherever you need to cross a wall....

Eochaill fort is situated about 1km south/south-east of the old lighthouse. It is one of the great forts of the island and has two concentric dry masonery ramparts, the inner one terraced. In the inner enclosure are the remains of two clochans. The fields to the west and south are littered with ancient remains....

This magnificent caher or stone fort, is the most impressive and awe-inspiring of all the Aran Forts. Its three outer walls, with the exception of the remnants of the inner curtain, have disappeared but the massive fortress wall itself, built of stones, is almost intact.

Standing with its northern part on a cliff over a small valley, it measures 70m from north to south and 35m from east to west....

Dun Aengus is a fantastic example of a stone fort which is thought to be over 2000 years old! It is perched on top of a cliff edge about 300 ft above the Atlantic Ocean.
The fort is said to have been built by Aonghusa who was a chief of the Fir Bolg - so it translates as the 'Fort of Aonghusa'.
The impressive stone fort has three enclosures to defend against the enemy. If you look closely enough at one of the walls you will notice vetical, jagged rocks pertruding at an angle....

A focal point of the northern midlands where the provinces of Leinster, Ulster and Connaught all converge, Longford, where history and literature, tragedy and triumph are all woven together, takes its name from the ancient stronghold of the O'Farrell family (Long Fort - Fort of the O'Farrells).

Bordered to the West by the majestic River Shannon, Longford is a county of rolling plains and picturesque stretches of water. The highest pint of the county, Cairn Hill, is only 279 m high, bu...

Dubh Cathair, or Doocaher, 'The Black Fort', is one of several large stone-built fortifications on Inismore, Aran. Historically, it has received less attention than famed Dun Aengus, 3.5 miles to the north-west, but is scarcely less remarkable a structure and may in fact be considerably older - though none of the Aran forts has been closely dated so far.

The defences at Dubh Cathair consist of a great drystone wall some 200 feet long, curving across the neck of a cliffed limestone...