forts historical ireland

The 'Royal County' of Meath boasts a dramatic history and proud heritage that no other country can match. Man has settled here for over 8,000 years and everywhere one turns one can see surviving monuments and relics scattered profusely beside the rolling rivers and on the lush plains. Formerly one of the five historic provinces of Ireland, it was from here that the ancient roads of Ireland radiated, spreading Royal Meath's influence and affluence to all the corners of Ireland....

The first fort was built here in the reign of Elizabeth I. Other Churches in this area include the South Chapel a Georgian Church of 1766 and St. Nicholas Protestant Church.

The Red Abbey on Mary St. of Douglas St is the sole survivor of the monasteries of medieval Cork. An augustinian Priory, it was founded in the 14th century....

A Celtic hill fort, sometimes called Hacklim Cave, a low earthen mound where, according to legend, Gearoid Iarla (Garret the Earl of Kildare) and a troop of his warriors sit in an enchanted sleep....

Durlas Eile (strong fort of Eliogarty) , now anglicised to Thurles, sits astride the river Suir. Like Nenagh and Clonmel it owes its development to the Norman Butlers. Remains of two of their fortresses survive - the 15th century tower house guarding the bridge and, at the other end of the square and hidden behind shops, the one-time home of lady Thralls , mother of James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormond....

Crookedwood, almost 7 miles from Mullingar, dates back to the old legends of Fionn and the Fianna. A 14th century stone roofed church, called the Church of Taughmon can be found here and behind it lies a ring fort. If you return to the main road and take the direction of Castlepollard, you can see Lough Derravaragh, associated with the legend of "The Children of Lir" changed into swans for 900 years by their jealous stepmother, they spent 300 years of that time on this lake before being return...

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...

Two ringforts in neighbouring fields, each with a diameter of about 100 feet and each surrounded by a bank, about 6 feet high, outside which is a ditch.
It was in the one nearest the road that the Jacobean general St. Ruth died in battle against the Williamite forces on 12 July 1691.
The defeat brought an end to the hopes of James 11, and heralded one hundred of the blackest years in Irish history....

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One of many legends regarding the origins of the mound says that it is the burial place of Amergin, an early Celtic poet, but it has also been suggested that it was possibly a large passage grave like Newgrange. It was fortified as a motte by the Normans in the 12th century and a castle was later built on its summit. The fort offered Cromwell the strongest resistance he encountered during the siege of 1649, and the Governor of the town, Sir Arthur Aston, was killed here in the course of combat...

Duncannon Fort is a star shaped fort built at a strategically important promontory in Wexford Harbour. It was built in 1588 in the expectation of an attack on the area by the Spanish Armada. There had previously been a Celtic fort and a Norman castle on the site. The fort is noted for its dry moat, exterior walls and the legend of the croppy boy....