forts historical ireland

A ringfort with a clay wall four feet high and lined with stones. Near the south side are the foundations of a beehive hut. The original entrance was probably on the west, and five stones still stand outside. Inside is an Ogham stone with tie inscription D....A.... AVI DALAGNI later superseded by EQQEGGNI MAQI MAQI-CARRATTINN....

This large oval mound dominates the Bann River beside the site of Ireland's oldest house, inhabited 9,000 years ago. Riverside walk. Free access always. A mile south-east of Coleraine....

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....

This site was regarded as one of the most potentially significant sites in the entire area. A Promontory Fort is essentially a defensive structure and they have been dated to the Early Iron Age. This one consists of an extensive and very well preserved complex of earthworks with wide views of Kinvara Bay.

The tomb consists of a simple chamber, with sides and back formed of large single stones, capped with a roofstone. The smaller field stones on top are perhaps remains of the original e...

The Redoubt on Windmill hill, site of a 17th century star-shaped artillery fort. The moat, rampart walls and the remains of a swivel gun are still visible. Superb panorama of Enniskillen, the River Erne and Portora Royal School from the rampart....

It has long been identified - though without any certainty - as the seat of Brian Boru, High King of Ireland from 1002 until his death at the Battle of Clontarf in 1014. Coins found in an excavation of the site certainly showed that a house had been occupied inside during the 11th century, and the Annals of the Four Masters tell us that it was raided and demolished in 1116.
The site proved to have been inhabited at two separate periods, and the house belonged to the first period of...

The famous star shaped fort can be found 3km from Kinsale. As one of the largest military forts in the country, Charles Fort has been associated with some of the most significant events in Irish history. The most momentous of which includes the Williamite War in 1690 and the Irish Civil War of 1922-23.

The fort has two enormous bastions overlooking the estuary, and three looking inland. Within its walls were all the accommodation requirements for the garrison of the fort and thei...

Dunree Fort, now a military museum. Established to the end of the eighteenth century during the Napoleonic wars and maintained as a fort until about a decade ago....

Some 2 km further on, this time on the left hand side, but at some distance from the road, are the remains of Beal Boru, or Brian Boru's fort. Little more than the site has survived, marked by traces of earthen ramparts and a surrounding ditch. The ring fort is located on a spur of land at the point where the lake narrows before passing through Killaloe and the fort had a certain strategic value commanding the northern approached to the royal palace of Kincora. The fort is of considerable ant...

Aughrim, just off the main road to Galway, and 8km from Ballinasloe was the scene of the Battle of Aughrim on 12th July 1691, which largely decided the outcome of the course of Irish History.

Here the Williamite forces defeated the mainly Catholic Irish and French forces under the leadership of the French General, St Ruth, who was killed in the battle. There are two ringforts situated here each with a diameter of about 100 feet and surrounded by a six foot high bank....