Killeenagh Fort, Dromtrasna North, Co. Limerick
Killeenagh Fort sits on a gently sloping, east-northeast facing hillside in Dromtrasna North, County Limerick, where cattle now graze amongst the remnants of this ancient earthwork.
Killeenagh Fort, Dromtrasna North, Co. Limerick
The fort consists of a roughly square enclosure, each side measuring approximately 50 metres, defined by an earthen bank that rises half a metre on the interior side and slightly higher, at 0.7 metres, on the exterior. The southeastern to north-northeastern section features this constructed bank, whilst the remaining perimeter from north-northeast to southeast shows a scarped, or artificially steepened, edge carved into the natural slope.
Beyond the main enclosure lies an external fosse, or defensive ditch, measuring 0.2 metres deep and 2.5 metres wide, which runs from the western to the north-northwestern sides. This ditch is accompanied by a counterscarp bank; an additional earthen defence that reaches 0.9 metres in height on its outer face. A substantial field boundary, likely of more recent origin, follows the outer edge of this fosse from the north-northwest around to the west. The interior of the fort slopes gently downward towards the east-northeast, though dense vegetation has rendered most of it inaccessible to modern visitors. The corners of the enclosure are notably elevated and come to distinct points, a characteristic feature of such defensive structures.
Whilst cattle have worn a breach roughly 1.75 metres wide through the bank on the west-northwest side, the fort remains remarkably intact for its age. The antiquarian Thomas Johnson Westropp, writing in 1904-5, noted that local tradition held this site to be a ‘killeen’, an Irish term typically referring to an unconsecrated burial ground or children’s cemetery. This intriguing detail suggests the fort may have served multiple purposes throughout its long history, transitioning from defensive structure to burial site, before eventually becoming part of the pastoral landscape it occupies today.





