Though no trace remains visible on the first and second editions of the Ordnance Survey 6-inch maps, historical records indicate that a ringfort once stood here, offering commanding views along the scenic Finn Valley. This unclassified fort, now lost to time and agriculture, represents one of countless such structures that once dotted the Irish landscape, serving as defended homesteads for farming families during the early medieval period.

The site’s documentation comes from the comprehensive Archaeological Survey of County Donegal, compiled in 1983 by a team of archaeologists led by Brian Lacey. This survey, which catalogued field antiquities from the Mesolithic period through to the 17th century, provides valuable insights into sites that might otherwise be forgotten. The Carrickshandrum fort’s location in good pastureland suggests it was strategically placed not just for defence, but also for agricultural prosperity; a common pattern seen throughout Ireland where ringforts typically occupied fertile, well-drained ground.

Whilst the physical structure has vanished, likely ploughed away over centuries of farming, its historical footprint remains in these archaeological records. The absence of the fort from early Ordnance Survey maps suggests it may have already disappeared by the mid-19th century when these detailed surveys were conducted, or perhaps it was simply overlooked by surveyors more focused on contemporary features than ancient earthworks. Today, visitors to this corner of Donegal would find only peaceful farmland where once stood a bustling farmstead, its defensive banks and ditches long since levelled by time and tillage.