The example at Fanningstown, in the Smallcounty barony of County Limerick, is something a little more deliberate. It is bivallate, laid out as two concentric banks with a wide fosse, or ditch, running between them. That doubling of effort, the decision to throw up a second perimeter rather than settle for one, raises quiet questions about whoever commissioned this place and what they felt they needed to keep out, or keep in.

The structure was recorded in detail by O'Kelly in 1943, whose description remains the primary account. At the time of survey, the inner bank still retained traces of stone facing on its outer side, a detail suggesting that at least part of the construction was revetted in stone rather than relying purely on earthen bulk. The outer bank tells a more worn story: largely collapsed and surviving for only about half its original circuit, it appears to have been built entirely of stone rather than earth, which may explain its greater vulnerability to robbing or weathering over the centuries. The overall diameter of the enclosure was measured at 210 feet, or roughly 64 metres, making it a substantial example of its type. No identifiable entrance survived by the time of the 1943 survey, which is not unusual; thresholds and causeways across the fosse are often the first features to be obscured or levelled.

The site sits within a rural part of County Limerick, and like many ringforts it is likely on or near private farmland, so access would depend on local permissions and conditions underfoot. Ringforts in general are best observed in low winter light or from elevated ground nearby, when shadow picks out the earthwork contours that flatten into invisibility during the growing season. If you do find your way to it, the thing to look for is the surviving arc of the outer bank, the half-circuit that O'Kelly noted still standing, and any remaining stonework associated with the inner bank's facing. The fosse between the two enclosures, even in its silted and softened state, gives some sense of the original ambition of the design.