Ringfort (Cashel), Baile Uí Chiaragáin, Co. Donegal

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Ringforts

Ringfort (Cashel), Baile Uí Chiaragáin, Co. Donegal

On a small hill in Baile Uí Chiaragáin, County Donegal, there once stood a curious circular structure that puzzled local mapmakers and archaeologists alike.

First recorded on the 1st edition Ordnance Survey 6-inch map simply as 'Fort', this enigmatic feature measured between 20 and 25 metres in diameter, though it mysteriously vanished from all subsequent map editions. When archaeologists finally got round to examining it properly in the early 1980s, they found something rather intriguing: a circular platform about 12 metres across, raised slightly above the surrounding landscape and enclosed by the tumbled remains of a stone wall that had clearly seen better days.

The structure itself was modest but distinctive; the platform stood about a quarter of a metre high on its southern side, rising to 0.7 metres on the north, suggesting it had been deliberately built to compensate for the natural slope of the hilltop. The enclosing wall, though largely collapsed and overgrown with grass, still reached half a metre in height in places, with field clearance stones piled against it by generations of farmers. Two hollows had been dug into the wall, one on the east-northeast side measuring 2.7 metres across and another on the western section spanning 2 metres, though these were likely modern additions rather than original features. The interior remained remarkably level, and the site commanded excellent views across the surrounding countryside; ideal for keeping watch over the good pasture land below.

Sadly, when archaeologists returned in 2003 to conduct further investigations, they discovered that the monument had been completely levelled. Nothing remains visible at ground level today, making this ringfort or cashel another casualty of agricultural improvement. What was once a tangible link to Donegal's ancient past, possibly dating anywhere from the early medieval period to the 17th century, now exists only in archaeological records and the memories of those who saw it before its destruction.

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