FOUR ANCIENT STONE FORTS liniWards from tJhe entrance rthe e:asit .along the madn road from Glencree!P p1assage opens botih to right tie1s to Ba1lyboifey. Here, yorur Pr:2:s- .a:nd to le1ft. A few yards from tbJ:; Lden1t, for w.ho&e !hos;pitaUty to a com:- einitr1a.n'C.e on the leJt 1si an inine·r sta,ir- p~e1te- ~trianger I must record hearty c:a;s:2· l!e:a1dling to the open iair on top tihanks, described some of the very of tihe wall. The ornter height is 14 numerous r12ma,ins of arch:aeo1ogic1al fee1t neiari2r tlh1e ledges, menrt.ton- interest in the nelighbourhioQd, vecr:y ed ie1arl:1er, to rii.ghrt of the ·2in1trance: fe;w of wihich ws· would be atble to j:u.sit be1siide- the-s:e· is a fall owtwards v1.s,i;t th.at day, iand ment:ioned tih:a;~ whk.Jh seiems obv1ously artti.fire:ial, as, the fort bes:Lde us has a d !'..rame1t13r· ffUXlther on, the.r:e isi a place wh2re g.rie1a,t.er than that of. Griranan of Ailthere is a fall irnstde which se12ms. to each, wltlh. walls or:iglinally 7 ftet high, be na.tur:al. A wiHoiw, wel1 over 12 but n0iw muclh rudned and repa.ired f,2ert 1hiigh, grows dns1Lde- t!he: f0:rt. by s:top gap ston1es:. 'Ihere a.re other As nl()Jted earl!ie1r tlhere is a struc- forts in the· 1mm·ed~arte· neighbourtur:ei i:n~lide· o:n1 the· le;f t of the en- hood but t;his:, appar:ent.iy, is the only tranc:e. Mr. MciG~ll. maki~ng enquirries one w~tJh a !hLgh wall. after this vd.s,it, found t.hat t1l~s was Bein.g the third walled fort now constructed and used by poteE.n makers known to me ini the COJUnty, despd:ie so need not bE.1 described here. t1he· opinion quorted or~g~inaLy, the only The ~oclh isi fed by one ·spr~ng am.id one known to me, a.t the tiime, th.s nne bias a river outlet tu the sea. Our confirmed in me tlhe1 ideia that they young gu;~de to1d i'll.si that a gold ornra- ough to h2 better public~sed than they menit wa1s diis1covleTed in a hedg£ a few are, and that the outside world, esye1ars :ago in a t.ownland adja:cent to pedalLy ant1:qu:arJans in the othex· t1he· Loch. tihdrty-one coru:nties, should kno.w tthia:t W12:rutlher condlirtions on this oc- the County has stuc!h: antJiquitie1s to cia1S1:1on prev1en;te:d ms, from visiiting the show the visitor and the expert. seie.O!nd iisJtand on Loch Doon but en- Already holdJng tJh~s opinJon I qui-rd.es. s12:e:med to s:ho:w, .a,s does ex-was natur'ally very much in~sresrted am~nia:tion tihrioru,gh binoculars:, that when, three days: later, Mr. McG!i.11 the:re, the ru1ins' cons1i,s,t of nothing but t:old me of the fort!:fi1ed island on Loch a1 hea1p of stones,. There· is. however, Alnna, whic!h he had been discus.s:ing a s:mall i.s:1a:nid on. LQch Birroge, near W1tha s.tranger, who was Jnter121sted in by, on Wlhli.c1h dds1t1Ln1ct traces of a. wall the structure. oa.n be Sl8€'n fr:o1m the bank but there But before going on to describe j:s1 no boat on t'he 1och to enable the this it is to be n..corded that he and I c:a.s1ua1 v,ist•tQr to ins1pe:ct it more clos12- made a second visit to Clonceagh. From IY. Ln a1ny ciaiSle, ·the ruins are of this we learn1:;d that there are tnree forts Uttlie aieC01Unt as sefcill. from t'he shore. clrose together, Qnly one' of whkth lis We turn in,~and again for the walled. . T1he1 entr:a:nice . of the . walled tlhird fort un:derr review. On th>e 3rd one is to the N.E~ and, frum herie, of AuguiS1t, 1953, I had the privilege directly. across, the, internal dJ1amert1ET and pl€1a..sur1e of a,ttemd~ng the annu:al is 121 fe'et, while from S.E. to N.W. it mE1e1tinrg and e:xicrnrsd.on of your Society ~s 122 feet. so ·the fort ds almos.t an as tihe guest of Mr. McGill. Among .2xact c:ircle. The helg!hit of the waHls. this· inte1re1stin,g si.:teiSl vl'sLt1ed on trus internally is 6 fe:et ·6 inches· at what o:c,cia,s1:.on walSi .a fort at C'lonceagh seems to b1;1 the most intact sp·ot and wlhitc1h one· re1arcihes by tlaktl.ng a turn where: the rocks of which the of!ig:inal to the right to Armagh Bridge, after walls were formed have sand, etc., to p1as~dng tihe vill!age of Cloghan, going bind them together. At this spot .495.
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