Sonnagh fort is a ringfort (rath) and National Monument located in County Longford,

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

Location

Sonnagh fort is located about west of Lough Gowna and north-northeast of Ballinalee. It stands in a commanding place overlooking the eastern plains extending to County Westmeath.

Description

The ringfort is a large bivallate

enclosure Enclosure or Inclosure is a term, used in English landownership, that refers to the appropriation of "waste" or " common land" enclosing it and by doing so depriving commoners of their rights of access and privilege. Agreements to enclose land ...

with double bank and ditch. A

spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season) Spring, also known as springtime, is one of the four temperate seasons, succeeding winter and preceding summer. There are various technical definitions of spring, but local usage of ...

lies immediately to the east.

History

There are seven ringforts surrounding Aughnacliffe, of which Sonnagh is the best preserved. These forts are better thought of as protected homesteads rather than military structures. While house type varied, most were made of wood and were usually of post and wattle construction. The walls of the houses consisted of a double row of wattle spaced about 20 cm apart with a cavity filled with straw and

bracken Bracken (''Pteridium'') is a genus of large, coarse ferns in the family Dennstaedtiaceae. Ferns (Pteridophyta) are vascular plants that have alternating generations, large plants that produce spores and small plants that produce sex cells (eggs ...

for insulation. The roof was thatched with straw and held up with wooden posts. The fort's walls gives their name to the

townland A townland ( ga, baile fearainn; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a small geographical division of land, historically and currently used in Ireland and in the Western Isles in Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of Gaelic orig ...

: ''sonnach'' is

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

for " palisade."

References

{{reflist Archaeological sites in County Longford National monuments in County Longford