Sonnagh fort
Ráth an tSonnaigh
Sonnagh fort is located in Ireland
Sonnagh fort
Shown within Ireland
LocationSonnagh, Aughnacliffe,
County Longford, Ireland
Coordinates53°49′51″N 7°36′02″W / 53.830744°N 7.600570°W / 53.830744; -7.600570
Typeringfort
Area0.39 ha (0.96 acres)
History
Materialearth
PeriodsBronze or Iron Age (c. 2400 BC – AD 400)
Site notes
Ownershipprivate
DesignationNational Monument
Official nameSonnagh
Reference no.598[1]

Sonnagh fort is a ringfort (rath) and National Monument located in County Longford, Ireland.[2][3]

Location

Sonnagh fort is located about 1.2 km (0.75 mi) west of Lough Gowna and 7.2 km (4.5 mi) 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 with double bank and ditch. A spring 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.[4] 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 for insulation. The roof was thatched with straw and held up with wooden posts.[5] The fort's walls gives their name to the townland: sonnach is Irish for "palisade."[6]

References

  1. ↑ "National Monuments of County Longford in State Care" (PDF). heritageireland.ie. National Monument Service. p. 1. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  2. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). www.longfordlibrary.ie. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 August 2016. Retrieved 22 May 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. ↑ "Wish I Was In Ireland".
  4. ↑ "Longford, Co Longford". 3 September 2008.
  5. ↑ "archive-ie.com: longfordtourism.ie - Ardagh - County Longford Tourism Website".
  6. ↑ "Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla (Ó Dónaill): sonnach".
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