School: Ashfort (B.), Ráthluirc
- Location:
- Ashford, Co. Limerick
- Teacher: -
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0493, Page 278
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- XML “Fairy Forts”
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- Fairy Forts
In almost every farm in this parish some kind of a "rath" is situated. It is supposed it is the Danes that built them when they first came to Ireland, and that they hid gold and jewels under them, and that they left some "Being" minding them.
On my father's farm an old fort is situated. It is circular one, having an entrance of an iron gate. Many legends are told about it. One night in the month of June as a man named Bill Sullivan crosed the fort, he saw four beautiful ladies dressed in white picking potatoes into their aprons, but when he approched them they disappeared. Proceeding on his way he turned back and saw a dog with eyes blazing like the fire jumping around the fort.
Not a half a mile from my house another old fort is situated. At one time as a man went digging for gold to the fort. Just as he had dug a great hole his wife called him, as as he was returning home home he got a terrible pain, he sat down by the wayside to rest and he never rose again.
There is no use made of forts nowadays but tradition has it that ages ago they were occupied. People are afraid to meddle with them fearing the fairies would attack them.
The only fort I know well is in my Uncle's land in(continues on next page)
