School: Baile na Mín (roll number 14925)

Location:
Ballinameen, Co. Roscommon
Teacher:
Tomás Ó Conchobhair
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The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0238, Page 408

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The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0238, Page 408

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  3. XML “Fairy Forts”
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    in them over a hundred years ago and sometimes people heard noises and singing in them. People do not go from their houses on Halloween or if they did the fairies might carry them off to the forts. If stones were taken from any of these forts for the purpose of building outhouses or dwelling houses, the old people say you would have no luck after that, because they would have the curse of the fairies.
    Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.
  2. All forts in the Ballinameen school District are regarded as "Fairy Forts" - especially by the older people.
    They are known as Lis, Rath, Fort, and Dún, and give rise to several local place names notable Dúinín (Dooneen), Ráth Álainn (Rathallen), Claon Ráth, Lisphilip, Lios garbh, etc. (see pages 62-73). They are all circular in shape, and almost all within view of one another, so much so that during the last Survey of Ireland, almost every one of them was used as a site for a Sapper's mark.
    The forts of these districts are all surrounded by one, two or three earthen banks.
    Just one - Ráth Ruadh - is surrounded by a row of tall beech trees, (see place-names, page 63, no 10.) None of them so far as is
    (continues on next page)
    Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.
    Topics
    1. place-space-environment
      1. legendary and spiritual places (~158)
        1. fairy forts (~5,616)
    Languages
    Irish
    English