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Fairy rings

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  • Registered Users Posts: 1,577 ✭✭✭Bonzo Delaney


    NIMAN wrote: »
    Unbelievable.
    In the 21st century too!

    I'd agree it's a bit mad, in this day and age of scientific knowledge that a fairy fort or ring or tree would still put doubts and caution in to people's heads.
    Is there a scientific reason for the green circles
    An unusall one is in the parents place for about 30 yrs there was a perfect ring about 30ft across bridging the back field and the back lawn only stud fencing between more visible in summer time . Thing is about 4 years ago it disappeared altogether, most unusual .


  • Registered Users Posts: 18,996 ✭✭✭✭gozunda


    NIMAN wrote: »
    I'm not talking about archaeological sites, if that's what they are.

    But 'fairy rings'.

    If the former, of course leave well alone.

    If the latter, catch yourself on

    Right back at you -
    What are referred to as 'fairy' rings or 'forts' are in many incidences actually historical circular mounds and ring forts or the impression of where they once were. The term 'fairy' fort or ring is what they later became known and superstition grew up around them. Ask many older people and tell them it's just an archaeological feature and they will tell you otherwise.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 226 ✭✭Steer55


    I know a family who interfered with one and got unexplained ultra incredible bad luck, no way to explain it in normal stats where members of their family died in crazy circumstances. Normally I think away with the fairies but I'd not touch one now.


    As a child growing up in the country, I often heard of bad misfortune happening to people who interfered with fairy rings. We were simple told never to go near them and we didn't. The years have rolled on, and a lot of the younger generation today just laugh and scoff at such beliefs. hard to say who is right or who is wrong but I do think they should be left alone so the assumed magic surrounding them can be passed down to future generations.


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,132 ✭✭✭Dinzee Conlee


    ganmo wrote: »
    By checking the map in one of the posts above

    But I wonder in a lot of cases - are they one and the same?


  • Registered Users Posts: 18,996 ✭✭✭✭gozunda


    I'd agree it's a bit mad, in this day and age of scientific knowledge that a fairy fort or ring or tree would still put doubts and caution in to people's heads.
    Is there a scientific reason for the green circles
    An unusall one is in the parents place for about 30 yrs there was a perfect ring about 30ft across bridging the back field and the back lawn only stud fencing between more visible in summer time . Thing is about 4 years ago it disappeared altogether, most unusual .

    Not particularly unusual. New circular enclosures appeared as 'crop' mark's in fields in the Boyne valley during last years drought. The shallower or organic rich soil causes different growth rates depending on weather conditions. Again older people would have called these fairy forts and attributed their magical appearance to the wee folk. Archaeology has provided new knowledge of many of these sites that they are previously undiscovered historical manmade features which have otherwise disappeared.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 18,996 ✭✭✭✭gozunda


    But I wonder in a lot of cases - are they one and the same?

    Yes. Around here the older people would refer to such features as fairy forts or rings. Most of those are on the map linked above as historic features.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 4,732 ✭✭✭BarryD2


    Worth noting too that not all these features are on maps. They only appear in the national monument records maps if some official adds them.

    But local people usually know far more about their own land than government officials and word will have been passed down the generations about particular spots, usually for some good reason.


  • Registered Users Posts: 10,944 ✭✭✭✭Say my name


    ganmo wrote: »
    By checking the map in one of the posts above

    Not all archaeological 'interests' are listed on it though.
    I mean how could they, there's still unknown sites being discovered.

    The record of history was never the greatest in this country. Thankfully superstition did save some sites though. Especially compared to our heathen neighbours across the water who lost most of their ancient monuments to agricultural landscaping bar the biggie monuments e.g Stonehenge.


  • Registered Users Posts: 9,604 ✭✭✭Birdnuts


    BarryD2 wrote: »
    Worth noting too that not all these features are on maps. They only appear in the national monument records maps if some official adds them.

    But local people usually know far more about their own land than government officials and word will have been passed down the generations about particular spots, usually for some good reason.

    Indeed - I have famine potatoe ridges and graves on my place in North Mayo that have remained untouched for over 170 years.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 226 ✭✭Steer55


    Birdnuts wrote: »
    Indeed - I have famine potatoe ridges and graves on my place in North Mayo that have remained untouched for over 170 years.

    very sad


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  • Registered Users Posts: 18,996 ✭✭✭✭gozunda


    Steer55 wrote: »
    very sad

    It's something that is not really talked about imo. But of those who died of starvation were reported to have died in diches and by the side of the road and bodies were not necessarily found imo. The same of mud walled cottages which fell in and became the last resting places of those that died there or who were buried without a funeral. There are a lot of people who died - not all were buried in famine pits. Even many of those are unmarked.


  • Registered Users Posts: 34,284 ✭✭✭✭o1s1n
    Master of the Universe


    Steer55 wrote: »
    As a child growing up in the country, I often heard of bad misfortune happening to people who interfered with fairy rings. We were simple told never to go near them and we didn't. The years have rolled on, and a lot of the younger generation today just laugh and scoff at such beliefs. hard to say who is right or who is wrong but I do think they should be left alone so the assumed magic surrounding them can be passed down to future generations.

    The younger generation 'laugh and scoff' at such beliefs as they are ridiculous.

    The cause of them is known, they're historical ring forts. Simple as that. No magic. Nothing supernatural. Ring forts. Old structures.

    Now these magic beans I have for sale on the other hand...


  • Registered Users Posts: 10,944 ✭✭✭✭Say my name


    gozunda wrote: »
    It's something that is not really talked about imo. But of those who died of starvation were reported to have died in diches and by the side of the toad and imo bodies were not necessarily found imo. The same of mud walled cottages which fell in and became the last resting places of those that died there or who were buried without a funeral. There are a lot of people who died - not all were buried in famine pits. Even many of those are unmarked.

    A bit off topic. But imo they may start to review these modern cemeteries on the edge of towns.
    Fairly soon the cemeteries will be bigger than the towns.
    It's one extreme to the other.

    I read somewhere that the idea of building the ditches in raths was a direct action against plague in the 600's. It'd be like a scene from "The Walking Dead".
    Just when Christianity came into the country.


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,407 ✭✭✭yagan


    Years ago I was working on a road widening project in the surveying side of things and had arranged to meet someone at a local pub. So while I was waiting I overheard two auld local lads chatting at the bar and one asks the other what was going on up the road, to which the other said they were widening the road and going into to the fairy fort on the hill. The other lad gives a hoot and says they'll find plenty buried there!

    As it turned out they were right, there were unmarked burials there. Someone else mentioned they were traditionally used for stillborns and unchristened infants if there were near a cemetery. I guess that would explain why people would make up stories about fairies to keep kids from digging around in them. Infant mortality was high in Ireland up until the 1960s.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 3,220 ✭✭✭cameramonkey


    yagan wrote: »
    Years ago I was working on a road widening project in the surveying side of things and had arranged to meet someone at a local pub. So while I was waiting I overheard two auld local lads chatting at the bar and one asks the other what was going on up the road, to which the other said they were widening the road and going into to the fairy fort on the hill. The other lad gives a hoot and says they'll find plenty buried there!

    As it turned out they were right, there were unmarked burials there. Someone else mentioned they were traditionally used for stillborns and unchristened infants if there were near a cemetery. I guess that would explain why people would make up stories about fairies to keep kids from digging around in them. Infant mortality was high in Ireland up until the 1960s.


    When a child was not christened they were not allowed to be buried in Catholic cemeteries. The tradition in some places was to bury those children at places where certain townlands met. I know of one such location, it is of course not used anymore but I presume there are many children buried there. The parents buried their dead infants in the dead of night, digging the grave and hiding their sorrow in the darkness. Such sad and cruel times.


  • Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 9,078 ✭✭✭IAMAMORON


    Leave it well alone, it is not worth it. Do not go there.



  • Registered Users Posts: 8,611 ✭✭✭Mooooo


    Whatever about the fairies, if it's a ringfort or whatever and protected you'll get a fair wallop of a fine. Land bought round here had a road put thru one and fine followed, dunno if sfp was hit as well


  • Registered Users Posts: 10,642 ✭✭✭✭patsy_mccabe


    Ring Forts and Cilin (second i has a fada) are different things. Forts were basically enclosed raised areas where people lived. We have both within metres of us.

    'The Bishops blessed the Blueshirts in Galway, As they sailed beneath the Swastika to Spain'



  • Registered Users Posts: 2,190 ✭✭✭Figerty


    Ring Forts and Cilin (second i has a fada) are different things. Forts were basically enclosed raised areas where people lived. We have both within metres of us.

    I was digging a few rocks out of meadowing last week that had come up with the dry weather last year. I noticed that when I pulled up one small rock there were more there. I have a feeling that there is a ring there as the ground is slightly elevated. in a circle or a dry piece of ground about 10 meters in diameter. This is low ground in a small valley. On the top of the hill there are two ring forts and about 40 in the area.

    Funny thing is this. about 10 years ago there was a lightning strike which hit the ground right in the middle of this circle. It's a very low point between two hills with no conductor or trees.
    Never thought anything about it until last week. On google earth there is faint circle, but you have to look for it,,ad it might be just me looking for something.

    The lightning strike was odd before, and even odder now.


  • Registered Users Posts: 4,327 ✭✭✭FishOnABike


    NIMAN wrote: »
    Are people saying 'leave well alone' doing it tongue in cheek?

    Surely adults aren't putting any store in such nonsense.
    https://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/icrime/farmer-fined-25000-for-destruction-of-ring-fort-185865.html

    Good reason to leave well alone.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 7,762 ✭✭✭Rows Grower


    "Very soon we are going to Mars. You wouldn't have been going to Mars if my opponent won, that I can tell you. You wouldn't even be thinking about it."

    Donald Trump, March 13th 2018.



  • Registered Users Posts: 134 ✭✭arctic8dave


    mikeymouse wrote: »
    DJ98 wrote: »
    What are peoples thoughts on these, have a fairly overgrown piece of land thst has neve been touched or grazed due to it being occupied by fairies, I would like to clean up this area and use it for grazing but am told that it would be very unlucky to do so, any thoughts?

    If it's marked on this map i'd leave it alone
    Thanks for link never came across this map before. A mass rock marked on the map is on our land. Always heard the grandfather & still does the father about talk about it supposedly it's a grave for unbaptized children. Small piece of a field that was fenced off years ago and now overgrown.
    Fairy's or not I'm not the one going to interfere with it anyway.


  • Registered Users Posts: 18,441 ✭✭✭✭_Brian


    I was always told the reason it was unlucky to move them is they were often used as burial sites in ancient times.
    I’d get it very hard to touch one but I know several who have, some have had terrible luck and some haven’t so I don’t see much in that old wives tale.

    I’d hold off OP, sooner or later there will be a scheme to wild portions of all farms and that surely would have you covered


  • Registered Users Posts: 24,214 ✭✭✭✭lawred2


    Is it a protected structure

    it's protected by whom?

    the state? or the fairies?


  • Registered Users Posts: 24,214 ✭✭✭✭lawred2


    flossy1 wrote: »
    I would leave it alone , small things will start to go wrong. For your own peace of mind

    Ah you can't be serious...

    Are superstitions still a thing?


  • Registered Users Posts: 19,793 ✭✭✭✭2smiggy


    mikeymouse wrote: »
    If it's marked on this map i'd leave it alone

    looked at the map, my uncle said himself and my father leveled a very big one at home years ago, and true enough there is one noted at 60m diameter with 12-14 ft high banks that was leveled ~1980 but was recorded numerous times before then :eek:


  • Registered Users Posts: 3,769 ✭✭✭Odelay


    2smiggy wrote: »
    looked at the map, my uncle said himself and my father leveled a very big one at home years ago, and true enough there is one noted at 60m diameter with 12-14 ft high banks that was leveled ~1980 but was recorded numerous times before then :eek:

    How are they now?


  • Registered Users Posts: 462 ✭✭pms7


    mikeymouse wrote: »
    If it's marked on this map i'd leave it alone
    Thanks for that map, very interesting, have few items marked on farm and locally


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 568 ✭✭✭mikeymouse


    pms7 wrote: »
    Thanks for that map, very interesting, have few items marked on farm and locally
    If you haven't found it already on the top black bar, on the right you'll find the 4 squares ;basemap gallery, will allow you to flip between old and new maps.
    surprising how accurate the old maps were.


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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 20,633 ✭✭✭✭Buford T. Justice XIX


    Mod note:Some posts deleted just now. Behave, folks, you know better than that kind of BS,

    Buford T. Justice


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