Westropp — Fortified Headlands and Castles in Western Co. Cork. 253 



resemble soldiers in uniform to keep away the French ! If any truth 

 underlies this, it is probably based on the idle act of some revenue or 

 other officers, in the endless leisure of their island station. 



Doonthomais. Crossing, past the west side of the south harbour, on by 

 the old road between two little lakes, we ascend to the cliffs. Soon the tall, 

 white tower on the distant Fastnet Eock rises over the moor and guides us to 

 the headland south from the Bill of Cape Clear called Dunthomais. I have 

 rarely seen so appalling a wall of such wrecked and loose-looking rock, with 

 such dangerous, crumbling edges, apparently ready to fall at a touch. Much 

 of the southern side has been cut away, being most exposed to the great 

 waves from the outer sea. There are two grassy hollows across the narrow 

 promontory. The landward one was the old fosse of the Dim, but has been 

 filled, evidently very recently, by a mass of fallen rocks from the bolder 

 cliff to landward. Beyond the fosse, which was evidently mainly natural, 

 the last traces of a wall of thin slabs, rarely four or five courses of masonry 

 remaining, can be seen along the further edge of the ditch at the southern 

 end. From this the ground rises to a knoll, on which are the remains of a 

 circular hut. The masonry is of slabs, regular and well curved and fitted ; 

 the lower part of the piers of the doorway which faced the land eastward 

 are still extant. Part of the north-east wall, 3 feet to 4 feet high, still 

 stands : the rest of the circular foundation is covered with great bosses of 

 seapink ; it is from 20 feet to 25 feet across. The headland was probably a 

 knife-edged rock, and unoccupied beyond the second hollow, even in early 

 days. 



Dunakore. The fort bears the same name as that ill-omened and blood- 

 stained spot at Sniei wick, where the slaughter of the Spaniards took place, in 

 November, 1580 ; but what legend of gold attached to the Driscolls' fortress 

 we do not know. 1 At so exposed a place it is hard to fancy that the head- 

 land fort can be of any vast anticpiity, though the hut in Dunthomais seems 

 as primitive as those on Bishop's Island, Co. Clare, or Cashlaunicrobin. 

 As I have pointed out, the wasting of cliffs is not steady, but by sudden rock 

 falls, while an outer reef may have protected the headland for many centuries. 

 I was not able to get on to the platform, but I heard that it was inaccessible. 

 Mr. James Burke says that the causeway is broken, and that the castle 

 cannot be reached at high water. 2 The path runs up a very slight ledge, 



1 In this case the tradition must have preceded the Spanish wars of 1601. For the 

 ; Smerwick fort and a discussion on its history, see Journal Roy. Soc. Antt. Ir., vol. xl, 



pp. 193-203. Windele (Topog. 12. J. 9, p. 1027) gives a curious legend of the Amadan 

 mor. 



2 See Mr. James Burke's very interesting paper on the island in Cork H. and A. 

 Journal, vol. xiv,pp. 119-120. The sea broke this path (Cassaun) in winter, 1831 (Windele). 



