Cooke — Antiquarian Remains in Beaufort District, Kerry. 3 



with an entrance 1 foot 10 inches wide at top, and 2 feet 10 inches at 

 bottom, and 2 feet 8 inches high. Within this the structure formed 

 a passage-chamber 16 feet long, and 3 feet wide at entrance, which 

 increases at 12 feet to a width of 4 feet. The walls are built of 

 ordinary flat field stones, slightly curving and supporting a roof formed 

 of eight covering stones, several of which overlap. The floor is strewn 

 with a large quantity of loose stones, and it slopes downwards to the 

 west end, where it is 3|- feet high. Here a narrow passage exists, 

 which is completely blocked up ; it is but 22 inches wide, and lies at 

 the north-west corner. The entrance also showed another passage to 

 the south, also choked, and which it was not possible for us, under the 

 then circumstances, to explore further. Various legends are told of 

 the rath, one of a boy servant who, bringing the cows home one even- 

 ing at dusk, found his way into the souterrain. Here he saw the 

 usual assembly, and describing them afterwards to the farmer whom 

 he served, the man admitted that one of them was his own father, the 

 boy's particulars being so graphic that the old man with several 

 children were easily recognised as among the fairy residents of the 

 rath- chamber. 



Aedeaw Eath (O.S. 57). — This rath lies about four miles from 

 Beaufort, on the right of the main road to Killorglin, in the farm of 

 William Joy. It is in a commanding situation, with a magnificent 

 view of the Reeks. The rath is finely planted with trees, and is a 

 very conspicuous object from the surrounding country. It has double 

 ramparts, separated by a deep trench. The space within the inner 

 rampart is 80 feet in diameter, and is, practically, a perfect circle. 

 The thickness of|the sloping, inner rampart is about 20 feet, and its 

 height, from the bottom of the trench, varies from 12 feet to 17 feet. 

 The breadth of the trench, from the top of the outer to the top of the 

 inner rampart, is 42 feet. The ramparts are built of clay and loose 

 shale. From its elevated position, and the strength of the ramparts, 

 the rath must have been an important one, and easy of defence. 

 The inner rampart is slightly defaced, on the south side, by a searcher 

 for an underground passage, some twenty years ago. Last year a 

 portion of the inner rampart collapsed, at the west side, the roof 

 having evidently been loosened by the roots of a tree. The fall 

 disclosed a ^great opening, partly filled with loose earth ; from this 

 opening two passages run westward, separated by a couple of feet, 

 and ending in^the rampart wall. The true passage ran, no doubt, to 

 the east, to the real opening within the rath ; but the search I made 

 within the fallen chamber, rendered difficult from the condition and 



