Ring of Kerry

Castlecove | Irish : An Siopa Dubh : The Black Shop

A small resort with fine sandy beaches nearby.

Staigue Fort – Situated approximately 2 miles from Castlecove off the main Kenmare Road on an unclassified road. It is about 2,500 years old and one of the finest examples of a stone fort in Ireland. The stone used in its construction is common to the area. It is a circular fort of 27 metres in diameter. The walls are almost 4 metres thick at the base and 2 metres thick at the top. The northern side is still perfect with some of the old coping stones 3 feet long still in their original position.

On the North and West sides the wall is 18 feet high. The doorway is square headed with two small chambers inside, one on the North side and the other on the West. Running inside the wall almost to its full height are the stairways leading to narrow platforms on which the Fort’s defenders stood.

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