Location: 14 kms West from Dingle Map
Constructed: Iron Age
Official site
Dunbeg Promontory Fort is located in
Gaeltacht village, 14 kms West from Dingle in a County Kerry in
Ireland. These defensive fortifications were constructed in the Iron
Age. The steep coast at the village of Fahan has a rocky edge, this
is located directly on the R 559, the "Slea Head Road".
Dunbeg is considered part of the group of beehive huts in nearby
Fahan. The once round dun, built of dry stone masonry, has partially
fallen victim to erosion. The inner stepped wall is sometimes six
meters thick and about three meters high. On both sides of the
entrance there are small spaces inside the wall and the access has
side holes into which a wooden beam could be inserted to support a
door. In the passage is near the ground a so-called "Doghole". The
entrance is provided with a lintel that Macalister considered 1898
to be the most noteworthy in Ireland.
Within the dun are the remains of an inside rectangular and outside
round house, a form that also have the smaller Clochain in the
monastery of Skellig Michael and which is present at Clochán na
Carraige on the Aran island of Inishmore. The area behind the
barrage is relatively poor.
A 16.5 m long basement covered with large slabs leads from the
interior close to the outer wall.
Plants with the same name can be found in Ireland (eg Killard County
Clare, Northern Ireland Ballynahinch County Down) and Oban in
Scotland.
In January 2018, large parts of the fort were destroyed by a storm
followed by landslide. The site has not been accessible since then
(as of April 2019).