Staigue Fort

Yup you guessed it the GPS had no idea where we were or that the small rural road even existed as we headed to Staigue Fort.  

Off the map as it were.

It was a one lane road and when you saw someone coming your way the closest car to the little pull out (that you see in the middle left of this photo) would duck in and let the other car pass on by and with any luck you did not swap paint or take off the side mirror. It is a very civilized country and everyone that we encountered driving on the roads was polite and courteous.

The ring forts on the Ring of Kerry are the best preserved prehistory ring forts in all of Ireland. The basic features of all these forts are the circular drystone walls that were built sometime between 500 B.C. and 300 A.D. without the aid of mortar or cement.  They are 80 feet across with walls 12 feet thick at the base and up to 20 feet high.  These brutish structures would have taken 100 men six months to complete.

The Staigue Fort is on a sheep farmers land and with the road being so narrow and the large tour buses are unable to get there so it is quiet and peaceful.  Just remember to close the gate so the sheep don't get out.

Yup sheep poop! I was always the one stepping in something smelly!

When these forts were being built it was a time when civilization was changing from nomadic hunter-gathers to settled farmers, herders and they used these forts to protect their cattle and other valuables.  Some think these forts were used as an kind of amphitheater for local gatherings by the chieftains.  However the ditch surrounding the outer walls of Staigue Fort suggests a defensive rather that a ceremonial function.

Whatever the reason for them being built this is one of the most amazing sites to visit.  Off the beaten path and we were the only ones there exploring.