1000 year old heritage site damaged in Co. Tyrone

by Gráinne Connolly

"Extensive damage" has been caused to the Lisnabulrevey Rath/Ringfort on the outskirts of Fintona, Co. Tyrone. 

On Saturday (2 September), a member of the public noticed work going on at the site and reported to the PSNI that an attempt was being made to removed the ringfort. 

Police halted the ongoing destruction which was then brought to the attention of the Department of Communities. 

Both the Department of Agriculture and Environment, and Fermanagh and Omagh District Council's planning department have been notified as well. 

The Department, who are currently responsible for the heritage protection; visited the site and advised that all work should cease. 

It's understood that Ringforts were Christian fortified homesteads, featuring a Rath (the circular banking/ditch) and a Lios (area in the middle), which usually contained one or more households. 

While there are more than 2,000 ringforts listed in Northern Ireland, Lisnabulrevey Rath is not one of them. 

However, it's among the 16,000 historic sites on a databade called the Northern Ireland Sites and Monument Record. 

These historic monuments on the record are not formally protected but are the subject of planning policies to ensure their interest is taken into consideration when changes are made to them or their settings. 

In traditional folk stories, the circular monuments are also sometimes known as 'Fairy Forts', which some people believed were occupied by fairies

According to Irish Fairy Forts facebook page there is some debate regarding the date of these structures. 

A general consensus places them at 1000 to 1500 years old, but there could be earlier and somewhat later use.