Ardagh Ringfort

Many of the 40,000 ringforts remaining in Ireland are well preserved, and all are now protected under the National Monuments Act. The Ardagh Ringfort, however, was unprotected when it most of it was ploughed down in the mid-19th century. Today only two forlorn segments survive. Why then is this much-maligned fort’s name celebrated in Ireland and beyond? Found buried within it was the Ardagh…