Location Map
Introduction
The CHERISH site Ferriter’s Castle and Promontory Fort is located on the Ballyferriter Headland, Dingle peninsula in county Kerry. Doon Point (Dún an Fheirtéaraigh) is a long, narrow promontory extending slightly over five hundred metres from north east to south west. This prehistoric fort is one of 95 coastal promontory forts in County Kerry, 42 of which are located on the Dingle peninsula.
Setting
This headland sits directly to the north of the Mesolithic- Neolithic transition period site at Ferriter’s Cove. Along the length of the promontory, narrow inlets of the sea are present in two locations due to softer sediments being carved out from the harder lava beds in these areas. These inlets divide the promontory into two distinct areas. These necks have been anthropogenically utilised and adapted in the construction of the Promontory Fort with a series of banks and ditches, forming an outer and inner set of defences. There are a number of hut sites and archaeological features visible within the boundaries of the fort. In the western section of the fort, there are a number of hut sites being heavily impacted by erosion. In the 15th or 16th century, later reuse of the fort occurred when the Anglo-Norman Ferriter family constructed a castle on the inner bank of the outer defences. This tower house was originally a 4-5 story rectangular tower, occupied by the Ferriter Family until the 17th century.
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