#164 | May The Forts Be With You – Sinéad Mercier on Ringforts & Fairy Forts

We’ve spoken about fairy forts before. However, in the context of our recent discussion of placenames and bearing in mind the widespread incidences of Ráth and Lios in towns across Ireland, we decided to bring an expert in.

Sinéad Mercier, co-author of “The Men Who Eat Ringforts”, drops in to tell Darach and Peadar all about these structures which link Ireland to its past. Is the word “fort” unnecessarily militaristic? If the deference for “fairies” has contributed positively to the preservation of archaeological and ecological phenomena, then why can’t we just say “because fairies” in a planning permission objection?

Sinéad tells the lads about Ireland’s record for preserving its built heritage and archaeological inheritance to date… and her favourite Irish words.

Purchase Sinéad’s book here: https://askeatonarts.com/publications/men-who-eat-ringforts