AN overgrown Celtic ringfort near Clonakilty could be restored as a visitor centre, a public meeting heard last week.
Plans to return Lios na gCon in Darrara to public use were top of the agenda at the gathering organised by the Friends of Lios na gCon and Minister Christopher O’Sullivan TD (FF).

Options discussed included restoring the site as a public visitor centre, or as a centre to educate young farmers about farming history and biodiversity. A farming centre could feature a heritage orchard, crops of ancient grains and rare cattle breeds and be run in conjunction with Teagasc, the current landowner.
‘I genuinely believe it has a potential to be a very popular visitor for Clonakilty and the entire West Cork area,’ said Minister O’Sullivan.

Archaeologist Mary Sleeman outlined the golden age of ringforts in Ireland (300–1400 AD) when forts protected communities and cattle. She gave insight into the dig at Lios na gCon from 1987 to 1988, which her sister took part in.
‘Fairies lived there but we never found the evidence,’ she said, explaining that many forts in Cork were left to the elements due to superstition. The experienced archaeologist helped map national monuments for Cork County Council, adding that there were 4,000 ringforts recorded in Cork.

‘Lios na gCon is special because it was a fortified farmstead. It was used by normal people, it’s our own ancestors. It wasn’t used by nobles. What’s rare is that very few of these monuments are in state care,’ she said. ‘The beauty is the hard work is done at Lios na gCon. It would make an excellent visitor centre.’

Rebuilt on its original site by Clonakilty’s Macra na Feirme, Lios na gCon is said to be the only ringfort in Ireland reconstructed on its exact footprint after excavation. The dig unearthed sharpening stones, animal bones, a spindle and glass beads, among other objects.

The original visitor centre was abandoned in 2015 after disputes between Teagasc and Cork County Council. Tim Crowley, of Friends of Lios na gCon and a former visitor centre manager, recalled attendance numbers: 12,000 in 2002 and 5,000 in 1992. He welcomed the strong turnout to the meeting and political support, expressing hope the site can succeed again.

‘It’s so stunning and it’s a suntrap inside and a very special place,’ he said of the reconstructed roundhouse and ringfort. Tim Crowley also recalled the fort’s 1990 public opening, attended by Minister Joe Walsh (FF), the Cork Rose of Tralee and a number of Irish wolfhounds. He paid tribute to John Kehoe, community man and former manager of Lios na gCon, who died in April 2008 and who fully dedicated himself to the project.

Minister O’Sullivan praised the work of the Friends of Lios na gCon and local residents to preserve the heritage site. ‘The vision for a farming centre with Teagasc is amazing and we are planning to meet with the head of Teagasc to float the idea,’ he said. He added that two other options would be to pass responsibility for the site to his department, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, or hand it over to the Irish Heritage
Trust.

Other public representatives at the meeting included Senator Noel O’Donovan (FG), Cllr John Michael Foley (FG), Cllr John Collins (Ind Ire), and Cllr Daniel Sexton (Ind Ire) who remembered visiting the fort when he was younger. They all backed the restoration plans.