Eightercua consists of a four stones alignment and the tallest stone is over 9 feet in height. In Irish mythology, the four stones mark the burial spot of Scéine, the wife of the Milesian bard-magician Amergin who is said to have died at sea just prior to them invading Ireland.
About half a mile west of the Caherdaniel village, lies Caherdaniel Stone Fort which dates back to about 600AD. The fort is particularly well preserved with large stone walls.
This recently reconstructed fort dates back to early Christian times around the 9th Century. It would have been built as a defended farmstead and the circular outer walls are over 2 metres high. The inner part is made up of a large roundhouse and a smaller rectangular house. Well worth a visit.
13 miles from Sneem, just off the main Sneem Waterville road you will find the imposing monument that is Staigue Fort. Staigue Fort is one of the largest and finest ring forts you are likely to see in Ireland. (there are others in relatively close proximity Leacanabuaile in Cahersiveen, Lohar stone fort, and Caherdaniel stone fort). It stands on a low hill, commanding a fine view of Kenmare Bay to the south, and is very impressive in size and stature.
The fort consists of a massive circular rampart surrounded by an external bank. The wall is up to 5.5m (18ft) high and 4m (13ft) thick, surrounding a circular area of 27.4m (90ft) in diameter. Staigue Fort shows great skill and craftsmanship in the area of stone building. The technique of dry-walling so well demonstrated here has a long tradition in Ireland. The survival of so many early structures throughout the Irish countryside is partly due to the mastery of the craft of interlocking stones to achieve total stability, even in large building works like Staigue Fort. One of the most intriguing things about the fort is that there are ten flights of steps, built in an X shape, along the circular internal wall giving access to the top of the rampart.
Dating of this site is difficult but it may have been built during the Celtic period and may possibly have functioned as a tribal centre.
Known locally as the The Shrubberies this stone circle lies in the town of Kenmare itself, that said it can be difficult to find. First, find the tourist office and work from there.
The Kenmare stone circle is one of the largest stone circles in south West Ireland measuring 17.4 x 15.8m (56 x 49ft) and unlike any other ring in Muster, this one is egg-shaped. Stone Circles were built during the bronze age (2,200 – 500 B.C.) believed to be for ritual and ceremonial purposes. They were often orientated on certain solar and lunar events, such as the position of the sun on the horizon on a solstice. The Kenmare stone circle is composed of 15 heavy boulders, At the centre is an impressive Boulder-Dolmen with a giant capstone (2m x 1.8m ). Dolmen's often marked the burial place of someone important. This style of burial appears to be restricted to the south Munster area, with apparently just one elsewhere in Ireland.