Creggankeel Fort
cashel on Inisheer, County Galway, ireland
Creggankeel Fort is a stone fort and National Monument located on the island of Inisheer, Ireland. It also contains a later Christian site, the Grave of the Seven Daughters.
Location
Creggankeel Fort is located in the eastern part of Inisheer, overlooking An Loch Mór (the Great Lake, the only freshwater on the island).
History
The name Creggankeel derives from the Irish creagáin chaoil, "narrow stony place." Stone forts ("cashels") of this type were mostly built in Ireland after the 1st century BC. The walls were reused in the 15th century as part of the outer walls of O'Brien's Castle.
The Grave of the Seven Daughters (Cill na Seacht nIníon), also called An Chill Bheannaithe (the blessed graveyard) is an early Christian site associated with the female saint Moninne. It was established around the 5th or 6th century AD.
Description
The fort is formed from two square drystone walls with a cross inscribed onto a pillar-stone. The Grave of the Seven Daughters is the incomplete circuit of a cashel; there are sleeping niches in the walls reminiscent of the Roman catacombs. The foundations of other buildings are also evident.
Nearby is a structure similar to one seen at Cashelmore (Clogher), County Sligo.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Creggankeel Fort” is cashel on Inisheer, County Galway, ireland. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Creggankeel, Fort and cashel, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “cashel on Inisheer, County Galway, ireland” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 22, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q37743162. Authority coordinates are 53.057, -9.518. None of the 1 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Creggankeel Fort”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Creggankeel Fort primary sources, Creggankeel Fort archive and Creggankeel research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Creggankeel Fort”?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Creggankeel Fort” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.