Dark Sky Ancient Fort

Staigue Fort is located in a hidden mountain valley near the village of Sneem on the Ring of Kerry and its name in Irish translates to the ‘fort of the steps’. It commands spectacular sweeping views out across Kenmare Bay and ranks as one of our country’s greatest ancient forts.  It was probably built for a local chieftain sometime in the 5th century AD. This incredible feat of engineering was built with rough stone and no mortar and the granite lintelled doorway leads to an elaborate network of stairways, terraces, and corbelled cells. The fort is also attracting the attention of stargazers as this area has recently been accredited as an International Dark-Sky Gold Tier Reserve. This is only one of three places on the globe to get the award and the only one in the northern hemisphere – the other 2 being Namibia and New Zealand.