fairy rath

plural fairy raths

1. IrishartsA circular meadow surrounded by a wall or mound, inhabited by fairies.

   One gable of it was formed by the mound of a fairy Rath, against which the cabin stood endwise[.]

   1834, William Carleton, Traits and Stories of the Irish Peasantry: Second Series, volume III, Dublin: William Frederick Wakeman, page 229

   3 more examples

   A woman of the Speen Tereen tribe, loved of a Peri, was taken away for five months to some fairy rath in Ginnistan, or elf-land, and, when restored, she was a “wise woman,” and had the gift of discovering where stolen things were, so that people came from distances to consult her.

   1834, Arthur Colnolly, Journey To The North Of India, volume II, London: Richard Bentley, page 169

   The poet in a vision sees a queenly maiden of exquisite beauty and grace sitting lonely and weeping on some fairy rath by moonlight, by the side of a softly flowing stream, or by the wall of some ruined castle of ancient splendor. He is at first confounded by her beauty.

   1881, Alfred M. Williams, The Poets and Poetry of Ireland: With Historical and Critical Essays and Notes, Boston: James R. Osgood, page 87

   No wise peasant would hum “The Pretty Girl milking the Cow” near a fairy rath, for they are jealous, and do not like to hear their songs on clumsy mortal lips.

   1883, William Butler Yeats, Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry, London: Walter Scott, page 3

   Synonyms: fairy fort