Lisroor Fort

This fort is on private property, please do not try to access enjoy our drone footage below

As you turn back west to complete our loop you will pass below this old fort. Lisroor is one of the many beautiful forts that we have in our parish. Lisroor (Lios Ramhar) = the wide/large fort, is situated about 300 yd to the north-west of Burrane School. It consists of a double ring of earth.

Ordinary forts only having one ring and its area being over a statue acre, this would lead us to believe that it must have been the residence of an important chieftain in bygone days. It is said to be the second largest fort in area in Ireland. It is overgrown and difficult to access at present.  It is on Michael Sexton’s farm.

Legend related to Lisroor Fort

Some years ago there lived a man in this townland who was an inveterate gambler. So addicted was he to card playing that he used to bring a deck around in his pocket ready to play in the open field or any other place if he met one willing to play with him. No matter how inclement the weather was or no matter how long the distance was he cheerfully attended every card party for miles around. One night when returning home in the region of midnight from a card party which was held in the Knockerra area (by the old road which still exists and which connects the road passing by Burrane school with the more modern one running through the townland of Tonovoher) he had to, as usual,  pass by the outskirts of Lisroor. By the time he arrived at the fort he felt tired and dazed and hungry. He was astonished to see a well-lit comfortable house in the middle of the fort. He rubbed his eyes with wonder. He then saw a respectable looking man standing at the door of this house who beckoned at him. He plucked up courage and approached the house into which he was invited by the pleasant looking respectable man. The invitation he readily accepted as the night was harsh and cold and he was “dog tired”. The house was brilliantly lit and heated by a large comfortable fire. On a table in front of the fire lay a pack of cards, which were quickly discerned by this night rambler. His host proposed a game of cards with which our hero readily agreed. They were playing for some time when a third party, also a respectable looking gentleman, entered the house and was warmly greeted by the host and introduced to the gambler as a friend. He was invited by the host to “take a hand” and they then played what is called a “three-cornered” game. The card player had a great “run of luck” for some time and had won a considerable sum of money from his host and friend. The cards (as is usual) then “turned” and he began to lose rapidly until he had lost every penny he possessed. In an effort to recover his losses he used his watch and any other valuables as collateral, but his luck was out and he lost these also. His host then proposed that he should play his soul against which his host and friend were willing to stake all the money and valuables which the card player had lost. The unfortunate man led by his unconquerable anxiety for gambling was on the point of agreeing but just then a card slipped from his hand to the ground and he bent down under the table to retrieve it. He then saw that both his host and friend, instead of feet, possessed cloven hooves, and came quickly to the conclusion that his companions were no other than Satan himself and his lieutenant Beelzebub. The shock of this discovery completely unnerved the card player who collapsed to the ground in a dead faint. When he recovered it was broad daylight and he lay on his back in the centre of the fort. There was no trace of the house or of his infernal companions. The unfortunate man made for home as quickly as he could and took to his bed where he lay in a fever between life and death and totally bereft of his senses for a considerable time. He finally recovered his bodily health and with it regained his mental faculties. His first act after getting to his feet was to destroy the pack of cards and make a solemn vow never to gamble again. This resolution, the story goes, he kept until the end of his days.

Recorded by Mr Twomey, principal of Burrane N.S. in c.1938,  from Michael Culligan (Senior), Burrane Upper, aged 85 years, who  lived all his life in the townland of Burrane, for the Irish Folklore Commission (schools manuscript collection) of Ireland.