Interpretation
Tradition claimed that ringforts were "fairy forts" imbued with Druids' magic and believers in the fairies did not alter them. The early pre-Celtic inhabitants of Ireland (known as the Tuatha Dé Danann and Fir Bolg) came to be seen as mythical and were associated with stories of fairies, also known as the "Good People". Fairy forts and prehistoric Tumuli were seen as entrances to their world. Even cutting brush, especially the sceach or whitethorn, on fairy forts was reputed to be the death of those who performed the act.
There are many folk tales about supernatural events happening at fairy forts. Real accidents which happened at ringforts could be given supernatural explanations. For example a man who tried to blast a dolmen suffered a septic hand. The wrecked dolmen was subsequently left untouched.
Other traditions hold that a leprechaun may allegedly know of hidden gold in a fairy fort.
In literature, British author Rudyard Kipling made allusions to the process by which such legends grow in his 1906 novel, Puck of Pook's Hill.
Read more about this topic: Fairy Fort