Woodbine Lodge & it's Fairy Mound

The 'tea-mount' at Shean Forts

I visited these unusual monuments a number of years ago and it was not till I learned of the significance of similar placenames from the writings of Professor Ronald Hicks, that the importance of the name Shean Forts became apparent to me.
Logainm.ie (the placename translator) does not have this particular site within its database but for every other instance of the name Shean - it translates it as An Sián - which means Fairy Mound.

Shean forts - 1840s OS map Copyright Ordnance Survey Ireland | Government of Ireland

The monuments themselves are listed as two ringforts with a designed landscape feature - avenue between them.

Panorama of the complex together (they are approx. 250m in length)

The first ringfort is described on archaeology.ie as

Situated on level ground in undulating pastureland. A circular area (diam. c. 45.5m E-W) defined by an earthen bank (Wth 3.9m; int. H 0.65m; ext. H 3.26m), a fosse (Wth 10.3m; D 3.63m) and an outer bank/walkway (Wth 14.7m; ext. H 1.35m). The main Dublin to Nenagh railway line truncates the NW quadrant (post 1840). A steep-sided, earthen mound occupies the centre of the site (diam. c. 20m; H 4m). The top of this is dug into to a depth of 1.3m. The sharp profile of the defences, the lack of a causeway or entrance, the very broad outer bank, the central mound which could be interpreted as 'tea-mount', the planting of the site with beech trees and the connection to a nearby possible ringfort (TN021-007003) by a tree-lined avenue would all suggest that this may be a tree-ring possibly modifying an existing ringfort.

Fosse of the first ring-fort - must be over 3m in depth

The second ringfort and avenue between are described on archaeology.ie as

Situated on level ground in undulating pastureland. A circular area (diam. 38.8m) enclosed by a steep-sided inner bank (Wth 2.2m; int. H 1.05m; ext. H 3m), a fosse (Wth 6.6m; D 2.1m) and an outer bank (Wth 3.3m; ext. H 1.05m). Causewayed entrance in NE quadrant (Wth 1.8m). The site is planted with beech trees and is connected to a nearby possible ringfort (TN021-007001) by a tree-lined avenue suggesting the possible reuse of a ringfort as a tree-ring.

The avenue between the two - you can make out the width by the green fields on either side. 

There is also mention of a possible souterrain to the east of the first ring-fort but field inspection has ruled out this possibility.

These descriptions refer to the ring-forts being modified to become landscape features by growing trees on them to create what is called a tree-ring. This is the similar explanation for the avenue between the two ring-forts. Also there is a central mound within the first ring-fort that has been interpreted as a 'tea-mount' I assume for the nearby Woodbine lodge to the east. This would be similar to the 'tea-mount' that was built on top of Dowth in Co. Meath.

Gabriel Beranger: View of the Tumulus or Barrow at Douth, Co. Meath, 1775. (Royal Irish Academy).

So a relatively modern interpretation has been applied to the various features here. The two large ring-forts that were adjacent to each other with very deep ditches were turned into a landscape feature by the addition of two linear banks connecting them together. Then a mound was added to one of the ring-forts and all of the features planted with trees.
I haven't been able to find out who were the owners of Woodbine lodge to see whether they would have had the means to carry out these works, so if anyone can help me out with that it would be a great help. It seems like a pretty big project but I suppose it can't be ruled out.  Perhaps the owners of Woodbine lodge added the name Shean forts to them after they completed the landscaping?

The counter argument is based only on placename evidence - namely that these monuments are older than this and part of a 'fairy-mound'. Could older monuments such as barrows have been modified to create ring-forts and then later in relatively modern times the trees were added to them?

These forts are in the vicinity of a number of other significant monuments, Rathurles (which I've written about before here) is only 1.5 km away and the Rathurles Commons crannogs are just 1.5 kms away (as well) and I have speculated before about them being part of a possible  royal landscape associated with the Aenach Urmhumhan or "The Fair of Munster".

Please note that this monument is on private lands and permission must be sought before viewing.