placenamesMagheraboy
An Machaire Buí
Excavations for the N 4 revealed a Neolithic enclosure, an Iron Age structure and an early medieval ringfort in Magheraboy townland.
The name
These Irish name elements are associated with this record in the Logainm glossary.
An element’s translation is a clue, rather than a complete explanation of the name. Its form and meaning depend on local history and the full Irish name.
Recorded forms
- An Machaire Buí · Irish · main form · validated name
- Magheraboy · English · main form
Place & story
An enclosure beneath the fields
Archaeologists investigating the N 4 route in 2003 uncovered a large Neolithic enclosure on a ridge in Magheraboy townland, southwest of Sligo. Timber palisades and separated ditch sections enclosed the hilltop. Pottery, stone tools and charcoal survived below ground, although the monument had left no visible surface traces. Its precise function remains uncertain. [2]
An Iron Age timber structure
A small circular structure on the ridge provided evidence of much later activity. Its timber foundation occupied a shallow circular trench, with an entrance on the northeast. Radiocarbon dating placed surviving wood between 370 and 30 BC. The excavators noted that the foundation planks had been charred, possibly to retard decay. [3]
A ringfort within the older enclosure
Early medieval occupants built a ringfort inside the much larger Neolithic enclosure. Approximately thirty-seven metres across, it was defined by a ditch and an internal stone wall. Material from the site produced a construction date between AD 570 and 880. Ploughing had levelled its earthworks before archaeological testing rediscovered it in 2001. [3]
Geographic information
- Place type
- Population centre
- County
- Sligo
- Barony
- Carbury
- Civil parish
- Saint John's
- Coordinates
- 54.27167, -8.50659 (approximate)
- Logainm ID
- 1414452 ↗
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Magheraboy. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Magheraboy Site 2 C, excavation 2003:1662, licence 03 E 0538 · Ed Danaher / Archaeological Consultancy Services
- Valley bottom and hilltop:6,000 years of settlement along the N 4 Sligo Inner Relief Road, Recent Archaeological Discoveries on National Road Schemes 2004, chapter 2 · Michael MacDonagh / National Roads Authority
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2025-01-10. How this page was prepared.