What is recorded here

Holly Island is a circular grass and reed-covered crannog rising one and a half metres above the water in County Leitrim. It appeared only on the 1907 OS map and remained hidden beneath Lough Allen until the ESB built a sluice at Bellantra Bridge around 1939. The sudden drainage exposed about ten neat stone mounds nearby, suggesting a forgotten cluster of dwellings rather than a single oddity.

Around1939 when an ESB sluice was inserted into the Shannon at the point where it leaves Lough Allen at Bellantra Bridge, about 10 neat circular or oval mounds of stone came to light in Derrintober townland (Faughnan 1944, No. 147). About eight possible crannogs were also noted on the Roscommon side, and Holly Island, named only on the 1907 edition of the OS 6-inch map, is described in a pencil notation as a crannog on the NMI set of 1835 OS 6-inch maps. A circular grass and reed-covered area (diam. c. 25m) rises above the water (H 1.5m). Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of upload: 19 December, 2016

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