What is recorded here

Boarland Rock 2 is a large V-shaped wooden fishweir spanning the tidal Fergus Estuary in County Clare. Radiocarbon dating places its construction between AD 1296 and 1402, making it older than the nearby Boarland Rock 1 structure. The curved wooden lines funnelled fish into waiting hands while the estuary swirled around them. Erosion now threatens the mud bank that holds the ancient timber in place.

Situated in the middle of the tidal Fergus Estuary, N of the archipelago of islands. Described by O’Sullivan et al. (2010) as follows: Boarland Rock 2 is a very large V-shaped weir. It was smaller in size and ran across Boarland Rock 1. It is slightly different in type, as the lines are curved rather than straight and it is more V-shaped than L-shaped. A sample of wood from the Boarland Rock 2 fishweir has produced a calibrated radiocarbon date of AD 1296-1402 (612+/-29 BP). This date shows that it is earlier that Boarland Rock 1. A return visit in September 09 revealed that the funnel is in particular danger of being completely washed away as the bank of mud it sits in is being steadily eroded.’ (O’Sullivan et al. 2010, 7; Appendix 1, 35, Boarland Rock 2; also Appendix 2) Compiled by: Mary Tunney Date of upload: 8 October 2019

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