Ancient oak boat found

An ancient oak boat, 12 feet wide and 70 feet long, has been found by a farmer working beside St. John’s Island on Muckross Lake in Co. Leitrim. James Forde was pulling old stakes to use as fencing when he made the discovery. The boat was laden with 18 tons of iron ore and it also contained the remains of an ancient shovel.

It is thought that the boat was used in ancient days to convey iron ore to the furnace at Drumisheen and that it sank during a storm.