Mr. G. H. Kinahan's observations on the Irish crannogs, which now
(1863) began to appear, have greatly contributed to the dissemination
of a correct knowledge of their structure and geographical
distribution. His notes on the crannogs of Lough Rea (B. 58),
Ballinlough (B. 70a), Lough Nahinch (B. 70b), and Lough Naneevin
(B. 118), which successively appeared in the Proceedings of the
Royal Irish Academy, were followed in 1872 by an article on "Lake
Stone-dwellings in Connaught" (B. 214), in which he shows that in
some cases dry stones were substituted for the ordinary wooden
structures and rubbish of which the artificial islands were usually
constructed--a fact which finds many parallel illustrations in
Scotland.
Mr. Kinahan says that Reed's Island, Shore Island, Ash Island, and
Island M'Coo, in Loughrea, are crannogs; while Blake's Island may also
be one. From Shore Island 300 tons of bone were procured, among which
was the head of a _Megaceros Hibernicus_ which measured 13 feet from
tip to tip of its horns. Amongst many relics found here made of stone,
horn, and wood were a few metal objects, as iron shears, a brass
pin, a crozier made of brass, a battle-axe, a cast for a coin, and a
hammered iron vessel.
The only other writer on Irish crannogs to whom I find it necessary
to allude in a special manner is Mr. W. F. Wakeman. Personally
acquainted with Petrie and Wilde, and probably deriving inspiration
from their enthusiastic devotion to archæology, and an eye-witness of
the first great crannog find at Dunshaughlin, Mr. Wakeman has ever
since been a careful observer of the antiquities of his country. His
special attention to crannogology dates only from 1870, but since
then scarcely a year has passed without his pen and pencil being in
requisition to record some fresh discovery in this field of research.
In early times no district in Ireland presented more favourable
conditions for aquatic retreats than the county of Fermanagh, with its
countless lakes and bogs, interspersed and embosomed in the primeval
forests which were then extant. These advantages would appear to have
been fully recognised by the crannog-builders, as we find more remains
of these lacustrine abodes here than in any other part of the island.
The number of crannogs now recorded in this county amounts to about
40, but of course this is by no means the full quota that might be
disclosed by the adoption of a general system of exploration. Such
exhaustive methods of research have not as yet, however, taken deep
root in Ireland, so that the few reliable data of this character that
have come to light we cannot afford to pass over, even in this brief
sketch. The following extracts from Mr. Wakeman's reports are selected
for the purpose of illustrating the structure of these remains in this
part of Ireland, and the general character of the relics left on them
by their inhabitants.