This article is from page 77 of the 2008-07-15 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 77 JPG
WHEN the West Clare Currach Club went in search of Maggie May, there wasn’t a Rod Stewart CD in sight.
The men and women of the Kilkee based umbrella club were instead in search of the old turf boat preserved in the mud near Blackweir Bridge, Lisdeen, Kilkee.
The club members set about ex- cavating the boat, believed to more than 100 years old, last week with an aim to learn more about the old ship.
The group has taken measurements and photographs of the boat in the
hope that they may some day have enough information to construct one of these long forgotten boats.
Turf boats were unique to the Shan- non estuary and as club member Dixie Collins explained, “they would have been no use around Loophead or the other side of the peninsula in north Clare.”
Carrying anything up to a 15-ton cargo, turf boats would have moved items up and down the estuary be- tween Limerick and Clare.
“These boats would bring lime- stone down from Askeaton and turf back up from west Clare. These
boats were unique for their purpose,’ he said.
While the boats move up and down the estuary on the tidal currents, the large sail also helped with naviga- ntOne
These boats developed to meet lo- cal needs and their ability to land on the Shannon mudflats enabled them to unload and load their cargo eas- ily. Floating off on the high tide us- ing tide and wind to carry them up or down river.
These boats were in constant use around the Shannon estuary over a hundred years ago. At one stage 20
of these boats worked out of Poul- nasherry alone.
The Maggie May has been in the sand for as long as anyone can re- member, but the West Clare Currach Club are hopping that some local people may have pictures or extra 1n- formation on the 35-foot boat.
Mr Collins has asked people to con- tact him or a member of the club or email info@westclarecurrach.com.
“We are doing this project so that the history of the boat doesn’t die. We are interested in the social his- tory and any folklore surrounding the boats too,” he said.