The Fergus Estuary and Islands: discovering a maritime historic landscape in Co. Clare

This report describes the results of a Heritage Council‐funded research project entitled ‘The
Fergus estuary and islands project: Discovering a maritime historic landscape in Co. Clare',
which was funded by a Heritage Council Heritage Research grant (R00412) for 2010.
The project explored the distinctive maritime cultural landscapes of the Fergus estuary, Co.
Clare, through an intertidal archaeology of the estuarine channels and the shorelines of the
islands found on the lower Fergus estuary, Co. Clare (particularly, in 2010, around Inishloe,
Inishtubrid, Horse Island and Shore Island). The project also had a particular focus on the
archaeology of the Boarland Rock medieval fishweir complex (Fig.1). The Fergus Estuary and
Islands project (2008‐2010) has been remarkably successful, uncovering a range of entirely
new archaeological sites: there are 131 archaeological sites listed in the project catalogue
(see Appendix 1), 127 of which were completely unknown when the survey began in 2008.