STREEDAGH BUTTER BOAT
MYSTERY surrounding the ruins of ‘ the Butter Boat’ on Streedagh beach will be solved during the upcoming Celtic Fringe Festival in Sligo this week.
Senior Archaeologist with the National Monuments Service Fionnbarr Moore says that scientific evidence will provide answers to many of the questions that have arisen over the years in relation to the Butter Boat, whose upturned ribs lie close to the water’s edge at low tide.
“Samples were taken from lower down in the wreck last year, and these proved to be good for tree ring dating,” said Fionnbarr.
A specialist in tree ring dating , Dr Aoife Daly, conducted the tests which helped establish the age of the Butter Boat.
But did the analysis of the Butter Boat reveal whether it had any connection with the Spanish Armada ships whose wrecks lie at Streedagh? For the amateur historians among us, the answer is unfortunately ‘ no’. It seems that the Butter Boat met its end two centuries later than the Armada of 1588.
“Analysis commissioned by the Underwater Archaeology Unit has indicated a date and provenance for the boat that ties in with a number of historical accounts relating to a particular 18th century wrecking event at Streedagh,” says Fionnbarr.
But he adds that, while we now know the boat is not related to the Spanish Armada wrecks, the Santa Maria de Visión, the Juliana and the Lavia, which sank in 1588, nonetheless, the Butter Boat is a fascinating story in its own right.
The mystery of the Butter Boat is one of the fascinating topics to be covered during the lecture series entitled “The Armada Trail of the Wild Atlantic Way” at the Glasshouse Hotel on Saturday 24th September at 9: 30am.
Other highlights include the De Cuellar Trek on Thursday along the route taken by an Armada survivor; the Wild Atlantic Way Armada Elektrek Picnic ( Friday) – an electric bike trip around some of the Armada locations; a gala reception on Saturday; and the spectacular Parade of Sail on Sunday from Mullaghmore to Streedagh which will see the Spanish Navy ship the OPV Centinela lead a flotilla of local boats to the wreck sites.