Lough Gur Crannóg is the remains of a Celtic home called a crannóg located in Lough Gur lake about 15 km from the school. It was a manmade, defended island dwelling from 500BC to 100AC that was about 30m across and likely supported one household. It had a circular structure of large poles on the outside and a mud and woven stick base with a conical thatched roof that had a smoke hole in the center. Residents accessed the island by boat or hidden stepping logs beneath the water.

1. Lough Gur Crannóg
Lough is the Irish word for lake and Lough Gur is a lake about 15 km from our school. In Lough Gur are the remains of a crannóg, a Celtic home. Crann is the Irish word for tree and many trees were used in its construction!
It was a manmade island, built as a defended lake dwelling some time between 500BC and 100AC. The island was bout 30m across and probably supported one household. It was circular with large poles on the outside, with a cylindrical base made of mud and wattle (woven sticks, with layers of mud as cement). On the top was a cone shaped roof made of reeds that grew around the lake. There was a hole in the centre of the roof to let smoke filter out.
There were two methods of reaching the lake dwelling. One, by boat created by hollowing out a log, or secondly by a clever use of stepping logs. These were hidden beneath the water and only those that lived on the island know the sequence of the stepping logs.
The island still remains to this day!