Woman discovers two ancient dugout boats while walking along the Boyne in Drogheda

At first glance, it looked like nothing more than a piece of driftwood.

Lying quietly on the bank of the River Boyne at Drogheda, it was the sort of object most people would pass without a second thought. Just another fragment of wood, washed up by the tide.

But this was no ordinary piece of timber.

A Keen Eye Along the Boyne

A major discovery was made by Termonfeckin native and Drogheda resident Brigid Finnegan, who was out walking along the river at low tide earlier this week. Something about the object caught her attention. It didn’t quite look right — or perhaps more accurately, it looked too deliberate.

Trusting her instincts, Brigid took a photograph and sent it on to me. She remembered that I had discovered several logboats in this area of the Boyne a few years back.

When I saw the image, I immediately suspected that this might be something far more significant — a dugout boat, or logboat, carved from a single tree trunk. I forwarded the details to Dr. Niall Gregory, widely regarded as Ireland’s foremost expert on ancient wooden boats.

A Remarkable Confirmation — and a Surprise

Dr. Gregory travelled to Drogheda to examine the find in person.

What followed was unexpected.

Not only did he confirm that the object was indeed a dugout boat — he also identified a second logboat lying right beside it. In one remarkable moment, Brigid’s discovery had doubled.

An aerial view of Dr. Gregory examining the two dugout boats in the Boyne.

Two previously unrecorded logboats, resting side by side on the Boyne’s edge.

Initial examination suggests that the vessels served different purposes. One appears to have been a cargo boat, while the other was likely a smaller craft used for fishing. Both are thought to be several hundred years old, though further analysis will be needed to determine their precise date.

A Growing Collection of River Finds

This discovery adds to an increasingly significant cluster of logboats from this stretch of the Boyne.

Over the past five years, seven such vessels have now been identified in the Drogheda area alone. In April 2021, I spotted a dugout boat from the air using a drone, followed shortly afterwards by a second example a few hundred metres downstream — finds which made national headlines at the time. See video of that logboat below.

The Boyne, it seems, is still giving up its secrets.

Citizen Archaeology at Its Best

Perhaps the most compelling aspect of this story is how it began.

Not with an excavation. Not with a survey. But with a simple walk along the river — and the curiosity to stop and look more closely.

Brigid Finnegan recognised that something was unusual. She trusted that instinct, and acted on it. Without that moment of attention, these boats might have remained unnoticed, gradually eroding back into the river from which they came.

This is citizen archaeology at its very best.

The Boyne as Archive

The River Boyne has long served as a routeway, a boundary, and a place of life and livelihood. Boats like these would once have been essential tools — used for transport, fishing, and the movement of goods along the river’s course.

Archaeologist and logboat specialist Dr. Niall Gregory examines the boats.

Unlike the great stone monuments of nearby Brú na Bóinne, these wooden vessels are fragile, perishable things. Their survival depends on rare conditions. Their discovery is often fleeting.

And yet, every so often, they return — briefly — to the surface.

A Simple Question — and an Extraordinary Answer

“What’s this?”

It was a simple question, prompted by what appeared to be nothing more than a piece of driftwood.

The answer turned out to be something far more extraordinary: two ancient boats, emerging from the depths of time, thanks to a sharp eye and a moment’s curiosity.

Well done, Brigid.

Anthony Murphy (Mythical Ireland), Brigid Finnegan and Dr. Niall Gregory with the logboats in the background.

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Discoveries like this are happening all the time — sometimes quietly, sometimes unexpectedly — across the ancient landscape of Ireland.

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Because the past isn’t finished with us yet — and the next discovery might be just around the corner.