208 



Dennis H. Kelly, Esq., read the following account of an ar- 

 tificial island, and certain antiquities recently discovered near 

 Strokestown, County Roscommon : — 



" About a mile to the west of Strokestown, in the County 

 Roscommon, is Cluam ppaoic (Cloonfree), the royal residence 

 of the Kings of Connaught, of which frequent mention is made 

 in the Annals of the Four Masters. Of this once royal resi- 

 dence, the sole present remains are, a square, or rather oblong 

 fort, about ninety paces by seventy, with a deep single fosse, 

 covered over with tangled brushwood. Immediately to the 

 south of the ancient palace, at a distance of about 500 yards, 

 is the extremity of the lake of Cloonfree, and nearly joining on 

 to it that of Cloonfinlough, whilst about a mile further on, 

 Ardehillan completes the chain ; and it is the artificial islands 

 in these lakes, but especially that in Cloonfinlough, that form the 

 proper subject of this paper, and any one wishing to more com- 

 pletely identify the locality can easily do so by referring to 

 Sheets 28, 29 Ordnance Survey, County Roscommon. Each 

 of these lakes has one of these islands in it ; that in Cloonfree 

 is situated just opposite to the site of the ancient palace, on the 

 mainland ; that at Cloonfinlough, just opposite to the ruins of 

 a small church, on the mainland, and that at Ardekillan in si- 

 milar proximity to a ruined church, on the mainland. The 

 one with which we are more immediately concerned is that in 

 Cloonfinlough, Cluam pionn-loc, "the enclosure of the white 

 lake," a designation which it well merits, overlying, as it does, 

 a stratum of very white shell marl. 



" The operations of the drainage works now going on under 

 the Board of Works, in the vicinity of Strokestown, have 

 greatly lowered the level of the water in all these lakes, and 

 last summer laid bare the artificial islet of Cloonfinlough, ex- 

 posing the nature of its structure, and a considerable deposit 

 of bones adjoining it, amongst which have been found a large 

 number of very miscellaneous antiquities. 



" The dimensions of the island are about 130 feet diameter ; 



