2007:1539 - Raghly, Sligo

Raghly Harbour lies on the south-eastern side of Raghly Point, which juts out on the northern side of Sligo Bay. The harbour was developed primarily for fishing vessels and this remains its principal use, though lately it has become popular with anglers and shallow draught yachts. An intertidal survey and desktop study were undertaken previously by Archaeological Development Services Ltd on behalf of Sligo County Council. The survey found nothing of archaeological significance.
Sligo County Council proposed to carry out a scheme of works, which included repair and strengthening the existing harbour walls, providing increased water depth within the inner quay by dredging, constructing a concrete slipway within the inner quay, constructing new berthing walls and piers within the inner quay, renovating and protection of the existing boathouse and constructing sea defences to the eastern side of the harbour. Raghly Harbour runs west to east with the inner quay being located at the western end. The inner quay runs roughly south-west to north-east.
The inner quay is bounded by the south-west–north-east-running harbour wall on its western side and by a portion of the northernmost harbour wall to the east. The remainder of the interior consists of a semicircular slope from ground level to the harbour basin, with evidence of a former metalled slipway on the northern slope. The harbour deck to the south of the outer harbour is still in regular use. There is evidence that the southernmost wall of this structure originally ran further to the south. A modern wall running west to east parallel to the southernmost outer harbour wall has truncated this wall. There is no additional visible evidence that the original harbour extended further south.
The only building associated with the harbour is a boathouse that sits immediately to the east of the inner harbour. It has a west to east orientation with a large arched doorway naturally facing the sea at its eastern end. The double doors are missing, though the hinge posts are evident. There were originally centrally placed windows in both north and south walls, though these have now been bricked up. The slate roof is intact to the north but the south-western portion has collapsed. There is a large winch at the western end of the building.
Access to the boathouse is via a slipway leading from the arched doorway to the foreshore. This appears to be a two-part construction. The portion leading immediately from the boathouse is well built. Its sides are kerbed and taper in towards the shore. The rubble core of the centre of the slipway is covered with three large slabs. The remainder of the slipway runs from the high-water mark down the foreshore. This construction has parallel rather than tapering sides and has been encased in concrete. The seaward end of this portion has deteriorated quite badly and debris from it is clearly visible on the foreshore. There is a noticeable change in construction detail between the sections of slipway. The westernmost portion, up to the boathouse, appears to be contemporary with the boathouse, while the seaward section appears ‘shoddy’ in comparison. While it is possible that the two sections may be of the same build, it is more likely that the seaward section is a later addition.
The boathouse is shown on the 1837 6-inch OS map and along with the harbour walls appears to date from the early 19th century.
The documentary sources mention that a 1-ton wooden fishing vessel, Maria, was wrecked in Raghly Harbour in 1907. The vessel was moored in the harbour and was wrecked during a westerly force ten gale. No crew members were aboard at the time.
Nothing of interest is recorded in the topographic files in the National Museum and no sites of archaeological interest recorded in the RMP will be affected by any aspect of the proposed works. The closest known site, SL007–028, a ringfort, is located some 300m to the west of the harbour.
The monitoring was undertaken on 5 September 2007. The foundation trench for the new sea wall immediately seaward of the boathouse was excavated to a maximum depth of 1.2m below existing ground level. The only deposit encountered was a mixed gravel with inclusions of modern material. This deposit had been dumped since 2004 and covered the entire foreshore and slipway. The boathouse slipway was exposed and left intact. The slipway was built of uncut and slip stone rubble, irregularly coursed and partially covered with modern concrete.