In September 1828, 20 people (eleven men and nine women) were drowned when a ferry boat crossing the lake was holed and sank. Legend has it that a sheep on board put it's foot through the bottom of the boat, and the ensuing efforts to plug the whole only made things worse. There were ten survivors. One of the dead, a young man called Sean MacCoscair , was an excellent swimmer but was pulled down by others in panic as the boat sank. The blind poet, Anthony Raftery wrote a lament to commemorate the event.The plaque was ereected in 1979.
I visited the pier on February 28th, 2004, early on a crisp sunny Saturday morning. There were already a number of fishermen gathered at the pier preparing their boats and fishing gear. I didn't see a single life-jacket. Plus ca change...
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