Annagassan

History

Annagassan was first mentioned as Linn Duachaill in AD 841 when the establishment of a Viking longphort was recorded. It is unclear whether the longphort at Annagassan continued under the Dublin Viking regime after 852 since the location is not mentioned for seventy years. The longphort is estimated to have been 1.18 kilometres from north to south. Within this area, the earthwork of Lisnarann may have acted as the citadel. The first material evidence of a Viking presence was a honestone discovered during a field survey of the site in a field near a laneway off Castlebellingham. The longphort itself was discovered in 2010 during a small research excavation. In 827, the Annals of Ulster record that the Vikings attacked the Ciannachta people of Louth and north Meath. These early raids were sporadic coastal attacks by small seaborne forces; however, from the 830s, a new phase was characterised by larger fleets, which penetrated up navigable rivers and plundered extensive inland areas. Annagassan was once as important as the Viking settlement at Dubh Linn (The Black Pool). The modern village is generally believed to be built on what some archaeologists consider to be a man-made polder structure, constructed to provide shelter for the fjord. The original settlement was located further upstream; navigation was considerably easier on the River Glyde in the 9th century before the intervening build-up of sediment.

Most-observed species

• Hooded Crow

  Corvus cornix Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  1,031
• Herring Gull

  Larus argentatus Pontoppidan, 1763 · Aves
  1,020
• Black-headed Gull

  Chroicocephalus ridibundus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  960
• Common Wood-Pigeon

  Columba palumbus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  902
• Rook

  Corvus frugilegus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  901
• Eurasian Oystercatcher

  Haematopus ostralegus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  881
• Eurasian Curlew

  Numenius arquata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  818
• Common Redshank

  Tringa totanus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  790