Boa Island

Boa Island stretches about 8 km along the north side of the Broad Lough and is joined to the mainland by road bridges at both ends. Its Irish name, Inis Badhbha, links it to Badhbh, the war goddess who appears as a hooded crow. In the old Caldragh graveyard stand two carved stone figures: the Dreenan figure, two complete bodies carved back to back rather than a two-faced Janus, and a smaller one brought here from Lustymore Island in 1939. Long described as pagan Iron Age idols, they are now more often dated to the early Christian period. Our sources record no public jetty on Boa itself; Manor House Marine suggests mooring at Lusty Beg and taking the resort’s ferry across. In January 1944 an RAF Catalina from Killadeas crashed into the lough near the island; seven of its ten crew died.