Silt Happens, or Finding the Unexpected During the Pandemic

Tending to one’s work during the Covid-19 era is a challenge for all of us. A young lad on an Irish farm was bored—-again—-when doing his homeschooled math homework. When boredom strikes young Cathal McDonagh, he goes for a ramble on his family farm in Lisacul, County Roscommon. County Roscommon, tucked in the northwest of Ireland, isn’t on most pre-pandemic tourist trails. It is not the largest of Ireland’s counties, nor highly populated. But it yields a surprising wonder on many levels. And the surprising wonder discovered by Cathal is an invitation to all of us to use the pandemic as an opportunity to look around, appreciate the land and waterscapes of our world and use the past as a tonic for the present.

Shod in Wellington boots, the Irish schoolboy was walking along the edges of the lake adjacent to the farm. He sensed something different in the silty, shallow water he knew so well. With the help of his family and the free time afforded by the pandemic, Cathal was able to nudge the remains of an ancient Irish longboat from the familiar lake waters. The boat is thought to be possibly 4,000 years old. The lake holds what is known as a “crannog”—a human-made artificial island once used as a defensive dwelling area for the island’s early inhabitants. Perhaps this boat ferried this early population to and from the crannog.

For me, this find is more than an archeological curiosity. Rather, it epitomizes an approach to the current turmoil in the world. I am trying to discern what lurks beneath and around my home and neighborhood. How does history inform my day? Can I discover something new in my immediate surroundings? What boots or tools can help me explore inside and outside? What possibilities can be found in the monotony of pandemic life? What lessons can I learn from those who experienced the world before? What stories will my own efforts—- personal and professional—-reveal for those yet to come? With the assistance of my kin and colleagues, what can we achieve?

With attention to the present, I hope to be more mindful of the past and open to the future. This hope, inspired by young Cathal, soothes my spirit when I consider the challenges all of us face as we emerge back into the world. May I aim to improve the public health, with its viruses and social ills during this current confluence of pandemic and undeniable inequality. I am not a sailor nor a builder. I am not traversing a lake for safety and sustenance. Yet, like everybody else, I am pulling on my boots to explore my soul as well as my small piece of the earth. I hope to unearth new thoughts and ancient wisdom. Simply put, these days I am reconstructing my own craft of old timbers and new knowledge to navigate waters—- waters made all the more choppy by virus, violence, uncertainty and social injustice.

https://www.irishcentral.com/news/irish-schoolboy-discovers-4-000-year-old-boat