Annagassan
County Louth.

Áth na gCasán, ford of the paths

The village of Annagassan sits on the southern shore of Dundalk bay where the River Dee meets the Irish sea, the Vikings established a base there in 841 from which they plundered the surrounding area

The sea around Annagassan consists of a large area of sand which is exposed at low water, the sand is home to razor fish and scallops. These are harvested by a sizeable fleet of small inshore fishing boats using an unusual method to fish the shallow water, this consists of a steel cage which is towed behind the boat, a sea water pump on the boat delivers a large quantity of water via a pipe to the cage where the water is delivered through jets which stir the sand and shellfish into a cloud the sand escapes through the cage leaving the shellfish behind.

On the quay is the remains of a lime kiln the burning of lime for use in agricultural and building was once quite an important industry in Ireland. I couldn't find any information about this particural one at Annagassan, no doubt it was located on the quay for ease of transportation of the raw materials, coal and limestone, there are several other lime kilns in County Louth.

Read our article about lime production in Ireland.