Boa Island

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Boa Island (from Irish Boadhbh, the Celtic war-goddess) is an island located in Lower Lough Erne, in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is over a mile long but relatively narrow and is linked to the mainland at each end by bridges leading westward towards Castlecaldwell and east to Kesh.

In the middle of the island is the Caldragh cemetery where a carved Janus type figure stands 72.5 cm high. Each side features a figure, both of which are joined back to back by an interlace design. One figure is a calm warrior, while the other looks anguished. A similar but smaller second statue was brought to Caldragh in 1939 from nearby Lustymore Island.

Seamus Heaney celebrated the Boa island Janus figure in his poem January God.