DERMOT MCCONNORAN has been with Drogheda Coast Guard for more than 20 years and says yesterday’s call to investigate the apparent discovery of dinosaur bones in the River Boyne ranks among the strangest the unit has ever received.
McConnoran, who is the officer in charge of the unit, told TheJournal.ie that they were “very sceptical” when the call came through at around 12:30 yesterday afternoon.
The crew suspected it may have been a prank call but when they arrived at the scene, a short trip west of their boat house on Horse Lane, they saw three people standing on the river bank looking down at the apparent remains.
When they reached the “bones” themselves their scepticism quickly flipped to bewilderment and curiosity.
“We had a good look at it. Then we looked at each other. And we had another look at it. And then we looked at each other,” Dermot said.
It certainly looked like a dinosaur.
Upon closer examination it became apparent that it wasn’t the bones of an actual Tyrannosaurus rex but, rather, an impressive imitation.
McConnoran said the “bones”, which are made of plaster, were covered in silt and looked like they had been there a long time.
As news of the peculiar find spread some locals revealed they had spotted the ‘dinosaur’ as far back as late 2017.
One of witnesses, Bernie Mc Groarty, spotted it while on a blackberry picking expedition with her children in August of last year.
It was the kids that spotted it! It sure looked like dinosaur bones! To be honest we just took pictures and the kids had a great story for their friends about the dinosaur. But we thought nothing more of it.
Mc Groarty added that she thought it was an old cow that had met its end.
A quick Twitter search reveals photos uploaded in November 2017 that shows the skeleton in a less river-worn state.
McConnoran said that the crew didn’t disturb the ‘remains’ so anyone can see it for themselves when the river is low.
The speculation in the town is that the dinosaur is the work of a local artist but how exactly the ‘bones’ ended up in the Boyne remains a mystery, for now.
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