The Discovery Programme has chosen a site on Lough Ennel, near Mullingar, as the base for an extensive seven-year study of lakeland sites in Ireland.
The Discovery Programme was one of Mr C.J. Haughey's better legacies to the State; he was instrumental in having the agency set up.
The archaeological research institution is a non-profit-making organisation funded by the Heritage Council to carry out a programme of multidisciplinary research into Ireland's past.
It is charged with making this research accessible to the academic community and the general public.
This week it confirmed that Malachy's Island and the CroInis crannog on Lough Ennel, near Dysart, will be the focus of a seven-year study in what it calls its Lake Settlement Project.
A spokesman said the survey will probably continue for the next seven years and will involve a great deal of work. He confirmed that Malachy's Fort, a ring fort on the shores of the Ennel, and Cro-Inis, a crannog about 100 metres offshore, will form part of the project.
Shortly before Christmas a team of experts from NUI Galway, under Dr Kevin Barton, moved on to the site to carry out preliminary work. The site has been mapped and a preliminary geophysical survey has been made. The team will return in March to continue the work.
In keeping with the ethos of the Discovery Programme, the archaeological team will be accompanied by botanists and geologists, so the widest possible picture of the site may be obtained.
Malachy's Fort was used by Malachy, the High King of Ireland, who died on the nearby crannog in 1022. He had fought with Brian Boru at the Battle of Clontarf in 1014 when Boru was killed.
Malachy later married Brian Boru's widow and became High King.
Local historians believe Malachy may have used the site as a summer home or a playground where he could relax or perhaps as a place for pilgrimage to nearby monasteries.
The Discovery Programme spokesman said the work on lakeland settlements would not interfere with the study on the Hill of Tara, which has been going on since the early 1990s. That was one of the first projects undertaken by the organisation.