there is some evidence that by the end of the sixteenth century new influences were affecting birlinn design. a carving made at arasaig in 1641 shows a vessel with a lowered stem and stern. an english map of north-east ireland made no later than 1603 shows "fleetes of the redshanks [highlanders] of cantyre" with vessels one-masted as before but with a square sail mounted on a sloping yard arm and a small cabin at the stern projecting backwards. two clanranald seals attached to documents dated 1572 show a birlinn with raised decks at stem and stern, a motif repeated in later heraldic devices. if such changes occurred, they would reflect influences from the south-east and ultimately from the mediterranean. the supporting evidence has been criticised for being slight and unconvincing, but there is pictorial evidence for similar developments in the irish galley.