Southron folk, though, get an extra two days to apply for jobs: a Temporary Seasonal Assistant Boat Person (Part Time) in Athlone, and Temporary Seasonal Assistant Lock Keepers for all Shannon locks north of Lough Derg.

Ahead of the summit later this month, Government departments have been told to draw up lists of capital projects with potential to create thousands of jobs for which funding would be sought if EU leaders agree on the package at the meeting to be held a week before polling day here.

Will DAHG be able to resist the temptation of suggesting the Clones canal? I’m sure that, since it discovered the project was going to cost almost one third more than it had originally believed, it has had teams of economists busily reassessing its, er, viability (and I’m expecting a visit from the easter bunny at any moment) so it will have its “business case” ready.

Still, there’s a slightly more cheering take on the matter here, where Michael Taft suggests that the government won’t be able to get much money for “stimulus”. I like the idea of using project bonds for the Clones Canal, though it might be hard to show that it qualified as “key strategic EU infrastructure in transport, energy and broadband” despite the Irish state’s delusions.

Seol Sionna under construction

The reproduction 25′ Shannon estuary hooker Seol Sionna will be launched at Querrin, Co Clare, on Saturday 19 May 2012, with celebrations continuing at Carrigaholt (home of the sublime Long Dock pub and eatery) on the following day [h/t dbm].

Canoe at Querrin. The second syllable of “canoe” rhymes with “go”

The pier at Querrin was built by the Shannon Commissioners; one of their marker stones (there are four at Querrin) is shown above.

Whaddya mean, you don’t know where Querrin is?

Remember, if the turf boats had not established the tourist traffic to Kilrush and Kilkee, the Shannon estuary steamers might never have got going and there might never have been a P&O line.

Here is a map showing Lanesborough and Castle Forbes.

Lanesborough and Lough Forbes (OSI ~1840)

And here is Castle Forbes shown in relation to Lough Forbes.

Castle Forbes and Lough Forbes (OSI ~1900)

According to a programme reproduced on page 200 of Ruth Delany’s The Shannon Navigation (Lilliput Press, Dublin 2008), Lord Granard (Right Hon the Earl of Granard, KP, GCVO) was Commodore of the 1929 Lough Forbes Regatta, held under the auspices of the North Shannon Yacht Club Flag and the Motor Yacht Club of Ireland. Page 197 of the same work has a photo of a North Shannon Yacht Club regatta on Lough Boderg in 1903; it includes a large steam yacht, but with a white rather than a black hull.

The Fairy Queen

Page 181 of the same work has a photo of a passenger steamer, the Fairy Queen, one of the six operated by the Shannon Development Company, which was set up in 1897: the Fairy Queen and the Shannon Queen worked the confined waters of the Shannon above Athlone. The same photo of the Fairy Queen can be seen here.

To my eye, the steamer in the Lanesborough photo looks rather like the Fairy Queen, although I don’t think I could go so far as to suggest that they are one and the same. They’re shown from different angles and, anyway, similarities between steamers of the same era are to be expected. The reason I comment on the matter is that, while looking into the history of the Fairy Queen, I found that the invaluable Clydebuilt Ships Database had a photo of the 1893 Fairy Queen that served on the Shannon (not to be confused with her 1897 replacement). And, again to my eye, the Fairy Queen in the Scottish photo does not seem to be the same as that in the Irish photo. I would welcome other people’s comments on the matter.

The squirrels

The story is here. There is more on the family’s collection of animals here.

The Broadstone, from The Tourist’s Illustrated Hand-Book for Ireland 3rd ed David Bryce, London 1854

 UNPRECEDENTED SPEED ATTAINED IN TRAVELLING UPON THE ROYAL CANAL

The Court of Directors of the Royal Canal hereby give Notice, that the present Day-Boat will cease running on Friday, the 6th, and that an Iron-Boat, capable of conveying Seventy Passengers, will leave the Broadstone harbour, at Nine o’Clock, on the Morning of Saturday, the 7th inst, for Mullingar, where it will arrive at Five o’Clock in the Evening; and Notice is further given, that at Nine o’Clock upon each Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, a Boat will leave Dublin for Mullingar, and return from thence at the same hour upon Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. By the foregoing arrangement a saving of three hours and a half will be effected. The Night-Boat will, for the present, continue to leave Dublin for Longford, each day, at Two o’Clock, and a Boat will depart from thence, for Dublin, each Morning, at Eleven o’Clock.

By Order,
SAMUEL DRAPER, Secretary.
Royal Canal-house, 2d Dec., 1833.

 

The curved building in March 2011 …

… and in May 2012

No sign of any improvement or of anything done to protect the building.