Tag Archives: turf

Killaloe and Ballina

Nice to see they’re going to get a Discover Day.

The Ballycuirke Canal and Lough Corrib

Thanks to Padhraic Conneally, who left a Comment that started the hunt, and to Zara Brady (IWAI Corrib), who visited the site to ask about something else entirely, and finally to Trevor Northage of AnglingCharts.com, who provided the name and other information, we now have two extra Galway waterways to add to the list. They’re both covered, with maps, on this page, although only the larger, the Ballycuirke Canal, gets its name in the heading.

I would welcome more information about both canals. It seems that the Ballycuirke was built for drainage but also used for transport; I would be glad to know more about such transport.

Life beside the Grand Canal

Brigid Maguire’s Tales on the Co Kildare Online Electronic History Journal.

Annoying the neighbours

It would be unfair to condemn the proposed opening of a canal to Clones without also condemning the proposed reopening of the Park Canal in Limerick (and the Newry, when I get around to it). The link is to a top-level page; the first substantive page has a lead to the second, the second to the third and so on up to the fifth.

The Limerick Navigation

As a preliminary to increasing coverage of the old Limerick Navigation, I have improved the section’s top-level page. I added maps of the separate sections of the navigation and distances (in eighths of miles) from Prothero and Clark.

 

Kildare Archaeological Society

The Kildare Archaeological Society’s programme for 2012 is available on the Co. Kildare Online Electronic History Journal website (which, incidentally, has a useful RSS feed). Its Heritage Week outing in August 2012 is waterway-based:

Sunday 26th August, 3.00 pm – Heritage Week Outing

Robertstown, the Grand Canal and Lowtown Lock

Guided walk by Karen Gorey.

Meet at the Holiday village Car Park, Robertstown. No Charge.

 

 

Build Ballylongford

The Irish Examiner reports on the proposed LNG storage terminal here. Richard Tol provides an informed view here. The objectors’ site is here. I note from the Examiner report that they say:

Shannon LNG is hoping to make millions of euro profits every year with state support at the consumers’ expense at time of increasing fuel poverty.

Unfortunately the report did not say why a wish to make profits is to be deprecated or why it is a bad idea to increase fuel supplies and security “at time of increasing fuel poverty” but perhaps the extensive bogs, whose product was exported through Saleen, are still available.

Lough Derg 1839

Drawings now uploaded. Much more activity in these than in the Lough Ree equivalents, with steamers towing barges, turf boats, the surveyors’ cutter and other excitements.

 

 

Love me tender

Waterways Ireland tender documents are a source of interesting and occasionally useful information. At present WI is looking for tenders for

  • a hospitality guide
  • turf (sod peat) for bank repairs on the Royal Canal
  • automation of certain weirs. Expressing an interest in this one will allow you to get some original (Shannon Commissioners) drawings of parts of the  old weirs.

 

Buggering up the Barrow

Have you ever wondered, as you grounded on a sand bar or fought a current upstream, quite why the River Barrow is so challenging?

Here is a confession (with photos) from the man wot done it — in 1931 ….