The theme of this section is “How does it work?”, “How did they do that, then?” and sometimes “Why did they do that?” or even “Not a lot of people know that.”
Steam boats on the Grand Canal — and a proposal to use boats of 6′ 6″ beam
Why hurry? The inclined planes on Dukart’s Canal
A River Shannon lock: Athlone shows some of the equipment at and around a River Shannon lock, the one at Athlone. It includes photos of original nineteenth-century equipment and some information on operations
And here’s a matching page about Belmont Lock on the Grand Canal
Kilrush Marina on the Shannon Estuary has a lock with sector gates
The Electricity Supply Board operates the deepest lock in These Islands at Ardnacrusha
The lockkeeper at Tarmonbarry on the River Shannon operates the sluices on the weir
A WI team had to get a pump across the river to drain a bund at the weir at Tarmonbarry. Here is how they did it
A hire-cruiser from the Carrickcraft fleet ran aground outside Dromod on the Shannon in bad weather with poor visibility. The rescue crew arrived promptly and towed the cruiser off very expeditiously
Here, the crew of the landing craft Madelen load equipment at the slipway beside Cappa Pier, Kilrush, on the Shannon Estuary, and land it on Hog Island
This is the start of a section about dry docks on Irish inland waterways
The egg trade on the Royal Canal in 1832
Irish waterways history 
I have now started a waterways album on Facebook and amongst the first five pictures is one from Lough Neagh. Elsewhere the West Clare Railway in steam is featured. Am I correct in thinking that the revival of the latter has largely been private enterprise?
While I don’t know the details, and can’t cite sources, I understand that Jackie Whelan spent large amounts of money on the WCR. I may be able to send some more information direct to you. bjg