Category Archives: Ashore

Raising the Royal

Posted on Wednesday 3 April 2013 | Leave a comment

I have remarked before that …

Ewan Duffy of IndustrialHeritageIreland and I have both, in recent times, uncovered new information about the history of the Royal Canal after it was taken over by the Midland Great Western Railway in 1845: a period that, because (I think) of the absence of company archives, is not well covered in published histories of the Royal.

Ewan has now published a splendid piece of research showing that the Dublin end of the Royal Canal, from Newcomen Bridge (Lock 1) to Cross Guns Bridge (Lock 5), was extensively rebuilt during the second half of the nineteenth century. This is, as far as I know, entirely new information. It gains further interest from the interaction between different concerns — canal, railway, tramway, drainage — all contending for the same small space in Dublin.

I have no doubt that there is yet more to be discovered about the Royal’s lost century.

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Posted in Ashore, Built heritage, Drainage, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Irish inland waterways vessels, Non-waterway, Operations, People, Politics, Rail, Restoration and rebuilding, Sources, The cattle trade, waterways, Waterways management

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No blue guitar

Posted on Tuesday 2 April 2013 | Leave a comment

The man bent over his guitar,
A shearsman of sorts. The day was green.

They said ‘You have a blue guitar,
You do not play things as they are.’
The man replied ‘Things as they are
Are changed upon the blue guitar.’

Wallace Stevens The Man with the Blue Guitar [1937]

The guitarist has not been active on the Shannon, where there has been no change in the list of holders of marked fuel trader’s licences [.xls].

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Posted in Ashore, Economic activities, Extant waterways, Ireland, Irish inland waterways vessels, Operations, People, Politics, Shannon, waterways, Waterways management

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The fuel on the hill …

Posted on Thursday 28 March 2013 | Leave a comment

… may be plentiful but, according to today’s file, it seems there are still only seven licensed traders in marked fuel on the Shannon.

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Posted in Ashore, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Ireland, Irish inland waterways vessels, Operations, People, Politics, Shannon, Sources, Tourism, Water sports activities, waterways, Waterways management

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Stands the church clock at ten to three?

Posted on Monday 25 March 2013 | Leave a comment

No, but the number of licensed sellers of green diesel along the Shannon stands at seven.

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Posted in Ashore, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Ireland, Irish inland waterways vessels, Operations, Politics, Shannon, Tourism, Water sports activities, waterways, Waterways management

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The Charles Wye Williams bridge campaign

Posted on Friday 22 March 2013 | 1 comment

Dublin City Council has published its call for proposals for naming the new bridge across the Liffey. According to RTE, various bolshies and literary types have been suggested, as though we didn’t have enough of them (and of politicians too). Accordingly, I have submitted an application suggesting that the bridge be named after a successful entrepreneur who understood technology and created employment: Charles Wye Williams, the Father of the Shannon, whose fleet of nine steamers and fifty-two barges gave us the Shannon as we know it today.

I will be happy to send a copy (PDF) of my application to anyone who is willing to support it.

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Posted in Ashore, Built heritage, Charles Wye Williams, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Irish inland waterways vessels, Operations, People, Politics, Rail, Restoration and rebuilding, Shannon, shannon estuary, Sources, Steamers, The cattle trade, waterways, Waterways management

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Weather and water levels

Posted on Friday 22 March 2013 | Leave a comment

Have a look at the water level at Banagher Bridge. As I write at 0823 on 20130322, the latest data is 23 minutes old. The level has been falling for the last five weeks, but are there already signs of an uptick? (Or am I assuming there should be one after last night’s rain?)

Not interested in Banagher? Pick your own spot.

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Posted in Ashore, Drainage, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Ireland, Natural heritage, Operations, Shannon, Sources, waterways, Waterways management, Weather

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NAMA the boat-owner

Posted on Wednesday 20 March 2013 | Leave a comment

I asked NAMA (or rather its PR agency) how many private pleasure craft (boats) are “in NAMA”, having been owned by individuals or companies whose loans are now with NAMA.

I was told that “[…] the Agency has had an interest in less than five boats; all bar one of these have been sold.”

My guess is that that means four boats, which is not many, although I don’t see why private pleasure craft should be business assets (other than for, say, hire firms) in the first place. I don’t know whether any of them were based on inland waterways.

I have not asked banks or other lenders how many boats they have had in their fleets.

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Posted in Ashore, Economic activities, Extant waterways, Ireland, Irish inland waterways vessels, Operations, Politics, Sources, Water sports activities, waterways

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Lock sizes on the Shannon Navigation

Posted on Wednesday 20 March 2013 | Leave a comment

Some figures.

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Posted in Ashore, Built heritage, Charles Wye Williams, Drainage, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Irish inland waterways vessels, Operations, People, Restoration and rebuilding, Shannon, Sources, Steamers, The cattle trade, The turf trade, Water sports activities, waterways, Waterways management

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The Limerick Navigation: lock sizes

Posted on Wednesday 20 March 2013 | Leave a comment

Here is a table showing the sizes of the locks on the (now abandoned) Limerick Navigation.

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Posted in Ashore, Built heritage, Charles Wye Williams, Drainage, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Forgotten navigations, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Irish inland waterways vessels, Non-waterway, Operations, Restoration and rebuilding, Shannon, shannon estuary, Sources, Steamers, The cattle trade, Tourism, waterways, Waterways management

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Buying diesel

Posted on Tuesday 19 March 2013 | Leave a comment

The Revenue Commissioners’ latest list of holders of marked fuel trader’s licences doesn’t seem to have any new names on it. So, as far as I can see, there are no licensed sellers on the Grand Canal, the Royal Canal, the Barrow, the Shannon–Erne Waterway or that part of the Erne in the republic. There are seven licensed sellers on the Shannon, with none north of Carrick-on-Shannon or south of Portumna. The seven licensed sellers are (north to south):

  • CarrickCraft, Carrick-on-Shannon
  • Emerald Star, Carrick-on-Shannon
  • Rooskey Craft & Tackle, Rooskey Quay
  • Hanley’s Marina, Ballyleague (opposite Lanesborough)
  • Quigley’s Marina, Killinure, Lough Ree
  • CarrickCraft, Banagher
  • Emerald Star, Portumna.

If I’ve left anybody out, please let me know and I’ll correct my error.

Note that the requirement for a licence includes anyone delivering green diesel, or keeping it for delivery, so that purporting not to charge for the diesel makes no difference.

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Posted in Ashore, Economic activities, Extant waterways, Ireland, Irish inland waterways vessels, Operations, People, Politics, Shannon, Sources, Tourism, Water sports activities, waterways, Waterways management

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