A visitor to my page on the tidal Barrow is a descendant of ferrymen at Ballinlaw on the Barrow. He would like to find a photograph (or, presumably, other illustration) of the ferry boat and I would welcome more information about the service (eg when it ended).
Ballinlaw ferry (OSI ~1840)
If anyone knows of a possible source of information or illustration, I will pass it on to the enquirer.
Update January 2019: much information about Ballinlaw Ferry from Andrew Doherty here.
Posted in Ashore, Built heritage, Economic activities, Extant waterways, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Irish inland waterways vessels, Operations, People, Sea, Sources, waterways, Waterways management
Tagged Ballinlaw, Barrow, boats, estuary, ferry, Ireland, Operations, tidal Barrow, vessels, waterways, workboat
As I understand it, the level of Lough Erne, and the occasional need to use its only lock, at Portora, are both determined by the operations of the Lough Erne hydroelectric scheme, although most of the lake, and the lock, are in Northern Ireland, while the hydroelectric stations, at Cliff and Cathaleen’s Fall, are both in the republic. The Erne scheme is less well known, and has been less often written about, than the Shannon scheme at Ardnacrusha, so it is good to note that two Ballyshannon men, Dessie Doyle and Brian Drummond, have written a book about the Erne scheme.
Unfortunately it is not clear from Messrs Lilliput Press’s website whether the book has already been published or is to appear some time in 2014. No publication date is given, but on the other hand it is not in the list of forthcoming books, but that list does not extend beyond November 2013. I would be glad to be able to carry reliable information, but I regret that I am unable to do so.
Posted in Built heritage, Drainage, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Foreign parts, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Non-waterway, Operations, Politics, waterways, Waterways management
Tagged Ballyshannon, Belleek, Cathaleen's Fall, Cliff, Enniskillen, Erne, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Portora
The ESB is currently letting more water down the old course of the Shannon, from Parteen Villa Weir through O’Briensbridge, Castleconnell and the Falls of Doonass. This channel gets the first 10 cubic metres per second from the Shannon; the next 400 go through Ardnacrusha and anything left over is sent down the old course.
The result is to help to reduce the water level on Lough Derg while raising it on the old course.
The footbridge in Castleconnell at normal summer level in 2002
The footbridge on 1 January 2014
Before Ardnacrusha was built, the old channel took the entire flow of the Shannon, so it can take more than it has now.
The footbridge in the floods of November 2009
The level is still below that of 2009, when the land around the old channel flooded in several places. But much land is waterlogged: I saw yesterday that the upper reaches of the Nore, the Barrow and other rivers were in flood. And more rain is forecast.
Wouldn’t it be nice if some of that could be sent to Dublin instead? I see that some folk claim (on what looks like a website that hasn’t been updated for a while) that the evil Dublin folk want to extract 350 million litres of water from the Shannon every day; the original idea was to take it from Lough Ree but now it seems that Lough Derg is the preferred source.
Now 350 million litres sounds like a lot, but it’s 350 000 cubic metres per day, 14 583.3 per hour, 243.05 per minute, 4.05 per second, which is less than 1% of normal flow through the two channels draining Lough Derg. There’s a lot more at the moment, and the good citizens of Dublin are welcome to come down and fill their buckets. I suspect that Clare TD Michael McNamara has got things out of proportion.
Addendum: 350 million litres per day, over a lake whose area is 130 square kilometres, would lower the level of the lake (if my calculations are correct) by 2.69 millimetres. If no water entered the lake, the level would be down 983 mm after a year, ignoring evaporation and other abstractions and assuming that the Shannon and other tributaries no longer flowed in and that there was no rain.
Posted in Ashore, Built heritage, Drainage, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Natural heritage, Non-waterway, Operations, People, Politics, Shannon, shannon estuary, Sources, waterways, Waterways management, Weather
Tagged abstraction, Ardnacrusha, boats, canal, Castleconnell, Clare, Dublin, ESB, estuary, floods, flow, Ireland, Killaloe, Lough Derg, O'Briensbridge, Operations, Shannon, water level, waterways
At Leinster Mills, Naas Branch, new year’s eve 2013
Posted in Ashore, Built heritage, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Irish inland waterways vessels, Operations, waterways, Waterways management
Tagged barge, boats, bridge, canal, Grand Canal, Ireland, Naas Branch, Operations, vessels, water level, waterways, Waterways Ireland
The ramp to the pontoons in Dromineer is now sloping upwards
The water level at Banagher has risen about one metre in the past 35 days.
Dromineer people need to drink more wine
The ghost ship is back
Dromineer sans ivy
Garrykennedy
Garrykennedy from a distance
Miranda in Dromineer
Garrykennedy 1
Fewer boats in WI berths this year, I think
Garrykennedy 2
Posted in Ashore, Built heritage, Charles Wye Williams, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Irish inland waterways vessels, Restoration and rebuilding, Safety, Scenery, Shannon, Sources, waterways, Waterways management, Weather
Tagged Banagher, boats, Drominer, Garrykennedy, Ireland, Lough Derg, Operations, Shannon, Tipperary, vessels, Waterways Ireland
Irish waterways history 