In order to save some money, it might be a good idea to disband Clare County Council. Then we wouldn’t have county councillors proposing idiotic projects (joined in this instance by some TDs) requiring vast capital expenditure (which we can’t afford) to produce zero jobs.
More about Ardnacrusha here.
Posted in Built heritage, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Irish waterways general, Non-waterway, Operations, People, Politics, Restoration and rebuilding, Shannon, Sources, waterways, Waterways management
Tagged Ardnacrusha, canal, Clare, ESB, flow, hydroelectric, Ireland, Operations, Shannon, waterways
Link.
Posted in Economic activities, Extant waterways, Foreign parts, waterways
Tagged bermouthes, canoe
Recorded lock and bridge passages for the first ten months of the year for both private and hired boats.
Hired down, private flat
Because these figures take no account of boat movements that do not use locks, they do not record much private boat usage: sailing, fishing, powerboating, waterskiing and other activities on the lakes.
Recorded lock and bridge passages for the first ten months of the year.
Shannon private boats 2003–2012
In almost every year, the last two months, November and December, saw far more private boats than hired boats moving.
Posted in Economic activities, Extant waterways, Ireland, Irish inland waterways vessels, Irish waterways general, Operations, People, Scenery, Shannon, Tourism, Water sports activities, waterways, Waterways management, Weather
Tagged boats, bridge, flow, Ireland, Operations, Shannon, vessels, waterways, Waterways Ireland
Recorded lock and bridge passages for the first ten months of the year.
Shannon hire trade 2003–2012
I’ve used the first ten months because so far I have 2012 figures for only the first ten months. In previous years, only once did the number of hire passages in November and December exceed 100, so the total for any year is not very different from that for ten months.
I would like to know why there has been such a long decline.
Posted in Economic activities, Extant waterways, Foreign parts, Ireland, Irish inland waterways vessels, Irish waterways general, Operations, People, Shannon, Tourism, Water sports activities, waterways
Tagged boat, boats, bridge, canal, cruise, hire, IBRA, Ireland, Operations, Shannon
In February 2011 I drew attention to the discrimination against the owners of camper vans and to the attempts of the RVRC, the Recreational Vehicle Rights Campaign, to end this discrimination:
We seek the provision of free facilities for camper-vans. We want a cross-border body of our own, RVways Ireland.
We have adopted Dana Lyons’s song RV as our anthem; you can listen to it free here (and while you’re at it see the animations of his best-known song here).
But things have got worse: Waterways Ireland has made up new signs specifically aimed at camper vans, forcing them to park in outer darkness, away from the loos and the floating white plastic whatsits.
Discrimination!
We are not consoled by the suggestion that there is no discrimination because Waterways Ireland is banning the floating white plastic whatsits from the same area. They at least can float, but camper vans should not be surrounded by water and ducks.
Camper, water, ducks
Posted in Ashore, Built heritage, Drainage, Economic activities, Extant waterways, Ireland, Irish waterways general, Operations, Tourism, Ulster Canal, waterways, Waterways management, Weather
Tagged boats, camper-van, canal, floods, Grand Canal, Ireland, Operations, RV, Shannon, Shannon Harbour, waterways, Waterways Ireland
Unidentified GRP boat
Jemmy X
Scallywag
Scalpa
All photos taken 6 December 2012.
Meelick Weir today
Almost level.
Posted in Ashore, Built heritage, Drainage, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Non-waterway, Operations, People, Politics, Shannon, waterways, Waterways management, Weather
Tagged canal, ESB, farmers, floods, flow, Galway, Ireland, lock, Lough Derg, Meelick, Offaly, Operations, Shannon, Victoria Lock, water level, waterways, Waterways Ireland, weir
Learned Readers will be aware that you can moor cheaply for the winter in a Waterways Ireland Shannon harbour; see Marine Notive 111/2012 about half way down this page.
Now, anyone paying commercial rates in a Shannon marina will tell you that WI’s charges represent extremely good value: cheaper even than a year’s canals permit.
But I have noted recently that there seem to be only four boats in Dromineer for the winter). Pottering about today, I found Portumna Castle Harbour deserted.
Portumna Castle Harbour December 2012
Terryglass had more boats, but most of them are on the county council’s jetty with only seven on the Waterways Ireland extension.
Terryglass December 2012
There were only four boats on the west bank below the bridge in Portumne. There were a few more in Connaught Harbour, but all in all the numbers were lower than I had expected. And I don’t think they’re in Shannon Harbour, which seemed to have fewer boats than usual.
So have boat-owners found that their insurers won’t cover them if they are not in supervised marinas, or out of the water, for the winter? Are private marinas, especially those that can haul boats out of the water, more crowded than usual? Or has the number of boats decreased even more drastically than I had imagined?
I don’t know. Readers’ observations welcome.
Posted in Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Ireland, Irish inland waterways vessels, Operations, Shannon, Water sports activities, Waterways management
Tagged boat owner, boats, Clare, Galway, Grand Canal, haul out, insurance, Ireland, Limerick, Lough Derg, marina, Offaly, Operations, Shannon, Tipperary, vessels, waterways, Waterways Ireland
I and others have commented on WI’s cutting of trees along the banks of the Grand Canal. One aspect that didn’t strike me until today is that, if you didn’t remove waterside trees, you wouldn’t be able to insert new mooring posts.
Above Lock 34
Looking back up from the lock
Close-up of reed-cutting tractor
Below Lock 34
Compared with the old black and white bollards, the new lack a certain je ne sais quoi, but I suppose they could be painted if people paid up.
Posted in Ashore, Built heritage, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Ireland, Natural heritage, Operations, Scenery, waterways, Waterways management, Weather
Tagged boats, bollard, bridge, canal, Grand Canal, Ireland, mooring, Operations, tractor, tree, waterways, Waterways Ireland
Irish waterways history 