Category Archives: Extant waterways

Too much excitement …

Posted on Tuesday 1 October 2013 | Leave a comment

… is bad for me, so I haven’t checked the list of licensed marked fuel traders [.xls] for some time. As a result, I may be late in noting the addition to the list of Shannon Sailing at Dromineer on Lough Derg. This is, I think , the most southerly point on the non-tidal Shannon at which boaters can legally buy green diesel.

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

Tagged barge, boats, Dromineer, green diesel, Ireland, licensed marked fuel traders, Lough Derg, Operations, Shannon

Permits

Posted on Tuesday 1 October 2013 | Leave a comment

Access, mooring and passage-making on the Grand & Royal Canals and Barrow Navigation are controlled by means of permits. Bye-law amendments are currently with Waterways Ireland sponsor departments which will enable the organisation to bring in further types of permits and differentiate fees for services provided along the canals.

There are three type of permits in place all with different requirements which enable the boater to suit their own style of boating while remaining within the Bye-laws.

From WI’s website.

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Posted in Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Ireland, Operations, People, Politics, waterways, Waterways management

Tagged Barrow, bye-laws, canal, department of arts heritage and the gaeltacht, Dublin, Grand Canal, Ireland, Operations, permits, Royal Canal, Waterways Ireland

Hands across the water

Posted on Monday 30 September 2013 | 4 comments

Another bit of northsouthery seems to be crumbling around its proponents’ ears, according to a report in today’s Irish Times [which will disappear behind a paywall at some stage]. It seems that, in July, TPTB approved the spending of €18.3 million on a bridge at Narrowwater [or Narrow Water], upstream of Warrenpoint and downstream of Newry (and of Victoria Lock). However,

The leading bid has costed the bridge at over €30 million […].

I presume that inflation does not account for the 66% increase but I am surprised that the proponents’ estimate was so far off. Perhaps omitting the opening span (intended to cater for the small number of tall vessels that use the Ship Canal to visit Newry) would save a few quid.

There is a discussion of the bridge project here and some useful information here; there isn’t here, although you might expect it.

It is certainly true that anyone wanting to drive from, say, Greenore or Carlingford to, say, Kilkeel or even Warrenpoint faces a long drive around Carlingford Lough. What is not clear to me is whether very many people want to do that: I haven’t investigated the matter, so I don’t know, but the main north/south traffic passes to the west and there are crossings at Newry.

A ferry service might be cheaper; it might also allow the real strength of demand to be gauged. Ferry terminals might be constructed by the local authorities and leased to an operating company.

And the service would probably be more useful than the Clones Sheugh: I see that yet another member of Sinn Féin got to ask about that in the Dáil recently, as did a Fianna Fáil chap from the area; they elicited the standard answer. The minister may be hoping that the cost estimates for the sheugh are more robust than those for the Narrowwater bridge.

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Posted in Ashore, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Foreign parts, Ireland, Natural heritage, Non-waterway, Operations, People, Politics, Scenery, Sea, Tourism, waterways

Tagged bridge, canal, Carlingford, Clones, department of arts heritage and the gaeltacht, ferry, Greenore, Ireland, Kilkeel, Louth, Narrow Water, Narrowwater, Newry, Northern Ireland, northsouthery, Omeath, Ulster Canal, Warrenpoint

Not weed?

Posted on Monday 30 September 2013 | Leave a comment

Waterways Ireland and the Japanese knotweed, courtesy of KildareStreet.

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Posted in Ashore, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Ireland, Natural heritage, Operations, People, Politics, Restoration and rebuilding, waterways, Waterways management

Tagged Japanese knotweed, Operations, Royal Canal, waterways, Waterways Ireland

London DUKW

Posted on Sunday 29 September 2013 | Leave a comment

A few months ago I wrote about the sinking of a DUKW trip boat in Liverpool. Today (h/t FisherBelfast’s Blog) comes news of a DUKW on fire on the Thames. Happily, nobody died and there were no serious injuries.

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Posted in Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Foreign parts, Irish inland waterways vessels, Operations, Safety, Sources, Tourism, Water sports activities, waterways, Waterways management

Tagged Dublin, DUKW, fire, Grand Canal, Ireland, Liverppol Thames, safety, waterways, Waterways Ireland

Mountshannon seaplane

Posted on Saturday 28 September 2013 | 2 comments

News from the Clare Champion about the possible cessation of commercial seaplane activities at Mountshannon. The article reports comments by Mr Emelyn Heaps, chief executive officer of Harbour Flights Ireland Ltd.

Harbour Flights

The Companies Registration Office finds four occurrences of the term “Harbour Flights”, all giving their address as 13 Parnell Street, Ennis, Co Clare. One is a business name; the others are:

Harbour Flights (Ireland) Limited
Harbour Flights (Couriers) Limited
Harbour Flights (BES Nominees) Limited.

According to the B1 Annual Return for Harbour Flights (Ireland) Limited to 30 September 2012 [the most recent available], the directors of the company are:

Ronan Connolly of Ennis, Co Clare, who is the Secretary; he holds seven other directorships of companies, two of which are Harbour Flights (Couriers) Limited and Harbour Flights (BES Nominees) Limited
Emelyn Heaps of Tulla, Co Clare; he holds nine other directorships of companies, two of which are Harbour Flights (Couriers) Limited and Harbour Flights (BES Nominees) Limited.

In the Clare Champion article, Mr Heaps “said the four directors and five shareholders will meet this weekend”; it is to be presumed that the two extra directors have recently joined the Board. The B1 return does say that the company had five shareholders:

Mr Heaps with 300000 ordinary shares
Mr Connolly with 300000 ordinary shares
Mr Adam Cronin of Cobh, Co Cork with 300000 ordinary shares
Mr Stewart Curtis of Bodyke, Co Clare with 100000 ordinary shares
Harbour Flights (BES Nominees) Limited with 4152 “A” ordinary shares.

The company’s authorised share capital is €105000 made up of half a million “A” ordinary shares at 1c and ten million ordinary shares, also at 1c; the issued share capital is €10041.52, of which €41.52 is the “A” ordinary shares and the rest the one million ordinary shares at 1c.

The financial statement of Harbour Flights (Ireland) Limited

The company has lodged abridged financial statements for the year ending 31 December 2011 [they refer to the company as Harbour Flights Limited, omitting “(Ireland)”].

The independent auditor said:

There is an excess of liabilities over assets, as stated in the Balance Sheet, and, in our opinion, on that basis there did exist at 31 December 2011 a financial situation which under Section 40(1) of the Companies (Amendment) Act 1983 requires the convening of an extraordinary general meeting of the company.

The abridged balance sheet shows a loss of €103944 in 2010 and €295130 in 2011. The Capital and Reserves section showed

Called up share capital 10042
Share premium account 26946
Profit and loss account (295130)
Shareholders’ funds (258142).

The other two companies

The balance sheet of Harbour Flights (BES Nominees) Limited as at 31 December 2011 showed current assets of 100 financed by called up share capital of 100. The company had two directors, Mr Connolly and Mr Heaps, and two shareholders, Mr Connolly and Mr Heaps, each with 50 shares.

The balance sheet of Harbour Flights (Couriers) Limited as at 31 December 2011 showed current assets of 100 financed by called up share capital of 100. The company had four directors, Messrs Connolly, Cronin, Curtis and Heaps, and four shareholders, the same four people, each with 25 shares.

Almost 21 months have passed since then and it is possible that all three companies have prospered greatly since 31 December 2011, especially after flights began in July 2013.

Operations

In January 2013 the Irish Independent reported that the company hoped to acquire a seaplane and its own website suggests that it made its first flight in July 2013 and intended to carry 10000 passengers in its first year. However, it seems that the Air Operator Certificate is held by National Flight Centre, Dublin, which says it will be operating the floatplane (seaplane) “in conjunction with Harbour Flights“.

I know nothing of aeroplanes, but the plane seems to be EI-CFP, a Cessna 172, which is said to carry three passengers. Assuming a seven-month tourist season (April to October) and seven-day-a-week operation, there are 214 days available for carrying passengers. The target of 10000 passengers a year would mean carrying 47 passengers a day, which means 16 flights a day, every day.

However, the first year’s operations do not seem to have started until 10 July, leaving only 113 days to carry 10000 passengers. That would mean 89 passengers a day, which would require 30 flights. The shortest flight time is 20 minutes (at €85 a head; longer flights are available) but I imagine that at least ten minutes are required at start and finish for boarding, so the operation must have been working 20-hour days all summer. I haven’t been in Mountshannon for some time, so I was unaware of the frenetic level of activity, but it must have been exciting.

addendum

I see that RTÉ reported, on 3 September 2013, a “test flight” to Galway. Such “test flights” have taken place to other locations, eg Cork, although it is not clear what distinguishes a test flight from, say, a marketing opportunity. RTÉ said that the flight was by a Cessna 206, which takes five passengers, but the photo shows EI-CFP, which is not (as far as I can tell) a Cessna 206 but a smaller Cessna 172.

There have been earlier announcements of services, eg to Limerick, where services were to begin in summer 2011. This website mentions an earlier proposed start. Some folk don’t seem confident of the soundness of the original business model.

Lakeland Seaplane Tours, based on Lough Erne, seems to have ceased operations.

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

Tagged boats, Clare, Fergus, floatplane, Harbour Flights, Ireland, jetties, Lough Derg, Mountshannon, Operations, seaplane, Shannon, waterways, Waterways Ireland

Eel update

Posted on Thursday 26 September 2013 | Leave a comment

Thanks to KildareStreet.ie for drawing our attention to a useful update, in a Dáil written answer, on the state of Ireland’s eels and the eel management plan.

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Posted in Economic activities, Extant waterways, Foreign parts, Ireland, Irish waterways general, Natural heritage, Operations, People, Politics, Sea, Shannon, Sources, The fishing trade, waterways, Waterways management

Tagged Barrow, eels, Ireland, Shannon, Suir

The [non-]Royal Lough Ree Yacht Club

Posted on Thursday 26 September 2013 | 4 comments

Devoted as this site is to the memory of Her late Majesty Victoria, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Queen, Defender of the Faith, Empress of India, we are always gratified to find evidence of Loyalty to Crown and Empire. Along the Shannon, we are never surprised to find such evidence around Lough Derg (at least in North Tipperary), but we had not realised how well-affected the good people of Lough Ree were towards Royalty, even after the foundation of the Irish Free State and its succession by the state of Ireland.

On 28 October 1947 the Lough Ree Yacht Club wrote to Her Majesty’s Under Secretary of State at the Home Office in London SW1:

Sir

I have been looking over some old papers belonging to this Club.

There was some discussion among members about trying to get it raised to the status of “Royal”.

I should be greatly obliged if you would let me know what would have to be undertaken and what cost would be involved. Also would a club in this country be eligible.

This Club which was founded prior to 1836 is the second oldest in Ireland.

A Home Office Minute of 6 November 1947 said:

The whole of Lough Ree is in Eire and it would seem desirable in the first place to refer the letter to the Commonwealth Relations Office on the question of procedure.

In this country freshwater Yacht Clubs are not now granted the title Royal.

Send a copy semi-officially to the Commonwealth Relations Office for observations regarding procedure.

That was done on 13 November 1947. The covering letter said (amongst other things):

There has been no grant of the Royal Title to a fresh water sailing club in England since 1887 when the practice relating to the grant of the Title Royal was not stabilised.

I wonder whether you could let us have particulars about this club; its membership, reputation, and the number of yachts it owns with their tonnage. We should also welcome any suggestions relating to procedure on the assumption that the application will be pursued.

The Commonwealth Relations Office replied to the Home Office on 6 December 1947 with these (amongst other) paragraphs:

I enclose a copy of a note, prepared in July last year, on the general principles covering the grant of the title “Royal” in the various Commonwealth countries.

You will no doubt appreciate that in the case of Eire, difficulty would arise in the application of these principles. It would appear, however, from paragraph III of the enclosed note that consideration would only be given to applications from institutions similar to the Club in question if exceptional circumstances exist.

We feel that in this particular case no indication should be given in any reply which you may make to the Club of the likelihood or otherwise of any application meeting with success, and that they should only be informed that, being in Eire, the matter should be raised through the appropriate authorities in Eire.

On 17 December 1947 the Home Office wrote to the Club saying:

With reference to your letter of the 28th October last regarding the procedure and the cost involved in making an application for the grant of the title Royal to the Lough Ree Yacht Club, I am directed by the Secretary of State to say that as the Club is in Eire, the matter should be raised through the appropriate authorities in Eire.

Ireland at the time had a Fianna Fáil government, led by ~~George de Valero~~ Éamon de Valera, who was not known for being well-affected towards Crown and Empire.

On 29 April 1948 the Club responded to the Home Office:

Sir

Referring to your letter of 17th December 1947.

We have been in communication with the Irish Government + I enclose their reply, from which I understand that they will not interfere either for or against. I sent their letter to the UK Representative + enclose his letter also.

As the Irish Government has not refused permission for the Club to be raised to the status of Royal would His Majesty therefore be gracious enough to confer on the Club the Title of Royal.

On 10 May 1948 the Home Office replied:

With reference to your letter of the 29th April as to the application for the grant of the title Royal to the Lough Ree Yacht Club, I am directed by the Secretary of State to say that as the Club is situated in Eire, the Secretary of State for the Home Department has no jurisdiction in the matter, and can add nothing to the letter addressed to you on the 21st April, by the United Kingdom representative to Eire.

The enclosures to your letter are returned herewith.

The return of the enclosures has deprived us of the opportunity to see exactly what the Irish government and the UK representative said to the Club.

By then, the Irish general election of 4 February 1948 had returned the First Inter-Party government, led by John A Costello and with Seán MacBride, leader of Clann na Poblachta, as Minister for External Affairs. The Republic of Ireland Act was signed into law on 21 December 1948, depriving the King of Ireland of his last functions in the former Free State — and depriving the Lough Ree Yacht Club of its last chance to acquire the Title Royal.

It would be interesting to know what Seán MacBride, who had been boating on Lough Ree since the 1930s, thought of the Club’s application.

The story is not included in the brief history on the Club’s website or in the more extensive history included in the booklet produced for the LRYC/Waterways Ireland Classic Boats Regatta in 2007, but I have not seen Lough Ree Yacht Club: a memoir, published in 1970.

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Posted in Ashore, Extant waterways, Foreign parts, Ireland, Irish inland waterways vessels, Non-waterway, Operations, People, Politics, Shannon, Sources, Water sports activities, waterways