Category Archives: Forgotten navigations

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

Tagged Abbey River, Annaghbeg, Ardnacrusha, barge, boats, bridge, canal, Clare, clonlara, Cussane, Errina, ESB, estuary, flooded area, floods, flow, Gillogue, Ireland, jetties, Killaloe, Limerick, lock, lost, Lough Derg, Monaskeha, Moys, Newtown, O'Briensbridge, Operations, Park, Parteen Villa Weir, Plassey, quay, Shannon, steamer, turf, vessels, water level, waterways, Waterways Ireland, weir

Mark Twain and the Cammoge drownings of 1849

Posted on Wednesday 6 March 2013 | 3 comments

Mark Twain wrote:

There is something fascinating about science. One gets such wholesale returns of conjecture out of such a trifling investment of fact.

I have indulged in just such conjecture about the design of the ferry boat in use at Cammoge in 1849, crossing the outlet from Poulnasherry Bay, west of Kilrush on the Shannon estuary. The news reports of the time give very little information about the design of the boat, and the reliability of that information is questionable, which makes my speculation even more dangerous. Nonetheless, I thought it might be useful to set out some thoughts on the subject in the hope that other folk, who know more about the background, the location or naval architecture than I do, might be able to help to clarify the design.

Posted in Drainage, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Forgotten navigations, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Irish inland waterways vessels, Operations, People, Politics, Restoration and rebuilding, Scenery, Shannon, shannon estuary, Sources, The turf trade, waterways, Weather

Tagged 1849, boats, Cammoge, Clare, Commogue, drown, estuary, famine, ferry, floods, flow, horse boat, Ireland, Kilrush, Limerick, Operations, Poulnasherry, quay, Shannon, turf, vessels, workboat

News from the Suir

Posted on Friday 1 March 2013 | 2 comments

Some chap from Limerick has been quoted in the Nationalist (Clonmel) as supporting South Tipperary County Council’s proposed taking in charge of the towing-path between Carrick-on-Suir and Clonmel.

And Carrick-on-Suir River Rescue needs help raising funds to buy a premises.

Posted in Ashore, Built heritage, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Forgotten navigations, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Irish inland waterways vessels, Irish waterways general, Natural heritage, Operations, People, Restoration and rebuilding, Scenery, Sources, Suir, Tourism, Water sports activities, waterways, Waterways management

Tagged boats, Carrick-on-Suir, Clonmel, floods, flow, Ireland, Knocknagow, Nationalist, Operations, quay, River Rescue, Sir Thomas's bridge, Suir, vessels, waterways, workboat

Mystery solved

Posted on Wednesday 27 February 2013 | Leave a comment

Nobody tried the Spot the canal I set the other day, so I must now reveal that the eel weir shown is at the upper end of the Cong Canal. There are many photos and maps on that page.

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Posted in Ashore, Built heritage, Drainage, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Forgotten navigations, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Natural heritage, Non-waterway, Operations, Rail, Sources, Steamers, Tourism, waterways

Tagged Ashford, boats, bridge, canal, Cong, floods, flow, Ireland, jetties, lock, lost, Lough Corrib, Lough Mask, MacMahon, mill, navigation, Operations, quay, Roberts, vessels, water level, waterways, weir

Spot the canal

Posted on Saturday 23 February 2013 | 3 comments

People whom I’ve told where I was going today are barred from this quiz ….

IMG_6880_resize

Upstream end

Of which Irish canal is this the upstream end? (The structure is a now-disused eel weir.)

Posted in Ashore, Built heritage, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Forgotten navigations, Industrial heritage, Ireland, The fishing trade, waterways

Tagged boats, canal, flow, Ireland, waterways

The Dublin to Galway ship canal

Posted on Friday 22 February 2013 | Leave a comment

Another h/t to Ewan Duffy for the link to this Galway Independent article about the proposed Dublin to Galway ship canal. I was impressed to note that it covers Edward Watkin‘s late nineteenth century for a Dublin to Galway ship canal, which would save transatlantic steamers from having to go north or south of Ireland when travelling between Britain and America. It was, of course, a completely insane proposal; as some folk pointed out at the time, only Liverpool steamers found Ireland an obstacle and, being capable of 20 knots or so, might actually lose time by having to travel at 3 knots and through locks on a canal instead of steaming north or south about.

Incidentally, the article mentions the Panama Canal, which joins the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. So which ocean is at its western end?

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Posted in Ashore, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Foreign parts, Forgotten navigations, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Non-waterway, Operations, People, Rail, Shannon, Sources, Steamers, waterways

Tagged boats, canal, Cloncurry, Dublin, Edward Watking, Galway, Ireland, Killaly, lock, Operations, Shannon, ship canal, waterways

Dargan, O’Regan, steam and the Newry Canal

Posted on Wednesday 20 February 2013 | Leave a comment

I wrote here about Simon O’Regan’s passenger-carrying screw steamer tried on the Grand Canal in Dublin in 1850. I am grateful to John Ditchfield for pointing me to an article about what happened next: steam trials on the Newry Canal in 1850, but this time with a lumber (freight) boat.

I would welcome more information about Simon O’Regan or about the use of steam power on the Newry Canal.

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Posted in Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Foreign parts, Forgotten navigations, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Irish inland waterways vessels, Operations, People, Rail, Restoration and rebuilding, Sources, Steamers, Ulster Canal, waterways, Waterways management

Tagged barge, belfast, boats, bridge, canal, carrying, Clones, Erne, funnel, Grand Canal, Ireland, lighter, Lisburn, Liverpool, lock, Lough Erne, Lough Neagh, lumber-boat, McCutcheon, Moyallon, Newry, Newry Canal, Operations, passage boat, Portadown, Quaker, railway, screw, Simon O'Regan, steamer, Ulster Canal, vessels, waterways, Waterways Ireland, William Dargan

Clones

Posted on Tuesday 19 February 2013 | Leave a comment

From the Clones Regeneration Partnership Ltd website:

PROJECT OFFICER » Unfortunately the Clones Regeneration Partnership Canal Officer post has come to an end ….

Though I disagreed with the case put forward by Gerry Darby, I am sorry to hear of his departure. My main criticisms of the Clones Sheugh proposal are directed at the Irish government.

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Posted in Ashore, Built heritage, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Foreign parts, Forgotten navigations, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Non-waterway, Operations, People, Politics, Restoration and rebuilding, Ulster Canal, waterways, Waterways management

Tagged canal, Clones, department of arts heritage and the gaeltacht, Department of Community Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs, Erne, Gerry Darby, Ireland, Lough Neagh, Operations, Ulster Canal, waterways, Waterways Ireland

Wexford

Posted on Monday 18 February 2013 | 2 comments

Here is a great account of the development of Wexford Harbour, with a history of its shipping here.

Posted in Ashore, Built heritage, Charles Wye Williams, Drainage, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Forgotten navigations, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Natural heritage, Non-waterway, Operations, People, Politics, Rail, Scenery, Sources, Steamers, The fishing trade, waterways, Waterways management

Tagged Bargy, boats, bridge, Caarnsore, Forth, Ireland, Operations, Slaney, waterways, Wexford

Lismore to Fermoy

Posted on Wednesday 6 February 2013 | Leave a comment

A meeting was held in Fermoy in 1844 to promote a proposal to make the Blackwater navigable from Lismore upstream to Fermoy. Here is the Cork Examiner‘s account of the meeting.

Fermoy railway station opened in 1860.

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Posted in Ashore, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Forgotten navigations, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Non-waterway, Operations, People, Politics, Rail, Shannon, Sources, Steamers, waterways

Tagged Allin, Blackwater, boats, bridge, canal, Cappoquin, estuary, Fermoy, Ireland, Jones, Lismore, Musgrave, Shannon, vessels, waterways, weir, Youghal