Category Archives: Forgotten navigations

Skew arch canal bridges in Co Kildare

Posted on Saturday 14 January 2012 | Leave a comment

See the Helpful Engineer’s site here (and h/t Industrial Heritage Ireland).

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Posted in Ashore, Built heritage, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Forgotten navigations, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Irish waterways general, People, Restoration and rebuilding, Sources, waterways, Waterways management

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Russells of Portarlington, timber merchants

Posted on Friday 13 January 2012 | Leave a comment

I am indebted to Eleanor Russell for permission to reproduce four photos of the canal operations of Messrs Russells of Portarlington, timber merchants and sawmills operators. They used the Royal and Grand Canals (and the Barrow Line and Mountmellick Branch) to carry timber cut on large estates to their sawmills. One of the estates on which they cut timber was Rockville, and Eleanor Russell has also given me permission to use a photo of Rockville House, taken in 1913, on my page about the Rockville Navigations.

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Posted in Ashore, Built heritage, Economic activities, Extant waterways, Forgotten navigations, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Irish inland waterways vessels, Irish waterways general, Operations, People, Sources, waterways

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Pollardstown Fen

Posted on Friday 13 January 2012 | Leave a comment

Pollardstown Fen is the source (via the Milltown Feeder) of much of the Grand Canal’s water supply. Here is a BBC programme about the sounds of the Fen (h/t John McCormack) and other aspects of the magical area close to Robertstown, Lowtown and the Hill of Allen.

Lock your door, turn off your telephone and spend half an hour listening. Shoot anyone who interrupts.

Since the programme was made, the sound recordist Tom Lawrence has died. His website is still up here.

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Posted in Ashore, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Forgotten navigations, Ireland, Irish waterways general, Natural heritage, Non-waterway, Operations, People, Scenery, waterways, Weather

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Amazing news from the BBC …

Posted on Wednesday 11 January 2012 | Leave a comment

… about funding for the Ulster Canal.

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Posted in Built heritage, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Foreign parts, Forgotten navigations, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Irish waterways general, Operations, People, Politics, Restoration and rebuilding, Ulster Canal, waterways, Waterways management

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Unhappy new year

Posted on Saturday 7 January 2012 | 1 comment

The curved building at the north end of the former Grand Canal Harbour in Dublin continues to deteriorate. Photos taken on 1 January 2012.

Missing slates

This is a protected structure (whatever that means)

Another breach in the slates

My communication to the City Council went unanswered. Laing O’Rourke, the developers, did at least reply in November 2011:

Thank you very much for your email regarding the development at Canal Harbour and indeed the restoration of the old Ryans Building or curved building towards the northern end of the site.

We too share your concern in the deterioration of the building, and instructed our site manager to review the building and propose some alternatives in securing and preserving the building until such time as construction across the site. I will continue to press them on this
matter with a view to getting a solution delivered ASAP.

If you have any specific recommendations in relation to this preservation, I would be interested to hear these.

Kind Regards […]

I don’t know anything about preserving buildings, and replied to say so, but if any concerned reader has suggestions I’ll pass them on.

 

 

 

 

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Posted in Ashore, Built heritage, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Forgotten navigations, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Restoration and rebuilding, waterways

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Annoying the neighbours

Posted on Thursday 5 January 2012 | Leave a comment

It would be unfair to condemn the proposed opening of a canal to Clones without also condemning the proposed reopening of the Park Canal in Limerick (and the Newry, when I get around to it). The link is to a top-level page; the first substantive page has a lead to the second, the second to the third and so on up to the fifth.

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Posted in Built heritage, Charles Wye Williams, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Forgotten navigations, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Irish inland waterways vessels, Irish waterways general, Natural heritage, Non-waterway, Operations, People, Politics, Rail, Restoration and rebuilding, Scenery, Shannon, Steamers, The cattle trade, Tourism, Water sports activities, waterways, Waterways management, Weather

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The Limerick Navigation

Posted on Monday 2 January 2012 | Leave a comment

As a preliminary to increasing coverage of the old Limerick Navigation, I have improved the section’s top-level page. I added maps of the separate sections of the navigation and distances (in eighths of miles) from Prothero and Clark.

 

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Posted in Ashore, Built heritage, Charles Wye Williams, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Forgotten navigations, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Non-waterway, Operations, People, Politics, Rail, Restoration and rebuilding, Shannon, Sources, Steamers, The cattle trade, Tourism, Water sports activities, waterways

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Ulster Canal cost update, updated

Posted on Friday 16 December 2011 | 5 comments

Updated 1500 hrs 16 December 2011

Waterways Ireland tells me today that the latest estimate of the costs of building a canal to Clones is €38 million plus VAT. I asked for more details:

Can you give me a breakdown please? How much is land acquisition, how much the channel itself, how much building locks, how much on bridges or whatever?

And what VAT rate applies?

WI responded:

This information is commercial-in-confidence. For competition reasons prior to tendering we are unable to provide a breakdown.

As “prior to tendering” covers the period between now and the end of the world, I said:

Tendering? You mean WI can afford to hire contractors? I would be grateful if you could tell me the source of your finding and the expected dates of its arrival.

WI was unable to comment ….

 

 

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

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APB: Dudley Fletcher

Posted on Thursday 1 December 2011 | Leave a comment

This is an All-Points Bulletin seeking information about Dudley Fletcher, former Shannon Navigation/Board of Works Engineer. I believe that he worked for the Grand Canal Company before moving to the Shannon. I wouold welcome any information about his career.

 

 

 

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Posted in Ashore, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Forgotten navigations, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Irish inland waterways vessels, Irish waterways general, Operations, People, Politics, Shannon, Waterways management

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NSMC

Posted on Thursday 17 November 2011 | Leave a comment

The Irish Times says that there is to be a meeting of the North-South Ministerial Council on Friday 18 November 2011, with the A5 road on the agenda. Perhaps there will be some news about how the proposed Clones Canal is to be funded.

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Posted in Ashore, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Forgotten navigations, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Politics, Restoration and rebuilding, Ulster Canal, Waterways management

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