Category Archives: Ireland

The Sunday Business Post [paywall] reports that a British energy firm called SSE plc [formerly Scottish and Southern Energy plc], which already owns Airtricity, intends to buy Endesa Ireland. SSE’s press release is here.

Endesa owns the power stations at Tarbert, on the Shannon Estuary, and Great Island, at the junction of the Barrow and Suir estuaries; both are covered on this website. Endesa also owns a power station at Rhode, near the Grand Canal, and one in Co Mayo. It seems that SSE will also acquire options on sites at Lanesborough and Shannonbridge.

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Posted in Ashore, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Irish waterways general, shannon estuary, The turf trade, waterways

Tagged Barrow, Endesa, energy, Grand Canal, Great Island, Ireland, power station, Rhode, Shannon, SSE, Suir, Tarbert, turf, waterways

Shannon traffic figures May 2012

Posted on Thursday 14 June 2012 | 3 comments

Amended to add linear trendlines to the graphs.

Passages recorded at each location in May

Portumna Bridge    635
Victoria Lock    618
Athlone Lock    771
Tarmonbarry Lock 433
Clondra Lock    91
Roosky Lock    622
Albert Lock 826
Clarendon Lock    692
Battlebridge 74
Drumleague    70
Drumshanbo Lock 54
Pollboy Lock    237
Sarsfield Lock       14

Total 5137

Figures courtesy of Waterways Ireland.

Total passages for first five months of the year

2002 14630
2003 14840
2004 13993
2005 12693
2006 12184
2007 14013
2008 12273
2009 11407
2010 9800
2011 9103
2012 9189

Derived from WI data.

Charts with trendlines

The decline continues.

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Posted in Economic activities, Extant waterways, Ireland, Irish inland waterways vessels, Operations, Shannon, Tourism, Water sports activities, waterways, Waterways management, Weather

Tagged boats, Ireland, Operations, Shannon, traffic, vessels, waterways, Waterways Ireland

WI on the wireless?

Posted on Tuesday 12 June 2012 | 2 comments

I heard several ads today on 2RN (or Radio Athlone, as the young folk say) for, er, “fun” on the Shannon and the Erne. Folk were encouraged to visit a Discover Ireland website, which I think is run by one of the bits of what used to be Bord Fáilte.

The site in question might be this one, where the Lough Derg offers include a hotel in Thurles, which is miles away from Lough Derg. The insistence on “fun” and “family adventure” suggests that that site is aimed at the members of the moronic community, and it is difficult to find any information apart from the prepackaged “family breaks”. And I’m not sure that the slogan “Discover Fermanagh: Where the days seem longer …” is a winner: why travel to Fermanagh to be bored when you could do it at home?

But what is most interesting is the sudden increase in the amount of advertising on the wireless; I don’t yet know whether it is matched by an increase in that on other media. I assume that tourism folk don’t spend money unless they are short of visitors. So have the numbers of overseas, foreign and domestic holiday-makers been disappointing so far this year? I don’t know, and the Tourism Barometer for April 2012 [PDF] suggested that service providers were optimistic at least at that stage.

I am aware that Waterways Ireland, which contributes to the lakelands marketing effort, has pulled advertising from some media; is it diverting its spending in an effort to boost tourism, or is that simply a change of policy consequent on a change of management? I would welcome information.

I would also welcome a proper analysis of the success of WI’s Lakelands and Inland Waterways marketign initiative.

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Posted in Economic activities, Extant waterways, Foreign parts, Ireland, Natural heritage, Operations, Politics, Scenery, Shannon, Tourism, Water sports activities, waterways, Waterways management

Tagged advertising, boats, Bord Failte, Erne, lakelands, marketing, Shannon, tourism, waterways, Waterways Ireland

A day at Mountshannon

Posted on Tuesday 12 June 2012 | Leave a comment

Some of the variety of boats seen at Mountshannon on 4 June 2012.

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Posted in Extant waterways, Ireland, Irish inland waterways vessels, People, Scenery, Shannon, Tourism, Water sports activities, waterways, Weather

Tagged angling, boats, canoe, cruiser, kayak, ketch, lakeboat, Lough Derg, Mountshannon, outboard, Romilly, rowing, Shannon, Shannon Princess, vessels, waterways, workboat

Mountshannon

Posted on Tuesday 12 June 2012 | Leave a comment

A mobile canteen is delivered at Mountshannon

What’s happening?

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Posted in Ashore, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Ireland, Operations, Shannon, waterways, Waterways management

Tagged canteen, Ireland, Lough Derg, Mountshannon, Shannon, Waterways Ireland

Inishee

Posted on Tuesday 12 June 2012 | Leave a comment

Inspector’s Launch Inishee leaving Shannon Sailing, Dromineer, in May 2012

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Posted in Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Ireland, Irish inland waterways vessels, Operations, People, Shannon, Waterways management

Tagged boats, Dromineer, Inishee, Inspector, Ireland, Lough Derg, Shannon, Shannon Sailing, vessels, waterways, Waterways Ireland, workboat

John McKeown

Posted on Tuesday 12 June 2012 | 2 comments

There is a short interview here with John McKeown of WI about implementation of EU legislation on Irish waterways.

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

Tagged directive, EU, Ireland, John McKeown, waterways, Waterways Forward, Waterways Ireland

Lagan Navigation: Ballyskeagh High Bridge

Posted on Tuesday 12 June 2012 | Leave a comment

A brief account here, with some photographs and some thoughts on the design of the locks of the Lagan Navigation.

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Posted in Ashore, Built heritage, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Foreign parts, Forgotten navigations, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Irish waterways general, Natural heritage, Operations, Restoration and rebuilding, Scenery, waterways

Tagged Ballyskeagh, belfast, bleach, boats, bridge, canal, Ireland, Lagan, Lambeg, Lisburn, lock, May Blair, McLaughlin & Harvey, mills, Richard Owen, Thomas Omer, waterways

Bare ruined choirs, where late the sweet birds sang

Posted on Sunday 10 June 2012 | 1 comment

The old Limerick Navigation included a section of canal at Killaloe, with three locks. The uppermost, now disused, is still visible at Killaloe; the middle lock (Moys) is accessible by small boat; the third (Cussaun) is under water in the Flooded Area created by Parteen Villa Weir. The wall that divided the canal from the river downstream of Killaloe bridge forms an island whereon are the former eel-packing station run by the ESB, the former goods store (inhabited by Waterways Ireland) and the former marble mill (now an ESB engineering works). The island hosts the Killaloe market on Sunday mornings.

The curious can (obstructions permitting) walk a little further downstream to where the wall was breached, allowing boats to access the canal below the bridge without having to go as far as Moys Lock.

An obstruction

A section of the canal below the bridge in Killaloe ~1900 (OSI)

The west side of the canal, below the slip, was lined with trees.

The trees

May 2008

November 2008

November 2008, with homemade boat shelter

The trees behind the marble mill: seen from the far side of the river in December 2009

August 2010

A fallen tree blocks the canal in December 2010

April 2011

November 2011

Waterways Ireland Marine Notice 86 of 2011

MARINE NOTICE No. 86 of 2011
Shannon Navigation
Lough Derg
Killaloe Canal

Canal Maintenance – Tree Cutting

Waterways Ireland wishes to advise all masters and owners of vessels that tree cutting will take place along the Killaloe Canal banks from the vicinity of the cathedral downstream to the lower entrance from the river
Shannon, from Monday 19th Sep until about mid Oct.

Access to this section of the canal will be closed during this period. […]

Marine Notice 24/2012 of 16 March 2012 said

Works are still ongoing along the Killaloe Canal banks from the vicinity of the Cathedral downstream to the lower entrance from the river Shannon.

Access to this section of the canal will be closed until further notice.

That notice has not (as of 10 June 2012) been withdrawn so it must be assumed that the works continue.