This site’s focus is usually on recent history, say from about 1750 onwards, but Captain Trevor Northage has been investigating inland waterways transport on Lough Corrib over rather a longer period: his finds range from a logboat 4500 years old to a Victorian racing yacht.
Explore the Corrib wrecks on his website here; listen to him on BBC Radio 4 here. There’s a player at the top of the page; the Corrib bit starts about 9 minutes and 50 seconds in.
… is screwed.
That is my interpretation [and not, I should stress, to be attributed to the report’s authors, sponsors or supporters] of the results of the June 2014 report Ireland’s Inland Waterways – Review & Outlook prepared by Tourism & Transport Consult International for the Irish Tourist Industry Confederation “with support from the Irish Boat Rental Association (IBRA)” and downloadable here [PDF].
The report is well worth reading. I’ve been charting the decline in the cruiser hire industry, as indicated by Shannon lock passages, for some time now; a source within the industry told me recently that the decline was actually worse than those figures indicated. The report shows that the IBRA fleet size went from 388 in 1992 to a peak of 533 in 1997 but down to 225 in 2013.
The fleet refinancing problems look to be horrific and it doesn’t seem to me that more marketing (if marketing is taken to be Promotion rather than any of the other Ps) is going to be enough: another P, Product, needs to be redefined rather more usefully than in Tourism Ireland’s segmentation waffle about “Great Escapers” and the “Culturally Curious”. Tourism is good for waterways, but products other than (or as well as) straightforward cruising need to be offered.
And consider this:
Over the past 10 years upwards of €200 million in state expenditure has been invested in upgrading infrastructural facilities along the waterways. The investment has helped to transform the quality and quantity of moorings, navigational aids, signposting. Mooring capacity has been doubled over the period as well as the developments of several integrated harbors including berths with associated on-shore facilities including toilet and shower blocks, picnic and play areas, looped walks, etc. Such developments have taken place at locations on the Shannon and Grand Canal, including Boyle, Clondara, and Killaloe.
No wonder WI’s budget is being cut, if €200 million went to subsidising the Irish bourgeoisie rather than to bringing in more tourists. Of course if the Clones Sheugh were reconstructed tourists would come flocking from Germany, Austria and Switzerland: indeed from all around the world.
And the report says of the Lakelands and Inland Waterways Initiative, about which I have expressed scepticism,
The relevance of the well intentioned initiative and proposed branding to the cruising business was diluted by the large area encompassed by the new regional initiative and the less than adequate resources invested in effective marketing in key source markets. Unfortunately the results of the marketing effort do not appear to have raised the profile of Shannon and linked waterways.
I did think it odd that Abbeyleix got funding ….
This report is a very welcome dose of realism. I want to give it more thought before commenting on individual points, so I’ll come back to it again, but in the meantime I urge everyone to read it (it’s pretty short).
h/t Antoin Daltún
[amended]
Posted in Built heritage, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Irish inland waterways vessels, Natural heritage, Operations, People, Politics, Restoration and rebuilding, Safety, Scenery, Shannon, Sources, Tourism, Water sports activities, waterways, Waterways management, Weather
Tagged boats, Clones, department of arts heritage and the gaeltacht, Erne, Grand Canal, Ireland, Lough Derg, Operations, Royal Canal, Shannon, Shannon-Erne Waterway, Ulster Canal, waterways, Waterways Ireland
Dr William O’Connor has been checking on eels on the Erne too.
… the grass is riz.
I wonder where the brand new fleet of aircraft is.
I would welcome news of sightings of the fleet of (presumably) floatplanes/seaplanes/amphibians that Harbour Flights is to have operating “early in the new year … from [sic] destinations nationwide”.
There is some discussion on Boards.ie here, by folk who appear to know one end of an aeroplane from the other; the later posts on the second page discuss suitable types of craft.
Posted in Ashore, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Ireland, Irish inland waterways vessels, Natural heritage, Non-waterway, Operations, People, Safety, Scenery, Shannon, Tourism, Water sports activities, waterways, Waterways management
Tagged 172, 206, amphibian, boats, Cessna, Clare, Dublin, eagle, floatplane, Harbour Flights, Ireland, Lough Derg, Mountshannon, Operations, seaplane, Shannon, waterways, Waterways Ireland
It seems they don’t live entirely on crushed babies, which is nice.
Dr William O’Connor says that no elver traps are operating on the River Shannon.
Posted in Ashore, Built heritage, Canals, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Foreign parts, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Natural heritage, Operations, People, Politics, Sea, Shannon, shannon estuary, Sources, The fishing trade, waterways, Waterways management
Tagged Ardnacrusha, eels, elvers, Ireland, Maigue, Parteen, Shannon
Yes, folks, the Waterways Ireland waterways are not the only ones that come under the scrutiny of the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: the Lakes of Killarney are in there too. And the managment system was outlined in the Dáil.
Posted in Economic activities, Extant waterways, Ireland, Irish inland waterways vessels, Irish waterways general, Natural heritage, Operations, People, Politics, Scenery, Sources, Tourism, Water sports activities, waterways, Waterways management
Tagged department of arts heritage and the gaeltacht, Ireland, Lakes of Killarney, waterways
Irish waterways history 