Category Archives: The cattle trade

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

Tagged boats, bridge, canal, Clare, ESB, Ireland, jetties, Killaloe, Kilrush, Limerick, lock, lost, Lough Derg, O'Briensbridge, Operations, Shannon, turf, vessels, water level, waterways, weir

Royal Canal steamers

Posted on Monday 12 December 2011 | Leave a comment

According to Lewis’s Topographical Dictionary (1837),

The principal trade is in wool, for which this is the greatest mart in the county, its central situation and facility of communication with the Shannon and with Dublin having rendered it the commercial centre of a wide extent of country. The City of Dublin Steam Company commenced operations here in 1830: a steamer plies twice a week between this town and Shannon Harbour, where it meets the Limerick steamer and Grand Canal boat for Dublin.

It is interesting that the steamer went west and south (37 miles, 21 locks to the Shannon, then river, lake and river to Shannon Harbour), rather than directly eastward (52 miles, 25 locks) to Dublin, but its route would have enabled it to serve Longford, Tarmonbarry, Lanesborough and Athlone. Lewis, however, does not mention steamer services at any of those places other than Athlone.

More research required ….

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Posted in Charles Wye Williams, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Irish inland waterways vessels, Operations, People, Shannon, Sources, Steamers, The cattle trade, Tourism, waterways

Tagged Athlone, boats, canal, Charles Wye Williams, Dublin, Grand Canal, Ireland, Lanesborough, Limerick, Longford, Operations, Royal Canal, Shannon, steamer, Tarmonbarry, tug, vessels, waterways, workboat

SS John Randolph

Posted on Saturday 10 December 2011 | Leave a comment

The SS John Randolph, described as “America’s first successful iron ship in commerce”, is commemorated by a historical marker in Savannah, Georgia, USA.

The John Randolph was one of the first six iron vessels built by Lairds of Birkenhead (later merged into Cammell Laird). The other five were built for use on the River Shannon.

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Posted in Ashore, Built heritage, Charles Wye Williams, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Foreign parts, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Irish inland waterways vessels, Irish waterways general, Operations, People, Politics, Restoration and rebuilding, Shannon, shannon estuary, Sources, Steamers, The cattle trade, Tourism, waterways, Waterways management

Tagged Birkenhead, boats, Charles Wye Williams, Clare, Dublin, estuary, Fergus, Garryowen, Georgia, Grand Canal, Ireland, iron, John Randolph, Killaloe, Lady Lansdowne, Laird, Limerick, lock, Lough Derg, Operations, Savannah, Shannon, steam, tug, vessels, waterways

Lough Derg 1839

Posted on Sunday 27 November 2011 | Leave a comment

Drawings now uploaded. Much more activity in these than in the Lough Ree equivalents, with steamers towing barges, turf boats, the surveyors’ cutter and other excitements.

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Posted in Ashore, Built heritage, Charles Wye Williams, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Irish inland waterways vessels, Irish waterways general, Natural heritage, Operations, People, Politics, Scenery, Sources, Steamers, The cattle trade, The turf trade, Tourism, waterways, Waterways management

Tagged Admiralty, Beechey, boats, Charles Wye Williams, chart, Clare, cutter, drawing, Grand Canal, Holy Island, hydrographic, Ireland, Killaloe, Lady Lansdowne, Limerick, Lough Derg, Nutgrove, Operations, quay, Shannon, survey, turf, vessels, waterways, Williamstown, Wolfe, workboat

The far end of the Shannon

Posted on Tuesday 1 November 2011 | 2 comments

Apologies to folk who have left Comments or otherwise communicated in recent weeks: I’ve been away, most recently at the far end of the Shannon and at Greenwich. I am now beginning to tackle my correspondence.

De Wadden

De Wadden formerly traded to the (Munster) Blackwater and is now displayed in a dry dock at Liverpool. I knew she was there, but I hadn’t known that the Kathleen & May, now on sale, was there too.

Kathleen & May

In Greenwich, I saw a bust of George Biddell Airy, late Astronomer Royal, whose work on the tides of the Shannon Estuary is of such great interest.

George Biddell Airy

Posted in Ashore, Charles Wye Williams, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Foreign parts, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Irish waterways general, Operations, People, Restoration and rebuilding, shannon estuary, Steamers, The cattle trade, Tourism, waterways, Waterways management

Tagged Airy, Blackwater, boats, De Wadden, Ireland, Kathleen & May, Shannon, tide, waterways

The Broadstone

Posted on Tuesday 1 November 2011 | Leave a comment

On a quick visit to Dublin, I managed to get a carless photo of the Broadstone MGWR station building.

The Broadstone building

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

Tagged Broadstone, Dublin, Ireland, MGWR, Royal Canal

Glorious Galway

Posted on Friday 14 October 2011 | 2 comments

Book by Meitheal Mara being launched on 20 October 2011:

Galway possesses an immensely rich heritage of boats, beyond compare on the island of Ireland and significant in the wider European context. This book covers not only the well-known craft, the Curachs and Galway Hookers but also the lesser-known ones: the wooden angling boats of Lough Corrib; the ubiquitous Curach Adhmaid; the fishing boats – Lobster Boats, Trawlers and Half-Deckers; the Barges and Hire-cruisers of the Shannon; the Flats, Yawls and Curachs of the oyster fishery; the clinker punts and cots of the Shannon callows, and many more.

The book can be bought from the Meitheal Mara website.

This site has no commercial interest in the matter but I am happy to draw attention to books on aspects of Ireland’s waterways history and heritage.

Posted in Built heritage, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Ireland, Irish inland waterways vessels, Operations, Restoration and rebuilding, The cattle trade, The fishing trade, The turf trade, Uncategorized

Tagged boats, Galway, Ireland, Shannon, traditional

Forts, weirs, piers, power stations …

Posted on Friday 26 August 2011 | Leave a comment

… just some of the things you can see from the Killimer to Tarbert ferry.

Actually, I lied about the weirs, but they were there once. As were the salmon.

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Posted in Ashore, Built heritage, Charles Wye Williams, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Irish inland waterways vessels, Irish waterways general, Natural heritage, Non-waterway, Operations, Scenery, shannon estuary, Sources, Steamers, The cattle trade, The fishing trade, The turf trade, Tourism, waterways, Waterways management, Weather

Tagged battery, boats, Clare, Endesa, ESB, estuary, ferry, flow, fort, Ireland, jetties, Kerry, Kilkerin, Killaloe, Killimer, Kilrush, lighthouse, Limerick, Napoleon, Operations, power station, quay, redoubt, Shannon, Tarbert, Tarbert Race, Tarbert Roads, vessels, waterways, weir, workboat

Championing waterways heritage

Posted on Thursday 25 August 2011 | Leave a comment

O’Briensbridge, covered here on this site, makes the front page of the Clare Champion this week.

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Posted in Built heritage, Charles Wye Williams, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Forgotten navigations, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Irish waterways general, Operations, People, Politics, Restoration and rebuilding, Steamers, The cattle trade, The turf trade, Tourism, waterways, Waterways management

Tagged anchor, boats, bridge, capstan, Castleconnell, Charles Wye Williams, Clare, floods, flow, Ireland, Killaloe, Limerick, Lough Derg, Montpelier, O'Briensbridge, Operations, quay, Shannon, turf, vessels, water level, waterways, Waterways Ireland

Pue’s Occurrences

Posted on Wednesday 20 July 2011 | Leave a comment

I’ve had an article accepted at the history blog. It’s about the capstan at O’Briensbridge on the old Limerick Navigation and the trade it facilitated. There is more information about the technicalities on my own page about O’Briensbridge.

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Posted in Ashore, Built heritage, Charles Wye Williams, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Forgotten navigations, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Irish inland waterways vessels, Irish waterways general, Operations, People, Restoration and rebuilding, Scenery, Sources, Steamers, The cattle trade, The turf trade, waterways, Waterways management

Tagged boats, bridge, capstan, Castleconnell, cattle, Clare, Dublin, ESB, floods, flow, Grand Canal, Ireland, Killaloe, Limerick, Liverpool, Lough Derg, Montpelier, O'Briensbridge, Operations, quay, Shannon, turf, vessels, water level, waterways