Tag Archives: barge

GCD update

Posted on Tuesday 23 April 2013 | Leave a comment

Paul Quinn has very kindly sent on some recent photos of the work in progress at the Grand Canal Dock in Dublin. Two of the photos show the strengthening of Hanover Quay and the third shows the new slipway, which is now complete and in use. I’ve added the photos towards the end of the existing GCD page here.

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Posted in Ashore, Built heritage, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Irish inland waterways vessels, Operations, Restoration and rebuilding, Steamers, waterways, Waterways management

Tagged barge, boats, bridge, canal, Dublin, Grand Canal, Grand Canal Dock, Hanover Quay, Ireland, L & M Keating, Liffey, lock, Operations, Ringsend, slipway, waterways, Waterways Ireland

Raising the Royal

Posted on Wednesday 3 April 2013 | Leave a comment

I have remarked before that …

Ewan Duffy of IndustrialHeritageIreland and I have both, in recent times, uncovered new information about the history of the Royal Canal after it was taken over by the Midland Great Western Railway in 1845: a period that, because (I think) of the absence of company archives, is not well covered in published histories of the Royal.

Ewan has now published a splendid piece of research showing that the Dublin end of the Royal Canal, from Newcomen Bridge (Lock 1) to Cross Guns Bridge (Lock 5), was extensively rebuilt during the second half of the nineteenth century. This is, as far as I know, entirely new information. It gains further interest from the interaction between different concerns — canal, railway, tramway, drainage — all contending for the same small space in Dublin.

I have no doubt that there is yet more to be discovered about the Royal’s lost century.

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Posted in Ashore, Built heritage, Drainage, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Irish inland waterways vessels, Non-waterway, Operations, People, Politics, Rail, Restoration and rebuilding, Sources, The cattle trade, waterways, Waterways management

Tagged barge, Binns, boats, bridge, canal, Cross Guns, Dublin, Ireland, lock, Midland Great Western Railway, Newcomen, Operations, Royal Canal, waterways

The Charles Wye Williams bridge campaign

Posted on Friday 22 March 2013 | 1 comment

Dublin City Council has published its call for proposals for naming the new bridge across the Liffey. According to RTE, various bolshies and literary types have been suggested, as though we didn’t have enough of them (and of politicians too). Accordingly, I have submitted an application suggesting that the bridge be named after a successful entrepreneur who understood technology and created employment: Charles Wye Williams, the Father of the Shannon, whose fleet of nine steamers and fifty-two barges gave us the Shannon as we know it today.

I will be happy to send a copy (PDF) of my application to anyone who is willing to support it.

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

Tagged barge, boats, bridge, canal, Charles Wye Williams, City of Dublin Steam Packet Company, Clare, Dublin, Dublin City Council, estuary, Grand Canal, Haawkins Street, Ireland, Killaloe, Kilrush, Limerick, lock, Lough Derg, Marlborough Street, O'Briensbridge, Operations, Royal Canal, Shannon, steamer, Tipperary, turf, vessels, waterways

Lock sizes on the Shannon Navigation

Posted on Wednesday 20 March 2013 | Leave a comment

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

Tagged Albert Lock, Ardnacrusha, Athlone, barge, Battlebridge, boats, Boyle, canal, Clare, Clarendon, Clondra, Drumleague, Drumshanbo, ESB, floods, Ireland, Jamestown, Killaloe, Limerick, lock, Lough Allen, Lough Derg, Meelick, Operations, Richmond Harbour, Rooskey, Royal Canal, Shannon, Tarmonbarry, vessels, Victoria Lock, waterways, Waterways Ireland

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

Sailing in the Lowtown high

Posted on Friday 8 March 2013 | Leave a comment

WI & L&MK at Lowtown, with pics and map, here.

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Posted in Ashore, Built heritage, Charles Wye Williams, Drainage, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Operations, Restoration and rebuilding, Sources, Steamers, The cattle trade, The turf trade, Tourism, Water sports activities, waterways, Waterways management

Tagged barge, Barrow, boats, bridge, canal, Dublin, flow, Grand Canal, Ireland, jetties, L&M Keating Ltd, lock, Lowtown, Operations, Shannon, steamer, turf, vessels, water level, waterways, Waterways Ireland, weir, workboat

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

Across the wires the electric message came …

Posted on Wednesday 20 February 2013 | Leave a comment

… “He is no better, he is much the same”, as the late poet laureate so well put it. Fuel supply on the Shannon is perhaps of less significance than the illness of one so elevated as a Prince of Wales (despite the Athlone connection), but “much the same” describes the list of holders of marked fuel [green diesel] traders’ licences: I see no change on the latest list.

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Posted in Ashore, Economic activities, Extant waterways, Foreign parts, Ireland, Irish inland waterways vessels, Non-waterway, Operations, People, Politics, Shannon, Sources, waterways, Waterways management

Tagged barge, boats, green diesel, Ireland, marked fuel trader's licence, Shannon, waterways

The 120′ Irish steam-powered narrow boat

Posted on Monday 28 January 2013 | Leave a comment

Read about it here.

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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, Operations, People, Shannon, shannon estuary, Sources, Steamers, Tourism, waterways, Waterways management

Tagged barge, Blanchardstown, boats, bridge, canal, Charles Wye Williams, City of Dublin Steam Packet Company, coke, Dublin, estuary, floods, flow, flyboat, Grand Canal, horse, Ireland, Killaloe, Liffey, Limerick, lock, Lough Derg, narrowboat, O'Briensbridge, Oldham, Operations, paddle, Plassey, quay, river, Robert Mallet, Royal Canal, Shannon, steam, steamer, vessels, water level, waterways, William Watson, workboat

Canal Boat No 279

Posted on Friday 25 January 2013 | Leave a comment

There is a mystery about Canal Boat No 279, which sank in the entrance to Spencer Dock, on the Royal Canal, in December 1873. Actually, there are several mysteries, and readers’ comments, information and suggestions would be welcome. Read the story here.

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Posted in Built heritage, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Irish inland waterways vessels, Operations, People, Sources, Steamers, The cattle trade, The turf trade, waterways, Waterways management

Tagged barge, boats, bridge, canal, canal boat, Dublin, flow, Grand Canal, Ireland, lock, Operations, quay, Royal Canal, Spencer Dock, steamer, sweeps, vessels, water level, waterways, workboat