Tag Archives: DDDA

Living on boats in Dublin

Posted on Friday 12 July 2013 | Leave a comment

Clare Daly [Socialist, Dublin North] elicited some information via written answers on 10 July 2013; h/t KildareStreet.

Clare Daly: To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the recommendations of the Waterways Ireland consultation process on utilising Dublin’s waterways and the reason recommendations for the development for spaces for houseboats were not implemented; and his plans for same.

Jimmy Deenihan [FG; Kerry North/West Limerick]: I wish to advise the Deputy that Waterways Ireland is committed to utilising Ireland’s waterways to the greatest extent possible. In relation to the Deputy’s query regarding utilising Dublin’s waterways for the development for spaces for houseboats, I am informed that Waterways Ireland has plans to develop provision for houseboats in the Dublin City area on the existing floating moorings at Grand Canal Dock in Ringsend.

The Deputy should be aware that when Waterways Ireland applied to the Dublin Docklands Development Authority for permission to install floating moorings around the Waterways Ireland Visitor Centre to provide approximately 55 berths for boats/vessels back in 2003, the Authority issued a Certificate of approval under Section 25 of the Dublin Docklands Development Authority Act, 1997 which included the condition that ‘This Certificate permits the use of the 55 berths for boats/vessels used solely for amenity on the waterways and not as permanent residential or commercial units’. Waterways Ireland is currently in discussion with the Dublin Docklands Development Authority with the aim of having 25 berths designated for permanent residential or commercial use at Grand Canal Dock.

Second h/t to Clare Daly. I trust that Waterways Ireland will auction the residential berths to maximise the revenue from these prime city-centre locations.

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Posted in Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Ireland, Irish inland waterways vessels, Irish waterways general, Operations, Politics, waterways, Waterways management

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WI and NAMA

Posted on Tuesday 11 December 2012 | Leave a comment
From WI's annual report for 2011

From WI’s annual report for 2011

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Posted in Ashore, Built heritage, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Irish waterways general, Non-waterway, Operations, Politics, Restoration and rebuilding, waterways, Waterways management

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Dry docks

Posted on Friday 20 April 2012 | Leave a comment

GRAND CANAL

At a Meeting of the Company of Undertakers of the Grand Canal, duly convened by public Advertisement, and held at the Company’s House in Dublin, on Monday, the 6th day of April, 1840,

WILLIAM MURPHY, Esq., in the chair,

The following Resolution, moved by James Pim, jun., Esq., seconded by James Dawson, Esq., passed unanimously in the afformative: —

Resolved — That the Court of Directors of this Company be authorised, if they shall see fit, to call the attention of the Government, of the Chamber of Commerce, of the Ballast Corporation, of the several Steam Companies, and of Capitalists generally, to the important advantages which the Grand Canal Company’s Floating and Graving Docks at Ringsend offer to all parties connected with the Shipping interests of the Port of Dublin, and to apprize them that this Company will at all times be ready to entertain any well considered proposition for increasing the general usefulness of these Docks, on the fairest and most liberal terms as regards the Public. Under the firm persuasion that by whatever well-arranged proceeding this important portion of the Company’s property can be best made available in increasing the Trade and promoting the prosperity of the City of Dublin, it will be rendered the most effectually conducive to the interests of the Company.

By order, JOHN McMULLEN,
Secretary of the Company.

From The Freeman’s Journal 8 April 1840.

Perhaps Waterways Ireland might follow the example of its predecessors and, rather than getting into bed with the DDDA, might consider some “well considered proposition for increasing the general usefulness of these Docks”.

 

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

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NAMA, DDDA and the Grand Canal Basin graving dock

Posted on Monday 5 March 2012 | Leave a comment

One of the graving docks

 

Interesting contextual material from Nama Wine Lake here. IWAI Dublin Branch page on the graving docks here.

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

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Turning a white elephant into a beagle

Posted on Thursday 5 January 2012 | Leave a comment

That dreadful white elephant the Jeanie Johnston, currently owned by the Dublin Docklands Development Authority (whose purchase of the wretched thing was almost as big a mistake as their involvement in the Irish Glass Bottle site), is sitting in the Liffey acting as a famine museum.

Now the Grauniad tells us of a project to rebuild a replica of HMS Beagle in order to do science. It is not clear why a replica of a small, wooden, early nineteenth century sailing vessel — presumably with high maintenance costs — would provide a better platform for doing science than a modern steel motor vessel, but the promoters have their hearts set (again) on using a barque.

And, as it happens, the Jeanie Johnston is a barque, as was HMS Beagle while Darwin was aboard. Admittedly, the Jeanie Johnston is rather larger, but it might also cost a lot less than building a new Beagle from scratch. In fact, we could perhaps pay the Beagle folk to take it away.

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Posted in Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Foreign parts, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Irish inland waterways vessels, Irish waterways general, People, Politics, Restoration and rebuilding, Tourism

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Plot 8 has been NAMAed

Posted on Saturday 26 November 2011 | Leave a comment

The development of the Plot 8 site at the Grand Canal Docks, Ringsend, was to be the most valuable of three sites to be sold by Waterways Ireland, with Craggy Island hoping to use the proceeds to fund the Ulster Canal. The DDDA’s interest in Plot 8 has now passed to NAMA.

I provided background information from the Oireachtas Committee of Public Accounts here; the DDDA announcement is here but NAMA, alas, has no information at the moment.

DDDA had withdrawn permission for IWAI Dublin Branch to work on the graving docks at the site.

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Posted in Ashore, Built heritage, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Operations, People, Politics, Restoration and rebuilding, Ulster Canal

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The Ulster Canal and WI assets

Posted on Sunday 5 December 2010 | Leave a comment

I’ve received a partial response (described as a full release, but actually ignoring several of my questions) from Waterways Ireland to some questions about the Ulster Canal. You can read about it here; it includes interesting information about the current valuation of sites in Dublin that might have raised money for the construction of the canal to Clones.

I’m writing this in advance of the Irish budget, due on 7 December 2010; it will be interesting to see whether Ajai Chopra gives the Department of Community, Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs enough capital to pay for the first year’s proposed work on the canal.

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Posted in Ashore, Economic activities, Extant waterways, Forgotten navigations, Industrial heritage, Irish waterways general, Non-waterway

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