Thanks to Pat Conneely for this photo of the Broadstone station and the Royal Canal. I’ve added it to my page on the Broadstone Line of the Royal Canal.
The Broadstone station before the canal harbour was filled in (photo courtesy Pat Conneely)
The photo must have been taken before 1877, when the harbour was filled in.
Abbey Bridge
Baal’s Bridge
Mathew Bridge
Current heading for Mathew Bridge
The weir
Lots of pumps running and equipment trundling about the place
Trouble at t’mill
T’millstream
Cots on the bank
The Black Bridge getting another hammering
I have been told that the Mulkear River rose very rapidly on Saturday night and that, at one time, it was feared that the (older) bridge would be swept away. I gather that folk working in other areas were called to Annacotty to deal with the emergency.
The old bridge at Annacotty (downstream face)
A tree in the water above the bridge
There’s a weir in there somewhere
The Mill Bar in Annacotty was closed today after being flooded.
The Mill Bar
This, from a small garden beside the bridge, suggests that the Mulkear may have carried and deposited a lot of silt
I gather that the Mulkear’s waters, added to those of the Shannon itself, raised the level of the Park Canal (the bottom section of the Limerick Navigation). A problem with opening the lock gates, to release the water, meant that a few houses in Corbally were flooded. A Sinn Féin councillor, whose party colleague has been responsible [with her southern counterpart] for slashing Waterways Ireland’s budget in recent years, is quoted as saying
I am in no doubt it was primarily caused by the ineptitude of Waterways Ireland.
Alas, the news story does not tell us the source of the councillor’s certainty.
The article also says that
[…] the force of this water meant it was not possible to open the lock gates by hand.
That is, I think, misleading: neither set of gates has gate beams, so they are not opened by hand.
The upper gates in 2004, shortly after installation. Note the absence of gate beams. Note also the two sluices or paddles on each gate
Control pedestal and gear
The upper gates open today
I see no sign of the paddles or sluices. Perhaps the level is so high that they’re underwater. I must try to check next time I’m at the canal harbour.
The upper gates in the floods of 2009
In the floods of 2009 the upper gates were held slightly open and all four sluices were discharging water. That would have lowered the level in the canal; it would also, I think, have made it easier to open the gates fully.
I am guessing, but I imagine that on Saturday night some sort of hydraulic machine was brought in this way …
Two bollards have been moved from the gateway and stacked beside it
… and used to push or pull open the near-side upper gate. There seems to be some slight damage to the stone and iron work.
Slight damage
One other possibility that struck me is that silt from the Mulkear might have built up behind the gates, making them difficult to open, but I have no evidence on the matter.
The lower gates
From the outside looking in
Posted in Built heritage, Canals, Charles Wye Williams, Drainage, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Forgotten navigations, Historical matters, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Modern matters, Operations, Safety, Shannon, waterways, Waterways management, Weather
Tagged 2009, Annacotty, Anney River, Baal's Bridge, Black Bridge, bridge, cot, flood, gate, harbour, hydraulics, lock, Mulcair, Mulkear, Park Canal, Plassey, Shannon, silt, University of Limerick, water level
The Broadstone Harbour with King’s Inns in the background, early 1820s
This is a drawing by George Petrie, made for J. J. McGregor’s New Picture of Dublin of 1821. The details of the vessels are interesting. More on the Broadstone here.
Posted in Ashore, Built heritage, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Forgotten navigations, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Irish inland waterways vessels, Operations, The cattle trade, waterways
Tagged boats, Broadstone, canal, Dublin, harbour, Ireland, King's Inns, passage boat, Petrie, Royal Canal, trade boat, vessels, workboat
Went out without the camera today, alas, and found Waterways Ireland crews at work at the canal harbour in Limerick. One crew had launched a Pioner Multi (I didn’t see them do it, alas, but it may have come on the back of a truck with a HIAB or suchlike) and were hauling rubbish out of the water. Another were welding new railings to prevent access to the old hotel/canal manager’s house and installing a steel plate in a window aperture on one of the Shannon Navigation buildings.
I presume the new plate will soon be decorated. I rather like the artwork, I must say, and I think it a pity that Young Folk should not have somewhere to go to do the things that Young Folk like to do.
Posted in Ashore, Built heritage, Charles Wye Williams, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Forgotten navigations, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Non-waterway, Operations, Scenery, Shannon, waterways, Waterways management
Tagged harbour, Limerick, lock, Operations, Park Canal, Shannon, Waterways Ireland, workboat
Posted in Ashore, Built heritage, Drainage, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Forgotten navigations, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Operations, People, Politics, Sources, The turf trade, waterways, Waterways management
Tagged boats, bridge, canal, harbour, Ireland, Lough Key, Rockingham, Shannon, vessels, waterways, workboat
The curved building at the north end of the former Grand Canal Harbour in Dublin continues to deteriorate. Photos taken on 1 January 2012.
Missing slates
This is a protected structure (whatever that means)
Another breach in the slates
My communication to the City Council went unanswered. Laing O’Rourke, the developers, did at least reply in November 2011:
Thank you very much for your email regarding the development at Canal Harbour and indeed the restoration of the old Ryans Building or curved building towards the northern end of the site.
We too share your concern in the deterioration of the building, and instructed our site manager to review the building and propose some alternatives in securing and preserving the building until such time as construction across the site. I will continue to press them on this
matter with a view to getting a solution delivered ASAP.If you have any specific recommendations in relation to this preservation, I would be interested to hear these.
Kind Regards […]
I don’t know anything about preserving buildings, and replied to say so, but if any concerned reader has suggestions I’ll pass them on.
The view from Dromod 30 December 2010.
Dromod
The Swiss Army Knife is no longer sprawling across the canal above Noggus Bridge on the Grand: it’s parked in the middle of the canal, closer to the bridge.
Posted in Ashore, Extant waterways, Irish waterways general, Operations, Scenery, Weather
Tagged boats, Boderg, Bofin, bridge, canal, Dromod, Grand Canal, harbour, ice, Ireland, Noggus Bridge, Shannon, Swiss Army knife, vessels, waterways, Waterways Ireland, workboat
Irish waterways history 