Tag Archives: Ireland

The Ulster Canal and the Irish economy

Posted on Friday 11 November 2011 | Leave a comment

The Irish government has decided that it cannot afford to pay for:

  • a road in the United Kingdom
  • some railway lines in Dublin, Meath and the west
  • a prison in the countryside.

But what of the Ulster Canal? It is not explicitly mentioned in the Infrastructure and Capital Investment 2012-16: Medium Term Exchequer Framework document published on 10 November 2011. It is not clear that the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht will have enough money to pay for it: here is my assessment. In the absence of explicit information from the department, I would welcome information from other sources.

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Posted in Built heritage, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Foreign parts, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Irish waterways general, Politics, Restoration and rebuilding, Ulster Canal, waterways, Waterways management

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Triangular quaternions

Posted on Thursday 10 November 2011 | Leave a comment

The indefatigable Mary Mulvihill has produced a podcast guide to a Royal Canal walk, from Dunsink to Broombridge. The podcast is free to download as an MP3 file.

Its production was supported by Maths Week Ireland and the Irish Research Council for Science, Engineering & Technology (IRCSET); it follows the annual walk to commemorate the achievement of Sir William Rowan Hamilton, who in 1843 invented a new type of algebra, quaternions, and wrote the equation on the bridge.

bjg

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Posted in Ashore, Built heritage, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Irish waterways general, Non-waterway, People, Sources, Uncategorized, waterways, Waterways management

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The Suir

Posted on Thursday 10 November 2011 | 1 comment

South Tipperary County Council participated in the EU Waterways Forward project, with a focus on the River Suir. Here is a brief report on the Suir River Café project.

The other Irish participant was Waterways Ireland, whose project (PDF) was about the implementation of the Water Framework Directive on canals.

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Posted in Built heritage, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Forgotten navigations, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Irish waterways general, Natural heritage, Operations, Suir, waterways, Waterways management

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Hello clouds, hello sky

Posted on Tuesday 1 November 2011 | Leave a comment

A former minister for waterways has been elected President, dooming the state to seven years of waffle. He is chiefly famous (in these parts) for having given four barges to “communities” as well as for seizing the waterways from the OPW; I understand that three of the barges have now been returned to the waterways service (now Waterways Ireland).

It seems that some folk are not entirely convinced of his poetic gifts. I stand with Nigel Molesworth.

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Posted in Ireland, Irish inland waterways vessels, People, Politics, Restoration and rebuilding, Waterways management

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Mid Shannon Corridor Tourism subsidy

Posted on Tuesday 1 November 2011 | 5 comments

 

I have been trying for some time to find out whether anyone has taken advantage of the Mid-Shannon Corridor Tourism Infrastructure Investment Scheme. I sent this email to the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport in July 2011; I received no reply, so I have sent it again today.

===begins=====

Your website’s list of contacts does not include an email address for the section of your department that deals with tourism [it still doesn’t, on 1 Novemebr 2011], so I would be grateful if you would pass this query to the appropriate person.

I have some questions about the Mid-Shannon Corridor Tourism Infrastructure Investment Scheme. I would be grateful if you could tell me how many applications for approval in principle have been received.

Could I have a list of the applicants and their proposals please?

How many applications have been approved?

Could I have a list of them please?

On how many projects has expenditure been incurred?

Could I have a list of them please?

===ends=====

 

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Posted in Ashore, Economic activities, Ireland, Tourism

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Paying up

Posted on Tuesday 1 November 2011 | Leave a comment

Text of email sent today to the Revenue Commissioners press office:

===begins=====

I would be grateful if you could tell me:

– how much marked gas oil was supplied to sellers of diesel fuel along Irish inland waterways in years ending 31 December 2009 and 2010

– what rates of duty applied in those periods

– how much duty was paid by owners of private pleasure craft for each of those years using form PPN1 Mineral Oil Tax Return.

===ends=====

 

 

 

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Posted in Ireland, Irish waterways general, Politics

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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

 

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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

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Grand Canal Harbour maltings: a protected structure

Posted on Tuesday 1 November 2011 | 2 comments

I see on this website that the curved building at Grand Canal Harbour in Dublin, is a protected structure.

Here is the roof in 2007:

The roof in 2007

Here is the roof in October 2011:

The roof in October 2011

I have asked the developers for their comments.

 

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Posted in Ashore, Built heritage, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Forgotten navigations, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Irish waterways general, Operations, Restoration and rebuilding

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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

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Shannon estuary: Aughinish

Posted on Thursday 20 October 2011 | Leave a comment

The Irish Times reports that Rusal, current owners of the Aughinish Alumina plant, want to increase production. See the plant and its “waste storage facility” here (satellite view on a larger map is best):

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Posted in Ashore, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Ireland, Non-waterway, Operations, shannon estuary, waterways

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