I don’t really know much about politicians, local or national, but I presume that, in the summer recess, they retire to their country estates for a bit of huntin, shootin and fishin, with breaks for trips to agreeable parts of foreignlandia (Tuscany, perhaps) and with occasional visits from other gentlefolk.
At any rate, something distracts them and keeps them quiet, but summer is now giving way to autumn and, er, innovative suggestions are coming thick and fast from politicos anxious to get other people to contribute to social and economic development in their constituencies (or to get reelected, whichever comes first).
So we have one who wants a walkway across Meelick Weir and another who wants a riverbus service on the Park Canal in Limerick.
Meelick turns up in another story from the past week, by John Mulligan in the Irish Independent. But despite the silly headline and subhead, the body of the article is a thorough and balanced account of flooding on the Shannon. Mr Mulligan is to be commended.
Posted in Ashore, Built heritage, Drainage, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Irish inland waterways vessels, Irish waterways general, Natural heritage, Non-waterway, Operations, People, Politics, Restoration and rebuilding, Safety, Scenery, Shannon, Sources, The cattle trade, Tourism, Water sports activities, waterways, Waterways management, Weather
Tagged floods, flow, Ireland, Limerick, lock, lost, Meelick, Operations, Park Canal, Shannon, water level, waterways, Waterways Ireland
Fr Oliver Kennedy, of the Lough Neagh Fishermen’s Cooperative Society, which ran the eel fishery [PDF], has died at the age of 83.
The ESB eel-catching apparatus at Killaloe Bridge is being renewed (and not, as I feared, removed). Eels are caught now only to be transported around Ardnacrusha. Read about the fishery here and, at greater length, here.
Posted in Built heritage, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Foreign parts, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Irish inland waterways vessels, Operations, Shannon, The fishing trade, Waterways management, Weather
Tagged anguilla anguilla, Ardnacrusha, boats, bridge, canal, Clare, eels, ESB, estuary, Fergus, floods, flow, Fr Oliver Kennedy, Ireland, Killaloe, Limerick, lock, Lough Neagh, Operations, Shannon, waterways
Isaac Slater’s Directory[i] of 1846 lists those carrying goods on inland waterways. Most of the carriers on the Grand Canal, which runs from Dublin to the River Shannon with various branches, claim to serve a modest number of places, but Thomas Berry & Co have a very lengthy list. So long is their list that it will require two maps to show all the places they served, with a third map for the rest of the carriers.
Note that the maps are from the 25″ Ordnance Survey map of around 1900 rather than the 6″ of around 1840: I used it because it was clearer, but it shows features (eg railway lines) that were not present in 1846.
There may be some cases where I have misidentified a destination; I would be grateful to have my attention drawn to such cases.
Click on a map to get a slightly larger version.
Thomas Berry & Co midland and southern destinations (OSI)
The canal runs from Dublin, at the top right, left (roughly west) through Tullamore to Shannon Harbour, where it meets the river; there was an extension to Ballinasloe on the far side of the Shannon. Berrys served places along the canal and several others fairly close to it, but it looks to me as if there were three routes by road beyond that:
There are also two outliers for which I can think of no plausible explanation: Baltinglass and Wexford. Perhaps their inclusion was a mistake. Certainly Berrys, like John M’Cann & Sons on the Royal Canal, seem to have had extensive road networks (perhaps using car-owning subcontractors?) to supplement their water-borne routes, but I don’t see why they would take on a route no part of which could sensibly have been conducted by inland navigation.
The next map shows the north-western destinations served by Berrys.
Thomas Berry & Co north-western destinations (OSI)
You can see that their network covered much of County Roscommon and went almost as far west into County Galway as it was possible to go; it also extended northwards into County Mayo.
I have not attempted to check what industries might have made these towns and villages worth serving. Berrys certainly seemed keen to take as much as possible of the traffic from west of the Shannon towards Dublin — excluding such of it as went by the Royal Canal: it is interesting to compare these maps with that for M’Cann on the Royal.
Finally, note that along the canal itself Berrys listed only destinations towards the western (Shannon Harbour) end: it seems likely that the roads took the valuable traffic from the eastern end into Dublin. There were no doubt turf boats taking fuel in from closer to Dublin, but they were not general carriers.
Now for the rest of the carriers.
Grand Canal carriers 1846 excluding Thomas Berry (OSI)
I have included the Shannon here as well as the Grand Canal; however I have covered the Barrow Line of the Grand Canal, as well as the navigable rivers Barrow, Nore and Suir, in a separate post. Of the carriers listed here, only the City of Dublin Steam Packet Company [CoDSPCo] (which employed horses to pull its boats on canals) ventured on to the Barrow Line, serving Portarlington and Mountmellick.
Berrys and the CoDSPCo were by far the largest firms on the Grand. I don’t know the size of the Berrys fleet, but the CoDSPCo had 52 barges in addition to its Shannon (and Irish Sea) steamers. Note that only on the middle Shannon, around the junction with the Grand Canal, and at Ennis did the two firms serve the same destinations: the CoDSPCo seems to have had the lower Shannon trade to itself.
With one exception, all the carriers, including Berrys, had Dublin depots at Grand Canal Harbour, James St; the Grand Canal Docks at Ringsend, joined to the Liffey, were not mentioned.
The exception is Hugh Gallagher, whose only listed destination was Athlone. It would be interesting to know how he served Athlone: whether by road or by water and, in the latter case, whether he used a steamer. I do wonder whether Hugh Gallagher might be the same person as the Hugh Galaghan (also Gallaghan) who served Philipstown [now Daingean], Tullamore and Shannon Harbour.
George Tyrrell is another who is listed with but a single destination, Banagher, whereas James Tyrrell is listed as serving Tickneven, Philipstown, Tullamore — and Edgeworthstown, which must be a mistake as it is closer to the Royal Canal.
Finally, Cornelius Byrne is shown as serving two destinations: Philipstown and Kilbeggan (which has its own branch off the main line of the canal).
A little extra information is available from the entries for towns other than Dublin in the Directory:
As far as I know, little has been written about the carrying companies, especially those of the nineteenth century. I would be glad to hear from anyone who can correct, supplement or comment on this information.
[i] I Slater’s National Commercial Directory of Ireland: including, in addition to the trades’ lists, alphabetical directories of Dublin, Belfast, Cork and Limerick. To which are added, classified directories of the important English towns of Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham, Sheffield, Leeds and Bristol; and, in Scotland, those of Glasgow and Paisley. Embellished with a large new map of Ireland, faithfully depicting the lines of railways in operation or in progress, engraved on steel. I Slater, Manchester, 1846
Posted in Ashore, 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, The cattle trade, The turf trade, Tourism, Uncategorized, waterways, Waterways management
Tagged Ahascragh, Ardrahan, Athenry, Athlone, Aughrim, Ballina, Ballinagore, Ballinamore, Ballinasloe, Ballindine, Ballinrobe, Ballyboy, Ballycumber, Ballygar, Ballynagore, Baltinglass, Banagher, Barrow, Bellmount, Belmont, Birr, Birr Barracks, Borrisokane, Caltragh, Castlebar, Castleblakeney, City of Dublin Steam Packet Company, Clara, Clare, Clifden, Cloghan, Clonaslee, Cloughjordan, Cong, Cornelius Byrne, Corrofin, Craughwell, Daingean, Directory, Dublin, Dunmore, Edenderry, Ennis, Eyrecourt, Ferbane, Frankford, Gallen, Galway, George Tyrrell, Gillen, Glanamadda, Grand Canal, Headford, High Gallagher, Hollymount, Hugh Galaghan, Hugh Gallaghan, Ireland, Isaac Slater, James Tyrrell, Kilbeggan, Kilconnell, Killaloe, Killeigh, Killimore, Kilrush, Kiltulla, Kinnitty, Kinvara, Limerick, Loughrea, Menlough, Moate, Moneyveen, Monivea, Moniveen, Mount Bellew, Mount Talbot, Moylough, Naas, New Inn, New Quay, Newport, Nore, Oranmore, Oughterard, Philipstown, Portumna, Roscrea, Roundstone, Roundtown, Shannon Harbour, Shinrone, Shruel, steamer, Suir, Swineford, Tachmaconnell, Tarbert, templemore, Thomas Berry, Thomas Byrne, Tickneven, Tocmaconnell, Tuam, Tullamore, Westport, Wexford
The figures for Shannon lock passages to the end of June 2013 are now available. The decline continues, though perhaps more slowly.
Shannon lock and bridge passages January to June as percentages of the 2003 number
The usual caveats apply: the underlying figures (kindly supplied by Waterways Ireland) do not record total waterways usage because, for instance, sailing, fishing or waterskiing on lakes or river stretches, which did not involve a passage through a lock or Portumna Bridge, would not be recorded. The passage records are our only consistent long-term indicator of usage of the Shannon but they would not show, for instance, a change in the balance of types of activities from those in larger cruising boats to those in smaller (sailing, fishing, waterskiing) boats. It is quite possible, therefore, that overall usage might be increasing while long-distance cruising was declining.
Shannon lock and bridge passages by private boats January to June
As it happens, the figures show a small increase over 2012 in passages by private boats. I suspect that July’s warm weather will spur a further increase.
Folk living in Ireland, whether owners or prospective hirers, are likely to be able to react quickly to better (or worse) weather by doing more (or less) boating; folk living abroad may be less able to change their holiday plans. Accordingly, July’s weather might (I’m speculating here) mean an increase in passages by private boats and by boats hired by Irish residents; it might not lead to an increase in hiring from abroad.
Traffic in hired boats continued to decline in June.
Shannon lock and bridge passages by hired boats January to June
That decline outweighed the small increase in private traffic, leading to an overall decline in the first six months as compared with the same period in 2012, which itself continued the pattern set in 2007.
Shannon lock and bridge passages by all boats January to June
I wondered whether the figures might show any change in the geographical distribution of activity. WI’s reports don’t show separate figures for private and hired boats for the individual locks, but it seems to me that the hire business is becoming more concentrated on northern waters, from Lough Ree upwards. If that is so, then there might be an increase in the proportion of passages through the northern locks, from Tarmonbarry upwards, and a decrease in the proportion passing through Portumna Bridge and Meelick (Victoria) Lock.
I put the WI reporting stations in four groups:
The figures suggest that the distribution is indeed changing, but gradually rather than dramatically. Athlone’s figures are pretty steady, the outliers are declining slightly and Portumna + Meelick are declining a bit more; the northern locks (Tarmonbarry to Knockvicar) are taking the gains. Comments or alternative interpretations welcome.
Lock passages by group
The figures for 2013 are for the six months January to June; those for other years are for twelve months.
The locks could of course be grouped in other ways, and I may try some of them in future months.
Posted in Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Ireland, Irish inland waterways vessels, Operations, Sea, Shannon, Sources, Tourism, Water sports activities, waterways, Waterways management, Weather
Tagged Albert Lock, Athlone, Ballinasloe, Battlebridge, boats, bridge, Clare, Clarendon lock, Clondra, Drumshanbo, hire boat, Ireland, Jamestown, Killaloe, Knockvicar, Limerick, Lough Allen, Lough Derg, Meelick, Operations, passage, Pollboy lock, Portumna, private boat, Rooskey, Roosky, Sarsfield Lock, Shannon, Tarmonbarry, traffic, vessels, Victoria Lock, waterways, Waterways Ireland
Posted in Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Ireland, Irish waterways general, Operations, People, Safety, Shannon, Water sports activities, waterways, Waterways management, Weather
Tagged Ardnacrusha, canal, Clare, Coast Guard, drowning, ESB, Ireland, Killaloe, Limerick, lock, Lough Derg, O'Briensbridge, Operations, Shannon, waterways
See here.
Posted in Built heritage, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Foreign parts, Ireland, Irish inland waterways vessels, Restoration and rebuilding, Shannon, shannon estuary, The fishing trade, waterways
Tagged boats, Clare, estuary, Fergus, gandalow, Ireland, Limerick, Shannon, vessels, Washington, waterways, workboat
Some additional information from the Clare Champion and the Limerick Post. The Irish Mirror has one of the few accounts that includes discussions with participants.
Posted in Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Ireland, Irish inland waterways vessels, Operations, People, Safety, Shannon, Sources, Water sports activities, waterways, Waterways management, Weather
Tagged boats, Clare, Ireland, Killaloe, Limerick, Lough Derg, Operations, rescue, search, Shannon, vessels, waterways, Waterways Ireland
Last Friday evening, 21 June 2013, was not a good time to be out on Lough Derg. We were heading north, with the waves behind us, and had little difficulty until entering port, but we could hear on the VHF what must have been one of the biggest search and rescue operations on the Shannon in recent years.
We had switched on at what seemed like a fairly early point in the proceedings, and kept listening until the Coast Guard were assured that everybody was accounted for. We weren’t able to attend to the whole thing, as manoeuvres during and after berthing occupied our attention for some time, but we got a pretty clear picture. The Irish Times report (which will probably disappear behind a paywall at some stage) is here; I think it has some minor details wrong but the gist of it is correct; its later report is here. The Clare Herald has a very detailed account here, the Clare Champion account is here and the Limerick Post adds some information here.
The event was said by the Irish Times to be “hosted for FISA in Ireland by St Michael’s Rowing Club of Limerick” but I can’t see anything about it on either organisation’s website. I presume that the boats were something like this one.
Quad at Clonlara in 2011
It’s a quad, with each rower using two oars; it carries a cox and it’s used for touring rowing, so it’s not as slim as a standard racing shell.
By the way, just to be clear, none of the photos on this page were taken during last Friday’s operation.
RNLI Lough Derg lifeboat
From what we could hear, the operation involved volunteers from Killaloe Coast Guard, the RNLI at Dromineer, the Community Rescue Boats from Mountshannon and Limerick and at least one yacht, which (I think) took one of the rowing boats in tow; that yacht’s participation and careful provision of information to the Coast Guard was admirable.
Killaloe Coast Guard RIB
We heard discussion of proposals to ask the Civil Defence to participate as well, and the Clare Herald confirms they did turn out. It seems that the University of Limerick Activity Centre boat was out too, as was Peter Hooker of RNLI in his own boat.
Limerick Marine SAR Land Rover
That’s just the volunteers, and if I’ve left anybody out I’m sorry; let me know and I’ll amend this.
Then there were the professionals: the Coast Guard staff on VHF, the Gardaí on shore, the helicopter crew. And, again, the Clare Herald makes it clear that lots of other people were involved too: fire brigade and ambulance units, paramedics and a hospital consultant.
All in all, this was a major operation and a lot of people put in a lot of effort that night, in bloody awful weather.
I formed the impression that communication amongst the members of the rowing fleet, and between them and the rescue services, was poor. It was difficult to establish what rowers were where and how many were unaccounted for. The Clare Herald story seems to support that conclusion: it says that Gardaí had to travel to the rowers’ hotel to make sure that everybody had turned up and that the search was not formally stood down until 11.30pm.
I don’t know what communications equipment and what sort of organisation and safety procedures the rowing group had, so I’m not going to comment on them. Instead, I want to go off at a tangent. It struck me that life would have been easier for everybody if each boat had had a handheld VHF and someone able to operate it. Such sets can be bought for as little as £50 in the UK or €75 in Ireland.
So the technology is now very cheap and, for short range work as on Lough Derg, a handheld VHF should be adequate. But if you want to be legally entitled to use a VHF set, matters are much more complicated. I’ll discuss that in another post.
Posted in Economic activities, Extant waterways, Ireland, Irish inland waterways vessels, Non-waterway, Operations, People, Safety, Scenery, Shannon, Sources, Tourism, Uncategorized, Water sports activities, waterways, Waterways management, Weather
Tagged boats, Clare, Coast Guard, Dromineer, helicopter, Ireland, Killaloe, Limerick, Lough Derg, Mountshannon, Operations, rescue, RNLI, rowing, search, Shannon, Tipperary, ULAC, vessels, VHF, waterways
Irish waterways history 