Tag Archives: Operations

Who fears to speak …?

Posted on Monday 10 September 2012 | Leave a comment

I have long maintained that our knowledge of the history of the use of Irish inland waterways is woefully inadequate. Apart from the operations of the Grand Canal Company, we know little about boats, owners or traffic in the nineteenth century and almost nothing about earlier years. I am therefore delighted to have been sent an article by Malcolm Reynolds about a River Shannon vessel from the eighteenth century; it is available here.

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Posted in Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Forgotten navigations, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Irish inland waterways vessels, Operations, People, Politics, Shannon, Sources, waterways

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Liffey

Posted on Wednesday 22 August 2012 | Leave a comment

Users -v- visitors. Pic of Laura Lucy here.

Even though I can describe brigs, brigantines, barques, barquentines and ships (as well as ketches, yawls, schooners and snows and a few more), I have no interest in these so-called “tall ships” events. However, the Pelican‘s rig (seen from the ferry the other day) is worthy of notice.

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Posted in Economic activities, Extant waterways, Forgotten navigations, Ireland, Irish inland waterways vessels, Operations, People, Politics, Sources, Tourism, Water sports activities, Waterways management

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Bring back the Black

Posted on Friday 17 August 2012 | Leave a comment

The Black Bridge at Plassey has been closed since the floods of November 2009. Its reopening seems to have a low priority; I suspect that is because the importance of the bridge in Ireland’s technological, economic, entrepreneurial and political history is not widely appreciated. Here is a page explaining some of the background and suggesting a context within which reopening might be justifiable.

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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, Irish waterways general, Natural heritage, Operations, People, Restoration and rebuilding, Scenery, Shannon, shannon estuary, Sources, Steamers, The cattle trade, The turf trade, Tourism, waterways, Waterways management, Weather

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Sallins

Posted on Tuesday 14 August 2012 | 2 comments

On 8 August 2012 Waterways Ireland applied to Kildare County Council for planning permission for a development at Sallins:

The construction of a new 210m fixed timber house boat mooring facility for 12 boats with electric and water service supply bollards, 45m of a fixed timber short term mooring facility, car parking bays for 12 cars, access pathway suitable for disabled access, and a sewage pumpout for boats.

The application is at pre-validation stage. Submissions are to be made by 11 September and the “due date” is 2 October 2012. The file number is 12645. I can find no additional documents or details.

To see the application, go to this page and install the download before clicking on “Link to Full Planning Enquiry System”. Cookies will have to be enabled.

IRBOA doesn’t seem to have the news on its site yet, but it is interesting to compare the current proposal with what was discussed at the IRBOA meeting in Sallins on 8 March [2011, I think].

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Posted in Ashore, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Ireland, Irish inland waterways vessels, Operations, Politics, Restoration and rebuilding, Tourism, Waterways management

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A very interesting photo …

Posted on Friday 10 August 2012 | 1 comment

… here.

h/t PW

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Posted in Charles Wye Williams, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Forgotten navigations, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Irish inland waterways vessels, Operations, Scenery, Shannon, Sources, Steamers, The cattle trade, Tourism, waterways

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Cots, nets and salmon

Posted on Thursday 9 August 2012 | Leave a comment

Snap-net fishing in Carrick-on-Suir.

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Posted in Economic activities, Extant waterways, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Irish inland waterways vessels, Operations, People, Politics, Scenery, Suir, The fishing trade, waterways, Weather

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Plasticine

Posted on Thursday 9 August 2012 | 2 comments

Why, when speaking of the branded product Plasticine, did [do?] Irish teachers insist on using the Irish word marla? Even that word was, according to Terry Dolan’s Dictionary of Hiberno-English [Gill & Macmillan, Dublin 2004; new ed forthcoming], derived from the English marl.

At least in the nineteenth century, marl was a valuable manure or fertiliser and, on Lough Derg, Mr Head of the Derry Estate introduced a system of dredging it from deep water. Read about it here.

 

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Posted in Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Irish inland waterways vessels, Operations, People, Scenery, Shannon, Sources, Steamers, The cattle trade, waterways

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Barges, cots and subaltern waterways studies

Posted on Wednesday 1 August 2012 | Leave a comment

I am to speak at Jamestown, near Carrick-on-Shannon in Co Leitrim, on Saturday 4 August 2012. Jamestown is having its heritage festival, and large numbers of old (converted) barges will be there. I will be giving one of four talks; mine is entitled

Down with barges: why cots were the really important vessels on Irish inland waterways.

I will be citing His Late Majesty Henry VIII, Fid Def, in support of my contention.

Here is some of the background to my thinking. If you would like to hear more, do come along on the day: the talks are open to all.

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Posted in Economic activities, Extant waterways, Forgotten navigations, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Irish inland waterways vessels, Irish waterways general, Operations, People, Politics, Shannon, Sources, Suir, The cattle trade, The fishing trade, The turf trade, waterways, Waterways management

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Waterways walks

Posted on Tuesday 31 July 2012 | Leave a comment

Look!

Waterways Ireland and a local authority have cooperated in opening a canalside walking and cycling path!

And an excitable minister opened it, saying

This has huge potential for tourism but it also has a huge knock on effect for communities in the health benefit facilities like this bring and this, in turn has benefits in reducing the press on our health services as well. I want to see more walkways because I want to see more people out walking and seeing the natural beauty that we here in Ireland are blessed to have around us.

And rightly so. But you don’t need an expensive canal in order to provide a walk.

 

 

 

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Posted in Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Foreign parts, Forgotten navigations, Irish waterways general, Natural heritage, Non-waterway, Operations, People, Politics, Restoration and rebuilding, Scenery, Ulster Canal, waterways, Waterways management

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Lasering bridges

Posted on Tuesday 17 July 2012 | Leave a comment

Here is a one-page article from the July/August issue of Engineering Inc, the magazine of the American Council of Engineering Companies. It’s about an American firm called Collins Engineers Inc, of Chicago, which is listing and assessing bridges and some other structures owned by Waterways Ireland. The project will run through 2015. The link relies on Flash, alas; if you prefer a PDF, try this link.

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

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