Tag Archives: Royal Canal

The 120′ Irish steam-powered narrow boat

Posted on Monday 28 January 2013 | Leave a comment

Read about it here.

Posted in Built heritage, 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, Tourism, waterways, Waterways management

Tagged barge, Blanchardstown, boats, bridge, canal, Charles Wye Williams, City of Dublin Steam Packet Company, coke, Dublin, estuary, floods, flow, flyboat, Grand Canal, horse, Ireland, Killaloe, Liffey, Limerick, lock, Lough Derg, narrowboat, O'Briensbridge, Oldham, Operations, paddle, Plassey, quay, river, Robert Mallet, Royal Canal, Shannon, steam, steamer, vessels, water level, waterways, William Watson, workboat

Canal Boat No 279

Posted on Friday 25 January 2013 | Leave a comment

There is a mystery about Canal Boat No 279, which sank in the entrance to Spencer Dock, on the Royal Canal, in December 1873. Actually, there are several mysteries, and readers’ comments, information and suggestions would be welcome. Read the story here.

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Posted in Built heritage, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Irish inland waterways vessels, Operations, People, Sources, Steamers, The cattle trade, The turf trade, waterways, Waterways management

Tagged barge, boats, bridge, canal, canal boat, Dublin, flow, Grand Canal, Ireland, lock, Operations, quay, Royal Canal, Spencer Dock, steamer, sweeps, vessels, water level, waterways, workboat

Canal boat sunk on the Liffey

Posted on Thursday 24 January 2013 | Leave a comment

In a comment here I wondered what a canal boat was doing as far up the Liffey as Grattan Bridge in 1873. Here is a report from the Freeman’s Journal of 10 March 1875 that may provide a possible explanation.

THE LATE WRECK IN THE RIVER LIFFEY:— The porter-laden canal boat which was swamped on Monday by being borne by the flood in the river against the southern abutments, at the western side of Grattan-bridge, still remains in the place where she sank. Though she came with great force against the structure, she did not inflict the slightest injury upon it. Measures will be at once taken for floating the sunken vessel, which does not in any way interfere with the river traffic, as the centre arches are quite clear. All the porter which was on board the canal boat when she went down has been secured.

Remember that Guinness built its wharf on the Liffey in 1873 but did not start building its own fleet of barges for the Liffey until 1877. It did, however, have “a few small tugs” that were used to draw laden boats.

Guinness had easy access to the Grand Canal Harbour at James’s Street, so it seems unlikely to me that Grand Canal boats would risk the Liffey passage to supply pubs along the Grand, the Barrow and the lower Shannon. It therefore seems more likely that the boats were either Royal Canal boats or were being used to supply ships in the port.

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Posted in Ashore, Built heritage, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Forgotten navigations, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Irish inland waterways vessels, Operations, People, Sources, Steamers, waterways, Waterways management

Tagged barge, boats, bridge, canal, canal boat, Dublin, Grand Canal, Guinness, Ireland, jetties, Operations, quay, Royal Canal, steamer, tug, vessels, waterways, workboat

Newcomen Bridge again

Posted on Thursday 24 January 2013 | 5 comments

Last month I wrote about the lock at Newcomen Bridge on the Royal Canal:

Industrial Heritage Ireland has created a page giving the history of the railway crossing at Newcomen Bridge. However, it would be nice to have some documentary evidence about the resiting of the lock — and about the headroom under the bridge before the lock was moved.

Here it is, from the Freeman’s Journal of 12 April 1873, in an article about the new Spencer Docks:

Above the new metal bridge there is a basin for Canal boats, with a quayage of 450 feet at either side and a depth of six feet. In connection with the new works, the lowering of Newcomen-bridge on the Clontarf-road must be alluded to. To effect this the old lock had to be moved higher up, and the old bridge replaced by one suited for the requirements of the tramway traffic. The arch of the bridge crossing the Canal was lowered five feet, and a new girder iron bridge crosses the railway at the same level. The Main Drainage Board wisely took advantage of the opportunity of the Canal being drained to make a main sewer under the canal and the railway above Newcomen-bridge at the low level required.

Happy, Mick?

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Posted in Ashore, Built heritage, Drainage, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Non-waterway, Operations, Rail, Restoration and rebuilding, Sources, Steamers, The cattle trade, waterways, Waterways management

Tagged barge, boats, bridge, canal, Dublin, Ireland, jetties, lock, MGWR, Newcomen Bridge, Operations, Price, quay, railway, Royal Canal, sewer, Spencer Dock, steamer, vessels, water level, waterways

WI mooring locations batch 5

Posted on Monday 21 January 2013 | Leave a comment

A press release today says:

The fifth set of areas to offer the E.M.P includes locations in Dublin on the Royal Canal at Blanchardstown as well as Thomastown, Co Westmeath. On the Grand Canal Ballycowan, Derries and Gallen in Co Offaly will open. In addition Athy and Ballyteigue both in Co Kildare and St Mullins in Co Carlow which are all on the Barrow will also open for applications on the 21^st January.

As far as I can see, the rest of the text of the press release is standard information that we already knew.

To see exactly what locations will be covered in batch 5, you’ll have to check the WI website on 21 January 2013.

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

Tagged Barrow, boats, bridge, canal, Dublin, extended mooring, Grand Canal, Ireland, lock, Operations, permit, Royal Canal, vessels, waterways, Waterways Ireland

Dublin

Posted on Sunday 20 January 2013 | Leave a comment

Dublin City Public Libraries have some nice photos available online. The section on the Port of Dublin includes 1926 aerial photos of the Guinness wharf and of Spencer Dock (not busy) and Grand Canal Dock (including the section beyond the railway line, now filled in). There is also a photo of a steam barge at the Guinness wharf. In the Commercial Dublin section, I saw two businesses beside the Grand Canal, Ever Ready Batteries at Portobello and Gordon’s Fuels at Harold’s Cross.

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Tagged barge, boats, bridge, canal, Dublin, Ever Ready, Gordons, Grand Canal, Grand Canal Dock, Guinness, Harold's Cross, Ireland, libraries, Liffey, Operations, Portobello, quay, Royal Canal, Spencer Dock, vessels, waterways, wharf

Locaboat licences

Posted on Tuesday 15 January 2013 | Leave a comment

Locaboat tells us that

All the countries of Europe have agreed to facilitate access to hire-boats which are duly equipped and certified, and operate in tourist areas where there is little commercial shopping [presumably “shipping”].

In France, Germany [list of areas], Ireland, Holland, Poland and the Venice Lagoon Locaboat has received permission from the local authorities for their boats to be hired without licence. Initial instruction, both theoretical and practical, is given at the point of embarkation, enabling you to quickly master your boat and grasp the essential rules of navigation. You will then be given a licence that is valid for the duration of your stay.

When you’re starting from Ketzin in Germany, however, a boating licence is obligatory. This is not valid for citizens from countries that don’t have a boating license (e.g. Great Britain or Denmark).

This suggests that Ireland does have a boating licence, which is the first I’ve heard of it.

On its English-language front page, incidentally, Locaboat bigs up the fact that licences are not required in Poland:

Licence free hiring now also in Poland

Good news: Due to a new regulation, since 1st August 2010 a boating license is no longer required for our boats in Poland! Now a barge trip in the natural paradise of the Masurian Lake District becomes even more attractive.

And very nice it looks too. I wonder whether the Polish lakes have provided extra competition for the Irish.

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Posted in Economic activities, Extant waterways, Foreign parts, Ireland, Irish inland waterways vessels, Operations, Restoration and rebuilding, Shannon, Sources, Tourism, waterways, Waterways management

Tagged Ballinamore, boats, bridge, canal, Clondra, Erne, Ireland, Locaboat, Operations, penichette, Royal Canal, Shannon

One for the Phizzers

Posted on Friday 11 January 2013 | 2 comments

Quite a few visitors to this site come to read about the Broadstone. Here is a piece about the pontoon bridge used at the Broadstone between (AFAIK) 1847 and 1877. It was designed by Robert Mallet and it is interesting to see how an inventive engineer solved the peculiar problems of the Broadstone site.

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Posted in Ashore, Built heritage, Drainage, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Forgotten navigations, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Irish inland waterways vessels, Non-waterway, Operations, People, Rail, Restoration and rebuilding, The cattle trade, The turf trade, Tourism, waterways, Waterways management, Weather