Shannon | Irish waterways history

Our London Correspondent reports that the latest and most fashionable souvenir to go on sale there is a reproduction cast-iron “paperweight/doorstop/bookend based on the mooring bollards of Regents Canal”. Available in black or fluorescent red, these items were designed by a designer who was being worked with by another chap who was commissioned by a Creative Agency. The result is a “desirable antidote to the overly-commercial, tacky souvenirs” available elsewhere, it says here.

A bollard at Meelick

Well, that’s nice. Maybe Waterways Ireland could commission the same creative types to design a range of reproductions of Irish waterways bollards; folk could be encouraged to collect the entire set.

But one minor drawback does strike me. The artistic merits of these reproduction bollards are of course obvious, but as souvenirs they have one minor drawback. A souvenir is something you buy, while on holiday, to take home to someone else. Nowadays, the steamer services are not what they once were and many folk travel on these new-fangled flying-machines. But according to that nice Mr O’Leary, who operates some such machines, you may take only 10 kg of cabin baggage. These bollards, though, weigh about 1.5 kg each, which rather limits the number of bollards you can carry as souvenirs.

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.

Tag Archives: Shannon

The 120′ Irish steam-powered narrow boat

Still only two

_ _ _ E _ _ A T

A load of old bollards

Competition arrives

L+M Keating again

Dredgers

Rescue boats on Irish inland waterways

Yes, but not in the south

Locaboat licences

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