Tag Archives: turf

Seol Sionna launch

Posted on Friday 11 May 2012 | Leave a comment

Seol Sionna under construction

The reproduction 25′ Shannon estuary hooker Seol Sionna will be launched at Querrin, Co Clare, on Saturday 19 May 2012, with celebrations continuing at Carrigaholt (home of the sublime Long Dock pub and eatery) on the following day [h/t dbm].

Canoe at Querrin. The second syllable of “canoe” rhymes with “go”

The pier at Querrin was built by the Shannon Commissioners; one of their marker stones (there are four at Querrin) is shown above.

Whaddya mean, you don’t know where Querrin is?

Remember, if the turf boats had not established the tourist traffic to Kilrush and Kilkee, the Shannon estuary steamers might never have got going and there might never have been a P&O line.

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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, Operations, People, Restoration and rebuilding, Scenery, shannon estuary, Sources, Steamers, The turf trade, Tourism, waterways

Tagged boats, estuary, Ireland, Kilkee, Kilrush, Querrin, Seol Sionna, Shannon, steamers, turf, turf boats, vessels, waterways

The surprising importance of the Shannon steamers in the 1830s

Posted on Wednesday 25 April 2012 | Leave a comment

A short, lavishly illustrated talk in Killaloe Cathedral, Co Clare, at 6.00pm on Sunday 29 April 2012, as part of the Waterways Ireland Discover Killaloe and Ballina thingie.

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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, Operations, People, Politics, Rail, Shannon, shannon estuary, Sources, Steamers, The cattle trade, The turf trade, Tourism, waterways, Waterways management

Tagged boats, bridge, canal, Clare, CoDSPCo, Dublin, estuary, Fergus, Garryowen, Grand Canal, Ireland, jetties, Killaloe, Kilrush, Lady Lansdowne, Limerick, Liverpool, lock, Lough Derg, Montpelier, O'Briensbridge, Operations, quay, Royal Canal, Shannon, turf, vessels, waterways, workboat

Clever chaps in Youghal

Posted on Wednesday 14 March 2012 | Leave a comment

No, not the one in Cork: the one in North Tipperary.

Youghal Quay ~1900

Youghal Quay and Bay ~1900

Formerly used for landing turf from the west side of Lough Derg, Youghal Quay is now a swimming area.

Ladder and diving board. Note the barrier at the landward end

The business end of the barrier

The other side supports a seat

Nice idea.

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Posted in Ashore, Built heritage, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Operations, Shannon, The turf trade, waterways

Tagged boats, Ireland, Lough Derg, North Tipperary, quay, Shannon, swimming, turf, waterways, Youghal

Killaloe and Ballina

Posted on Friday 27 January 2012 | Leave a comment

Nice to see they’re going to get a Discover Day.

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Posted in Ashore, Built heritage, Charles Wye Williams, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Forgotten navigations, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Irish inland waterways vessels, Irish waterways general, Non-waterway, Operations, People, Politics, Scenery, Shannon, Steamers, The cattle trade, Tourism, Water sports activities, waterways, Waterways management

Tagged Ballina, boats, bridge, canal, Clare, discover day, ESB, floods, Ireland, jetties, Killaloe, Limerick, lock, lost, Lough Derg, Operations, quay, Shannon, turf, vessels, waterways, Waterways Ireland, weir

The Ballycuirke Canal and Lough Corrib

Posted on Friday 27 January 2012 | 3 comments

Thanks to Padhraic Conneally, who left a Comment that started the hunt, and to Zara Brady (IWAI Corrib), who visited the site to ask about something else entirely, and finally to Trevor Northage of AnglingCharts.com, who provided the name and other information, we now have two extra Galway waterways to add to the list. They’re both covered, with maps, on this page, although only the larger, the Ballycuirke Canal, gets its name in the heading.

I would welcome more information about both canals. It seems that the Ballycuirke was built for drainage but also used for transport; I would be glad to know more about such transport.

Posted in Built heritage, Drainage, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Forgotten navigations, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Irish waterways general, Operations, Rail, The turf trade, waterways, Waterways management

Tagged Ballycuirke, Ballyquirke, boats, bridge, canal, Cloghaun, Corrib, Down Lake, drainage, Galway, Ireland, lost, lough, Moycullen, Operations, quay, Ross Lake, turf, vessels, water level, waterways

Life beside the Grand Canal

Posted on Thursday 12 January 2012 | Leave a comment

Brigid Maguire’s Tales on the Co Kildare Online Electronic History Journal.

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Posted in Ashore, Built heritage, Economic activities, Extant waterways, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Irish inland waterways vessels, Irish waterways general, Operations, People, Sources, The turf trade, waterways

Tagged boats, canal, Grand Canal, Ireland, Kildare, turf, vessels, waterways

Annoying the neighbours

Posted on Thursday 5 January 2012 | Leave a comment

It would be unfair to condemn the proposed opening of a canal to Clones without also condemning the proposed reopening of the Park Canal in Limerick (and the Newry, when I get around to it). The link is to a top-level page; the first substantive page has a lead to the second, the second to the third and so on up to the fifth.

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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, Non-waterway, Operations, People, Politics, Rail, Restoration and rebuilding, Scenery, Shannon, Steamers, The cattle trade, Tourism, Water sports activities, waterways, Waterways management, Weather

Tagged boats, bridge, canal, Castleconnell, Clare, ESB, floods, flow, Grand Canal, Guinness, jetties, Killaloe, Limerick, Limerick Navigation, lock, lost, Lough Derg, Montpelier, O'Briensbridge, Operations, Park Canal, Plassey, quay, Royal Canal, Shannon, turf, vessels, water level, waterways, Waterways Ireland, weir, workboat

The Limerick Navigation

Posted on Monday 2 January 2012 | Leave a comment

As a preliminary to increasing coverage of the old Limerick Navigation, I have improved the section’s top-level page. I added maps of the separate sections of the navigation and distances (in eighths of miles) from Prothero and Clark.

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Posted in Ashore, Built heritage, Charles Wye Williams, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Forgotten navigations, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Non-waterway, Operations, People, Politics, Rail, Restoration and rebuilding, Shannon, Sources, Steamers, The cattle trade, Tourism, Water sports activities, waterways

Tagged boats, bridge, canal, Clare, ESB, Ireland, jetties, Killaloe, Kilrush, Limerick, lock, lost, Lough Derg, O'Briensbridge, Operations, Shannon, turf, vessels, water level, waterways, weir

Kildare Archaeological Society

Posted on Tuesday 20 December 2011 | Leave a comment

The Kildare Archaeological Society’s programme for 2012 is available on the Co. Kildare Online Electronic History Journal website (which, incidentally, has a useful RSS feed). Its Heritage Week outing in August 2012 is waterway-based:

Sunday 26th August, 3.00 pm – Heritage Week Outing

Robertstown, the Grand Canal and Lowtown Lock

Guided walk by Karen Gorey.

Meet at the Holiday village Car Park, Robertstown. No Charge.

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Posted in Ashore, Built heritage, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Irish waterways general, The turf trade, waterways

Tagged bridge, canal, Grand Canal, Ireland, Kildare, lock, Lowtown, Robertstown, turf, waterways

Build Ballylongford

Posted on Thursday 8 December 2011 | 1 comment

The Irish Examiner reports on the proposed LNG storage terminal here. Richard Tol provides an informed view here. The objectors’ site is here. I note from the Examiner report that they say:

Shannon LNG is hoping to make millions of euro profits every year with state support at the consumers’ expense at time of increasing fuel poverty.

Unfortunately the report did not say why a wish to make profits is to be deprecated or why it is a bad idea to increase fuel supplies and security “at time of increasing fuel poverty” but perhaps the extensive bogs, whose product was exported through Saleen, are still available.

Posted in Ashore, Built heritage, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Irish waterways general, Natural heritage, Operations, People, Politics, Restoration and rebuilding, Scenery, Shannon, shannon estuary, The turf trade, waterways, Waterways management

Tagged Ballylongford, boats, estuary, Ireland, irisheconomy, Kerry, LNG, Operations, Rabbitte, Richard Tol, Saleen, Shannon, Tarbert, turf, vessels, waterways