Tag Archives: vessels

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.

Leave a comment

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

Tagged Annaghbeg, Black Bridge, boats, bridge, canal, Charles Wye Williams, City of Dublin Steam Packet Company, Clare, floods, Grand Canal, Ireland, John Brownrigg, Killaloe, Kilrush, Limerick, Limerick Navigation, Liverpool, livestock, lock, lost, Lough Derg, Manchester, Montpelier, O'Briensbridge, Operations, P&O Line, Plassey, quay, Shannon, Thomas Rhodes, Tipperary, turf, vessels, water level, waterways, Waterways Ireland

Marl update

Posted on Thursday 16 August 2012 | Leave a comment

I have added more information, from Arthur Young in 1780, to my piece on dredging for marl on Lough Derg. Young provides a few more details on the process.

Leave a comment

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

Tagged Arthur Young, boats, Derry, Head, Ireland, Killaloe, Lough Derg, marl, Shannon, Tipperary, vessels, water level, waterways

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].

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

Tagged boats, bridge, canal, Grand Canal, houseboat, IRBOA, Ireland, Kildare, Operations, quay, residential boating, Sallins, vessels, Waterways Ireland

A very interesting photo …

Posted on Friday 10 August 2012 | 1 comment

… here.

h/t PW

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

Tagged Ballina, boats, Clare, Ireland, Killaloe, lawrence, Lough Derg, Operations, Shannon, steamer, vessels, wreck

Cots, nets and salmon

Posted on Thursday 9 August 2012 | Leave a comment

Snap-net fishing in Carrick-on-Suir.

Leave a comment

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

Tagged boats, Carrick-on-Suir, cot, Operations, salmon, snap-net fishing, Suir, vessels, workboat

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.

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

Tagged "marl dock", boats, broadford, Clare, Derry Castle, Derry estate, dredging, Dublin Society, fertiliser, Hely Dutton, Ireland, Killaloe, Lough Derg, manure, marl, Mr Head, Operations, Scarriff, Shannon, shelly, Spaight, Tipperary, vessels, waterways, workboat

Fox II (113B)

Posted on Wednesday 1 August 2012 | 5 comments

Thanks to Liam Kelly for these photos of the retired WI maintenance vessel Fox celebrating her 75th birthday in dry dock at Roosky recently.

-0-

-0-

-0-

Posted in Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Irish inland waterways vessels, Operations, Restoration and rebuilding, Shannon, waterways

Tagged 113B, boats, Fox, Roosky, Shannon, vessels, waterways, Waterways Ireland, workboat

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.

Leave a comment

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

Tagged barges, Barrow, boats, cots, Erne, floods, Ireland, Kilrush, Limerick, Lough Derg, Lough Neagh, O'Briensbridge, Operations, Shannon, Suir, turf, vessels, waterways, workboat

Essential kit for barge-drivers

Posted on Tuesday 31 July 2012 | 2 comments

So there you are outside one of the more sheltered harbours (Dromaan, say), unable to see how much space there is inside and wondering whether, if you go in, you’ll find you have to reverse out again. How useful it would be to be able to see inside from some distance away. How useful it would be to have a small helicopter at your disposal, one that could send pics back to you.

Clearly such a gadget would be a must-have item, an essential piece of equipment for any conscientious barge-driver. Happily, it exists.

Posted in Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Operations, Shannon, Water sports activities

Tagged boats, camera, drone, helicopter, Ireland, Lough Derg, quad copter, Shannon, vessels, waterways

Birthday girl

Posted on Tuesday 31 July 2012 | Leave a comment

Miranda at 100

Leave a comment

Posted in Extant waterways, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Irish inland waterways vessels, Restoration and rebuilding, Shannon, waterways

Tagged boats, Dromineer, Ireland, Knight, Lough Derg, Miranda, Shannon, vessels, waterways