There has been such interest in my posting on Stakhanovite homoeroticism that I thought I would post a few close-ups of the mural. The light fittings get in the way a bit, but you can pretend that they represent the fires of passion.
The chap at the bottom of that last one may represent Diogenes addressing a meeting of the directors of the Royal Canal Company.
Posted in Ashore, Built heritage, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Industrial heritage, Ireland, People, waterways
Tagged Blanchardstown, canal, Castleknock. art, construction, Diogenes, engineer, homoeroticism, Ireland, lock, mural, Royal Canal, Stakhanov, Twelfth Lock, waterways
Thames Clipper, London
Posted in Economic activities, Extant waterways, Foreign parts, Operations, Tourism
Tagged boats, clipper, ferry, London, Thames, vessels, waterways, workboat
All is explained here.
Posted in Ashore, Economic activities, Extant waterways, Forgotten navigations, Ireland, Irish inland waterways vessels, Natural heritage, Operations, People, Scenery, Sources, Tourism, Water sports activities, waterways, Waterways management, Weather
Tagged boats, F E Prothero, German butcher, Ireland, Killarney, lake, National Parks and Wildlife Service, Prothero, vessels, waterways
The road bridge in Cappoquin
The redoubtable F E Prothero, Rear-Commodore of the Cruising Club, wrote just over three pages about the Blackwater, from Kanturk down to the sea, in A New Oarsman’s Guide to the Rivers and Canals of Great Britain and Ireland edited by F E Prothero and W A Clark and published by George Philip and Son, London, in 1896, as a Cruising Club Manual.
Here is a PDF of the relevant pages. I have also put a link to the PDF on my page about the Blackwater, Bride and Lismore Canal.
Posted in Ashore, Built heritage, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Forgotten navigations, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Irish inland waterways vessels, Irish waterways general, Natural heritage, People, Scenery, Sources, Steamers, Tourism, Water sports activities, waterways, Waterways management, Weather
Tagged Blackwater, boats, Bride, bridge, canal, Cappoquin, F E Prothero, Ireland, Lismore, lost, M V Maeve, Tony Galagher, vessels, waterways, Youghal
A new study from WI and others is mentioned here. It doesn’t seem to be available on the WI website yet, but I haven’t yet finished reading the Erne and Lough Ree/Mid-Shannon studies that are available on the same page.
I might disagree with some of the conclusions of some of these studies, but I very much welcome the fact that they are being done and that WI is developing and promoting the waterways “product”. If only I could convince it not to waste money on the Clones Canal ….
Update: WI have a press release up, with a photo of a chap who has come out in a very fetching garment.
Posted in Ashore, Built heritage, Economic activities, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Irish inland waterways vessels, Irish waterways general, Natural heritage, Non-waterway, Operations, People, Restoration and rebuilding, Scenery, Sources, Suir, Tourism, Water sports activities, waterways, Waterways management
Tagged Barrow, boats, bridge, canal, Carrick-on-Suir, floods, flow, Grand Canal, Ireland, jetties, lock, vessels, water level, waterways, Waterways Ireland
I’m sure this is good news, but I have no idea what it is about. Has it to do with GPS or other newfangled gadgetry? And does it apply only to WI’s data about its estate within Her Majesty’s realm?
The Offaly Express has a story about a new Tullamore Dew Heritage Centre, which includes this information:
As part of a wider redevelopment of the area by Tullamore Town Council, visitors will approach the new Centre along a canal-side boardwalk from which they enter a reclaimed and renovated vintage barge which will house the ticket office and a presentation on the local history of the canal produced in association with Waterways Ireland.
Always pleased to see barges being used, of course, but I’d like to know where it will be parked and how that will affect the usable width of the canal. I’m sure that was considered at planning stage, but I can’t find any documents on the ePlanning system so I’d welcome enlightenment from anyone who knows.
Posted in Ashore, Built heritage, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Irish inland waterways vessels, Non-waterway, Restoration and rebuilding, Tourism, waterways, Waterways management
Tagged boats, canal, Dew, Grand Canal, Grant, Ireland, quay, Tullamore, vessels, waterways, Waterways Ireland, whiskey
I’ve done a precis of developments since Novemebr 2011. There is nothing much new on the page, but it may assist new seekers after truth.
I’ve also given the overview a mild update, but without making major changes to its structure.
I’ve been making three main points about the Clones Canal proposal:
Just in case anyone from Clones, or from the government, is looking in, I want to point out that I have been shown to be right on two of those points so far.
First, I said that the €35 million cost figure, which was widely used by the project’s proponents, was unreliable. Waterways Ireland has recently said that the cost is now expected to be €38 million + VAT, which I gather is about €45 million. So has the government reassessed the economic case? If it has, it’s not admitting it.
Second, I said that I could not see how the Irish government was going to fund the project. I wrote:
So where is the money to come from? I’ve tried asking the public bodies that should know the answer, but they won’t tell me.
The government now admits that funding was not provided and it is clear that there will be no significant funding (ie enough to pay for construction) before 2014. Incidentally, my appeal against the refusal of information is with the Office of the Information Commissioner: I don’t believe that government should be able to keep matters of funding secret, especially if potential investors might be misled.
We have no result yet that would cast light on the expected benefits, but we do know that the boat-hire business has declined drastically in recent years. If Clones is to prosper, as I hope it will, it will need development initiatives that are easier, faster, cheaper and more effective than the proposed canal.
Posted in Ashore, Built heritage, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Foreign parts, Forgotten navigations, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Operations, Politics, Restoration and rebuilding, Sources, Tourism, Ulster Canal, waterways, Waterways management
Tagged bridge, canal, Clones, department of arts heritage and the gaeltacht, Department of Community Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs, Erne, Ireland, lock, lost, Lough Neagh, Ulster Canal, waterways, Waterways Ireland
Big it up for An Bord Pleanála, which has turned down the proposal that a giant alien spaceship be allowed to land near the Blessington Street Basin, just off the Broadstone Line of the Royal Canal. The Irish Times and the Sunday Business Post have both used an artist’s impression of the ghastly object, which is intended to be a children’s hospital, but I can’t find who owns the image so I can’t ask for permission to use it.
If only we had a similar body assessing other investment proposals like those for, say, the Clones Canal. The proponents of both projects argue in similar ways: we have a report, we have experts, it’s time to move on, shut up and give us the money. That both projects are insane — because, apart from being unaffordable, they ignore likely user experiences — is irrelevant to the proposers: their strategy is not to come up with the best (or even a reasonable) allocation of public money but to force through their projects in their currently proposed form. Only German politicians can save us (and our money) from these people; perhaps Germany would like a seventeenth (or eighteenth, after Greece) Land?
Posted in Ashore, Built heritage, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Foreign parts, Forgotten navigations, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Non-waterway, Operations, People, Politics, Restoration and rebuilding, Tourism, Ulster Canal, waterways, Waterways management
Tagged An Bord Pleanála, boats, bridge, canal, Clones, department of arts heritage and the gaeltacht, Dublin, Erne, hospital, Ireland, lost, Lough Neagh, Operations, Royal Canal, Ulster Canal, waterways, Waterways Ireland
Tender here. No mention of the engine shed amongst the heritage sites to be interpreted, alas. And the General description of proposed works document has a photo of the playground at O’Briensbridge in Co Clare, captioned as “Playground, Shannon Harbour, Co Offaly” even though Tom Burke’s boat is clearly visible in the background. Still, good to see that they’re not just waiting for a canal. And they intend to build a car park in the town park, which could be useful for the camper vans.
Posted in Ashore, Built heritage, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Forgotten navigations, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Non-waterway, Operations, People, Politics, Rail, Restoration and rebuilding, Sources, Tourism, Ulster Canal, waterways, Waterways management
Tagged canal, Clones, department of arts heritage and the gaeltacht, Erne, Ireland, lost, Lough Neagh, Ulster Canal, waterways, Waterways Ireland
Irish waterways history