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More reading material
A bit of a break from the politicking …. First, the long-awaited second edition of David Walsh’s extraordinary book Oileáin is now available from Pesda Press. It’s an exhaustive guide to the islands...
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The Mahmoudié Canal
There is a possible link between the Mahmoudié Canal, which ran from Alexandria to the Nile, and Irish waterways. I have not managed to establish a definite link to this Irish canal-boat but it is not...
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Important topics in Ireland 1845–1850
I thought it would be interesting to ask the British Newspaper Archive what people were reading about in newspapers published in Dublin between 1 January 1845 and 31 December 1850. The BNA has scans of...
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Shannon history in Birmingham
According to the Railway & Canal Historical Society’s Events page, its annual Clinker Memorial Lecture, to be held in Birmingham in October 2014, will be about River Shannon steamers in the second...
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Shannon Castle Line
On 1 April 1976 the business name Shannon Castle Line was registered. Its address was Williamstown Harbour, Whitegate, Co Clare. The business number was 57837. On 6 July 1999 a statement of particulars...
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And then there were …? [updated]
IBRA and IMF In the original version of this post, I wrote: I don’t know whether the Irish Boat Rental Association [IBRA] still exists. I can’t find a website for it, although there are references to...
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The end of the Tralee Ship Canal? [updated]
I am grateful to Holger Lorenz of Tralee for alerting me to the removal of one of the gates of the Tralee Ship Canal. Holger’s photos of the lock and gate are here: Photo 1 Photo 2 Photo 3...
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Who writes this stuff?
The National Inventory of Architectural Heritage on the Black Bridge at Plass[e]y and on Baal’s Bridge in Limerick. It would be nice if the NIAH provided reliable historical information. Filed under:...
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Dear Mr Bannon
I would be grateful if you could explain why any government in its right mind would restore the Longford branch of the Royal Canal given that (a) canal traffic in Ireland is so small as to be...
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The OPW’s 1969 restoration of Richmond Harbour and the Clondra Canal
Read about it here.Filed under: Ashore, Built heritage, Canals, Charles Wye Williams, Drainage, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Forgotten navigations, Industrial...
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Ballinasloe footbridge
Here is a new page with a brief account of the Ballinasloe Line of the Grand Canal and some photos of a footbridge that seems to have been built across it in the twentieth century.Filed under: Ashore,...
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Steam, the Shannon and the Great British Breakfast
That is the title of the Railway and Canal Historical Society‘s 2014 Clinker Memorial Lecture, to be held at the Birmingham and Midland Institute, Margaret Street, Birmingham B3 3BS, at 1415 on...
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The Royal under the Railway
A new, short book, on aspects of the history of the Royal Canal, published by the Railway and Canal Historical Society, will be launched at the Clinker Lecture on 18 October 2014. The title is The...
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Shannon traffic figures to August 2014
I am grateful to Waterways Ireland for letting me have the Shannon traffic figures for August 2014. Regular readers may wish to skip this section All the usual caveats apply: the underlying figures do...
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The captain and the perjurer
Mary Meehan’s was a dramatic story. In April 1847 she had gone to the house of William Dwyer at Cuphaunhane [Cappanahanagh?]. She heard voices inside and stopped to listen. The door opened and William...
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The Black Bridge at Plassey
I am repeating here a point I made in response to a comment on this page. I do so because the point is, I think, an important one: some readers don’t check the comments and might miss this. I have an...
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Nenagh Canal
Canal between Nenagh and the River Shannon At a numerous and highly respectable Meeting of the Gentry, Merchants, Traders, and Freeholders of the Baronies of Upper Ormond, Lower Ormond, and Owney and...
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Rail, road and river: steam in 1829
Four news items, all in the Varieties section of the Hampshire Chronicle on 19 October 1829. Rail The trial of the locomotive carriages near Liverpool was continued on Saturday, when Mr Stephenson’s...
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Greyways and the Black Bridge
Martin McGuinness [SF] was asked recently, in the Northern Ireland Assembly, about blueways: Leslie Cree [UUP]: It was interesting to read that Waterways Ireland has developed this first blueway in the...
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Two Limerick footbridges
The Black Bridge at Plassey has long had a place in the hearts of Limerick people. It was damaged in the floods of 2009 and has been closed to the public ever since. Limerick Council says it can’t...
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