Festivities planned to mark reopening of Royal Canal

Victor

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2010/0504/1224269640025.html

Festivities planned to mark reopening of Royal Canal
TIM O'BRIEN

A SUMMER of waterway festivities is being planned ahead of the official reopening of the Royal Canal. Formally closed as a link between Dublin and the Shannon in 1961 the last boat to travel the route was actually in 1955, when large parts of the route were already virtually derelict.

Now, after a 36-year campaign for its restoration initiated by local users, the Royal Canal Amenity Group, the Heritage Boat Association, local authorities and Waterways Ireland among others, the canal will be reopened on September 30th.

The official reopening by Waterways Ireland is to take place in Richmond Harbour, Co Longford, at the point where the Royal Canal meets the Shannon.

At 145.6km long the canal has a catchment population of 1.2 million people, making it one of the largest public amenities on the island.

It stretches from the Liffey through north Dublin city, passing Croke Park and Mountjoy Jail, before crossing a viaduct over the M50 at Blanchardstown and crossing counties Dublin, Kildare, Meath and Longford, to Clondra about 10km west of Longford town. Longford Town Council is also planning to reopen a branch line to the town.

Waterways Ireland recently hosted the first meeting of its working committee to plan celebrations leading up to the reopening.

Members of the Inland Waterways Association, which also participated in the campaign for the reopening, will take part in the working committee.

There will be a formal and permanent recognition of the years of work which the past and present campaigners have contributed to saving the canal.

Sporting organisations along the Royal Canal, including the National Coarse Fishing Federation and the Kilcock Canoe Polo Club, will also be involved and are planning events to ensure locals along the route participate in the celebrations. While the schedule of events is still in planning, Noel Spaine of the amenity group said non-water based activities, such as a walk along the canal banks on mid-summer’s day, would also be included.

“The last boat to go through carried waterways author Ruth Herd and her family in the 1950s,” Mr Spaine said.

“Then in 1961 it officially closed and Ian Bath and others got the amenity group going in 1974. It will be great to see it officially open again.”

The summer of activities will finish with a cruise of boats along the most westerly stretch, about 10km of canal from Kenagh to Richmond Harbour.

Waterways Ireland director of marketing and communications Martin Dennany said the opening was “the beginning of a new era for the Royal Canal as a navigable waterway and an accessible public amenity”.

The Royal Canal was first opened in 1817, 27 years after work began. It was in competition with the Grand Canal which mirrors its route on the south side of Dublin and reaches the Shannon at Shannon Harbour, Co Offaly.

The Royal Canal was frequently in financial trouble and opened late and over budget, at a cost of £1,421,954.

Cookie_Monster

How about that, didn't know it was even closed.

Seems a bit unfortunate that its only opening in September, missing the summer season.

oharach

Great. Now can we get Clarkson in a speedboat to see if he can beat the train to Longford?

GM071class

oharach wrote: »

Great. Now can we get Clarkson in a speedboat to see if he can beat the train to Longford?

Give him a Paddle and he'd still beat the train!! :rolleyes:

I think it's great to see the Canal getting a bit of good press, and a re-launch.

It's a lovely ammienety right on my doorstep, and I do love walking Molly (the dog BTW, not the miss's) along it.
Still is a bit fcuk3d up where building work has taken place at the M50 interchange....

Cool Mo D

oharach wrote: »

Great. Now can we get Clarkson in a speedboat to see if he can beat the train to Longford?

Think the speed limit on the canal is about 5mph - so it's only about 50:50 to beat the train.

steamengine

Cool Mo D wrote: »

Think the speed limit on the canal is about 5mph - so it's only about 50:50 to beat the train.

The race has just started !!!

dazberry

Well the locks on the Grand Canal got a bit of work recently and there were a number of barges crawling their way towards Portobello. Apparently they started in Hazelhatch at 6am, I saw them in Inchicore about 6.10pm.

D.

Victor

dazberry wrote: »

Well the locks on the Grand Canal got a bit of work recently and there were a number of barges crawling their way towards Portobello. Apparently they started in Hazelhatch at 6am, I saw them in Inchicore about 6.10pm.

D.

Are any of those children wearing life jackets? While an adult could practically stand up in much of the canal, a 3 year old can't.

DWCommuter

Victor wrote: »

Are any of those children wearing life jackets? While an adult could practically stand up in much of the canal, a 3 year old can't.

Look again. Both kids are wearing certain types of life jackets.

Cookie_Monster

Victor wrote: »

Are any of those children wearing life jackets? While an adult could practically stand up in much of the canal, a 3 year old can't.

DWCommuter wrote: »

Look again. Both kids are wearing certain types of life jackets.

that could be the cotton wool :rolleyes:

Judgement Day

DWCommuter wrote: »

Look again. Both kids are wearing certain types of life jackets.

More likely to be dragged under and eaten by a pram chassis than drown. Incidentally, after all the years of restoration work and millions of Euros spent on the Royal Canal it's still not even a tiny shadow of the tourist attraction that it could be. More lack of 'joined-up thinking' by Govt. departments.
My pic from a teatowel purchased on a two-week honeymoon trip on some of Britain's canals in 2000 says it all about things over there - large numbers of boats, road (?) hogs (floating restaurants), unfriendly landowners etc.etc.. a memorable journey of over 100 miles but not to be undertaken lightly.