50ft fishing boat at Kilrush boatyard. Photo Darina Tully

Clare Traditional Boat and Currach Study 2008

Darina Tully

In the summer of 2008, an audit of the traditional boats and currachs of Co Clare was undertaken by the author. A steering group of interested parties was set up under the direction of Congella McGuire, Clare Heritage officer and Tomas Mac Conmara, Heritage Project officer. The project produced an inventory of traditional boats and currachs that established a priority list for their future conservation. The study also examined the local variations in traditional boat and currach building, associated customs, usage and typology.

50ft fishing boat at Kilrush boatyard. Photo Darina Tully

 

50ft fishing boat at Kilrush boatyard. Photo Darina Tully

Vessels over 25 years

The audit was confined to boats deemed to be ‘heritage boats’. In keeping with the definition of heritage under The Heritage Act 1995, heritage boats were defined, for the purposes of this study, as vessels over 25 years old.

The project found that Co Clare has three distinctive areas of water-based transport: the dynamic West Coast, the Shannon Estuary and the relatively calm waters of Lough Derg. Thirty classes of boats were identified in use within the county. Currachs and gandelows make up more than half of the 220 heritage boats now on the inventory.

Sea Stallion of Glendalough

Vikings on the starboard bow

Jehan Ashmore

After a gap of 900 years the Vikings are coming back, well almost! In the guise of an exact replica of a Viking warship longboat, Sea Stallion of Glendalough is set to arrive into Dublin Port in mid-August having sailed from Denmark.Sea Stallion of Glendalough

The journey begins in Roskilde on July 1 when the vessel sets sail for Dublin via the North Sea. Enthusiasts can keep track of the voyage on the website www.seastallion.dk.

4.2 Rathcorsey-Hookers

Rathcoursey hookers: gone but not forgotten

Rathcoursey hookers: gone but not forgotten
The few remaining skiffs still fishing Bullock Harbour, Dublin Bay. Photo Darina Tully

Hobbling has turned to skiff racing in Dublin Bay

Hobbling has turned to skiff racing in Dublin Bay
'Eithne' (1893) tacking in Dún Laoghaire Harbour in 2008. Owned by Séan Cullen and Neil Keaveney and currently undergoing restoration, her penultimate owner was the late Capt Kevin O'Neill, assistant Dún Laoghaire Harbour master (1990). Photo Gillian Mills

Steeped in history and sailing into the future

Steeped in history and sailing into the future
Double-ended Slaney River cots. Photo Darina Tully

The river cots of the southeast coast

The river cots of the southeast coast

The skin boat tradition in Ireland

The skin boat tradition in Ireland
Mariner's Church, Dún Laoghaire, Co Dublin. Photo Eogan Ganley

Bright future for 19th century ‘mariners’ church

Bright future for 19th century ‘mariners’ church
International crew in Genoa overtaking the Dutch team

Bantry Bay longboat for Cork City

Diarmaid Murphy, Atlantic Challenge

Meithal Mara, a city based organisation better known for exploits with currachs, is the most recent group to join the Atlantic Challenge Ireland family and is in the process of completing a longboat at their premises at Crosses Green, Cork.

The group intend to be on the water by June, in time for the ‘Ocean to City’ race when they will be up against other longboat crews from Bantry, Waterford and Antrim. In the meantime during the build, the crew will travel to Bantry and Waterford to gain valuable experience on board other longboats to learn the necessary skills to row and sail these dynamic vessels.

International crew in Genoa overtaking the Dutch team

 International crew in Genoa overtaking the Dutch team

2006 was a very busy and successful year for Atlantic Challenge Ireland, especially when the Bantry-based Irish crew were victorious in Genoa, Italy, winning the prestigious Atlantic Challenge International contest with style. There were sixteen boats in the contest with representatives from over twenty different countries.