Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

This was the first-ever Irish Championships for the Bray Droleen Class, despite the 12-foot catboats being designed by William Ogilvy in 1896. How was this the case? The nine boat fleet raced regularly between 1897 and 1902, and thereafter the…

Ciarán Oliver's family history goes back over a hundred years to what was then known as the fishing village of the Claddagh in Galway. His great-great-uncle, Máirtín, was the last 'King of the Claddagh'. The 'Loveen' doesn't go back quite…

The 30ft gaff-rigged Lady Min - designed and built for his own use by Maurice O’Keeffe of Schull in 1902 - was re-launched for his descendant Simon O’Keeffe at the weekend by restorer Tiernan Roe of Ballydehob, and a flotilla…

At the end of 1896, Bray Sailing Club decided to hold a competition among its members to design a new one-design sailing dinghy suitable for the challenging marine conditions prevailing off Bray, Co. Wicklow. The winner of the competition was…

The noted Irish yacht designer and builder John B Kearney (1879-1968) was a real grafter. His day job was as shipwright and later superintendent of the workshops of the Dublin Port & Docks board. But when he decided to build…

Photographer Michael Chester documented the arrival home of the first three restored Dublin Bay 21’s Number 3 Estelle, 4 Garavogue and 6 Naneen that sailed from Arklow yesterday (Friday 30th) July arriving at Dun Laoghaire at 17.00 where they were met by…

The Dublin Bay 21 Footers are the oldest class of racing yachts of their kind in the world - the World’s Oldest Cruiser Racer Class. Designed in 1902 by the leading yacht designer, Alfred Mylne of Glasgow, for Dublin Bay…

The MGRS 34 Twenty Twenty, originally owned by Bangor man, Jimmy Mackey, lay unused in the river Liffey at Poolbeg, Dublin for about seven years and now, like another Humphrey's design, Juno, will have a new lease of life. Rex…

The symbiotic relationship between the Aran Islands and the centuries-old fishing currach is explored in a new installation at the country’s westernmost arts centre, Áras Éanna on Inis Oírr. The commissioned artists include John Behan RHA, one of Ireland’s most…

Award-winning harpist Laoise Kelly has embarked on a concert tour to five west coast islands on a Galway hooker. As The Times Ireland reports, Kelly aims to reconnect island communities with music, storytelling and song. Kelly, a TG4 musician of…

In 1955, Irish Olympian Dr Alf Delany bought an International 12-foot dinghy called Cora. She is now owned by his daughter Margaret Delany and Cora is again racing. Gerry Murray, who races her with Margaret has been looking into Cora's…

Acclaimed American artist Russ Kramer, who specializes in historically-correct dynamic recreations of famous yacht races and turn-of-the-century yachting society, will give a presentation surveying his oil paintings, inspirations, methods and techniques in a Virtual Lecture by zoom on Thursday as part…

The cherished local One-Design classes of Ireland have never been more relevant than they are now, in these crazy times of soaring-graph numbers when local is good. The expectation of staying local, while making do with fairly modest socialising and…

The restored 56ft Limerick ketch Ilen of 1926 vintage is such an eye-catcher - when you can get a proper view of her - that she immediately arouses, in both young and old, the secretly cherished dream of running away…

A Galway hooker restored with the support of a city publican has joined the local traditional fleet on Galway bay. Réalt na Gaillimhe or Star of Galway was built in Indreabhán, south Connemara, by the Cloherty boat builders in 1910.…

The 18-foot Waverley open racing yacht has for many years been a Ballyholme Yacht Club class, and those which are still sailing have been berthed in Bangor Marina, which from when it was opened in 1989 proved to be something…