The Island of Ireland has twelve medieval walled towns with sea harbours on Atlantic and Irish Sea waters writes Gary McMahon of the Ilen Project
The historic Irish sailing ship Ilen will voyage this summer between some of these towns to reveal their unity in its Kingship project - a demonstration of nautical nexus.
On June 11th the Ilen Marine School, Limerick, will launch its Kingship project on the quays at Limerick City.
Kingship, a national project, will celebrate the school’s local walled town, English Town at Limerick City and in that process, reach out to other sea-harboured walled Irish towns. Notably, those towns that Limerick City once enjoyed a vibrant trade and cultural exchange with during the long medieval period - such as Galway, Cork, Waterford and Dublin.
Kingship is a community educational project which stands on the shoulders of local and universal traditions. Specifically, the venerable marine traditions that walled Limerick shares with all walled towns in Ireland and beyond - including London, which the Ilen Marine School’s eponymous sailing ship Ilen will set out for in May 2022.
The sailing vessel Ilen, which the school owns and operates, is the sole surviving representative of a once-great fleet of Irish ocean-going wooden sailing ships. Moreover, her size and traditional type of sailing rig correspond handsomely to that of the medieval period’s sailing vessels - bringing an authentic spirit to these inter-town voyages on which Ilen’s crew will soon embark.
The first inter-walled town voyage will be between Limerick and Galway, reopening an ancient trading under-sail sea-route that united these ancient harbours in an at-once dynamic and uniquely maritime way.