Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

#arklow legend – We are fortunate in this country to have people who are dedicated to the marine sphere and who give freely and willingly of their time and efforts in pursuit of their belief that maritime matters really should…

#islandnation – DAH DIT, DAH DIT...The distance which Morse Code could travel was highlighted to me at Valentia Coastal Radio Station when the centenary of its operation was marked writes Tom MacSweeney. John Draper now in charge of the station recorded…

#woodenboat – Marine Minister Simon Coveney is confident that wooden boat building in Ireland is going to be revived writes Tom MacSweeney. Traditional skills have been lost and there are fears that they will disappear forever, but the Minister sounds…

#vor –  As the Volvo Ocean Race organisers release the investigation report into the Team Vestas Wind shipwreck in the Indian Ocean, Irish sailor Brian Carlin who was the yacht's Onboard Reporter describes dramatically on the current edition of THIS ISLAND…

#irishsailing – There are just 17,000 registered leisure sailors in Ireland at present. There has been a decline in sailing, the level of activity has weakened, clubs are losing membership and several marinas have space available for the first time.…

#drowning – The Chief Executive of Irish Water Safety, John Leech, shocked me this week when I heard him say at the end of his regular report on my radio programme 'THIS ISLAND NATION': "I finish on a sad note,…

#sealinks – In the current debate which has surfaced about the future of Aer Lingus, it is good to hear the realisation in all quarters, from politicians to business, economic and media commentators that Ireland is an 'island nation'. While…

#islandnation – "There is a deep-rooted interest in the sea amongst Irish people. Seeing history through the prism of the sea, bringing together the coastal communities and the public generally will raise interest in the relationship of Ireland to the…

#islandnation – "Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards." It was Søren Aabye Kierkegaard, a 19th century Danish philosopher and theologian, who penned those words. His approach to philosophy was to leave the reader of his…

#islandnation –  I have told my wife that my boat is not an inanimate object, that it does talk to me, which has generated the response that it costs enough, but does it ever explain why? It may not be…

#islandnation – On this edition of THIS ISLAND NATION podcast I question Government policy towards two aspects of the marine sphere and ask how much confidence can be placed in the much-hyped plan to create Ocean Wealth writes Tom MacSweeney. Several times…

#islandnation – Sailmaker Des McWilliam talks about his first time sailing across the Atlantic, which he has "wanted to do" throughout his long sailing career, but has never done until now. He talks about the ARC - the Atlantic Cruiser…

#islandnation – In the maritime context there are probably several answers to that question, varying from legal to illegal, to elements of sex for sale to sailors at ports around the world, interpretations of the life of the sailor with…

#glandoreharbour – I have had good times, as well as tough and challenging sailing and one frightening experience in the harbour of the oaks or the harbour of gold. Those descriptions, some locals claim, are literal meanings of the name,…

#islands – On Thursday, October 9, not enough TDs turned up in the Dáil to create a quorum for the business of our national Parliament. The Opposition accused the Government parties of being responsible and of showing lack of commitment…

#islandnation – This month, Caitlin Ni Aodha, widow of the Skipper of the Tit Bonhomme who drowned in that trawler tragedy in West Cork, talks to us on the pier at Howth in County Dublin as she launched the new…