
Limerick Ketch Ilen Passing Skelligs – She's Due in Kinsale at 0400 Hrs Tomorrow (Wednesday)
3rd September 2019 Ilen
When Conor O’Brien returned from his round the world voyage in Saoirse to Dun Laoghaire in 1925, it was all carefully choreographed so that he arrived in the middle of a Saturday afternoon, and the DBSC fleet, having abandoned their…

Ilen Voyage Promotes Transatlantic Learning Links for School Kids in Ireland & Greenland
1st September 2019 Ilen
There’ll be opportunities in Limerick and Greenland for young people to learn more of what the two Transatlantic voyages – outward and return - of the 56ft traditional ketch Ilen have discovered and explained, with schools now resumed after the…

Anchor ‘Lost From Sailing Ship Over 100 Years Ago’ Recovered From Carlingford Lough
30th August 2019 Historic Boats
The Facebook page for Carlingford Lough has shared a remarkable find from the lough by subsea divers — an anchor believed to have been lost from a sailing ship more than a century ago. It’s understood the anchor was discovered…

Limerick Ketch Ilen is Now Halfway Home to Ireland from Greenland & Headed for Kinsale
30th August 2019 Ilen
The 56ft traditional ketch Ilen under the command of Paddy Barry has been making excellent progress since departing Greenland on Sunday evening, and is already halfway home to Ireland along the 1200 mile passage from Prince Christian Sund writes W…

Historic Ketch Ilen Takes her Departure from Greenland, Bound for Ireland & Limerick
26th August 2019 Ilen
Limerick’s restored 56ft Conor O’Brien-designed 1926-built traditionally-rigged trading ketch Ilen emerged yesteray evening (Sunday) from the eastern end of Prince Christian Sound to start her passage back to Ireland writes W M Nixon. The magnificent Sound - noted for its dramatic…

Limerick Ketch Ilen Continues Homeward Along Desirable Greenland ‘Real Estate’
22nd August 2019 Ilen
The traditional restored 56ft trading ketch Ilen of Limerick, under the command of Paddy Barry, is serenely continuing her progress homewards along Greenland’s southwest coast despite that rugged and sparsely-populated coastline suddenly becoming global news, thanks to the revelation that…

Researchers Discover Vikings Arrived in Ireland When the Population was in Serious Decline
20th August 2019 Historic Boats
New research has found that the population of Ireland was in decline for almost 200 years before the Vikings settled. The research from Queen’s University Belfast’s School of Natural and Built Environment is the first of its kind and has…

Historic Yawl Iolaire May be Gone, But Former Owner Don Street Sails on
20th August 2019 Historic Boats
They say bad news travels fast. But the news that the 48ft 1905-built yawl Iolaire has been lost, after an inadvertent gybe in heavy weather drove her onto rocks – fortunately without loss of life or injury - off Ibiza…

Historic Water Wag 'Pansy' to Be Displayed as Part of Heritage Week Theme
20th August 2019 Dublin Bay
The theme of this week's National Heritage Week for 2019 is ‘Pastimes'. In recognition of this, the 113-year-old Water Wag dinghy‘Pansy,’ will be put on public display on the East Pier, Dun Laoghaire on Dublin Bay on Tuesday 20th August…

The 1926-built restored 56ft Limerick trading ketch Ilen has completed the varied shoreside and coastal aspects of her research voyage to Greenland writes W M Nixon. This took her as far north as Ilulissat beyond the Arctic Circle to give…

When the late Tony Moylan cajoled the notion of Cruinnui na mBad at Kinvara into being in 1979, times were different writes W M Nixon. The idea was to celebrate the Gathering of the Boats in the old days, when…

The Galway man who is regarded as a leading light in the revival of interest in Irish turf trading craft has been immortalised in his home harbour writes Lorna Siggins Figurative sculptor John Coll has designed a plaque depicting the…

Traditional Boat Festivals on Ireland’s West & East Coasts This Weekend
10th August 2019 Historic Boats
After a week of thinking maybe too much about modern and ultra-modern boats contesting the Fastnet Race and Calves Week at Schull, it’s a comforting relaxation to settle gently into contemplation of this weekend’s annual Crunniu na mBad (The Gathering…

When Kerry Blasket islanders built the naomhóg for fishing, they would never have dreamed the same craft might transit Nova Scotia writes Lorna Siggins However, four Irishmen have now rowed and sailed a similar design across Cape Breton in northern Canada.…

Limerick Ketch Ilen - Her Work in Greenland Completed – Will Soon be Heading Home for Ireland
1st August 2019 Ilen
The traditional 56ft Limerick trading ketch Ilen will shortly begin her long return voyage from west Greenland to the Shannon Estuary, following the successful completion of the several strands of research and exploration in the Ilen Project’s Salmons Wake programme writes…

Irish Presence at International 12 Foot Dinghy Friendship Regatta at Rutland Water
30th July 2019 Historic Boats
In one of the most international regattas for the International 12 Foot Dinghy of recent years, entries came from Uganda, Holland, Canada, England and Ireland. This historic dinghy class permits either a crew of one of two. There is no…