MacDara Conroy
MacDara Conroy is a contributor covering all things on the water, from boating and wildlife to science and business
#InlandWaters - Funding for Waterways Ireland is on the rise, and particularly for projects in the Dublin region, according to Heritage Minister Josepha Madigan. Responding last week to a Dáil question from Cavan-Monaghan TD Brendan Smith, Minister Madigan outlined that…
Maritime Journal reports that work has begun on the Port of Cork’s new Cork Container Terminal at Ringaskiddy. Afloat.ie previously covered the development at its launch last June, where plans were revealed for its first phase of a 300-metre quay…
New Round Of Funding For Corrected Sports Capital Programme Submissions
18th January 2019 News Update
Four aquatic sports-related projects will share in the €7 million in grants announced under the Sports Capital Programme (SCP) for schemes previously deemed invalid in 2017 but since corrected. In Cork, Lee Valley Rowing Club will receive €12,000 for the…
Brexit Burdens Present An Opportunity For Dun Laoghaire Harbour, Says Councillor
14th January 2019 Dublin Bay
Could Brexit present an opportunity for Dun Laoghaire’s harbour? In a letter to The Irish Times last Tuesday 8 January, local Fine Gael councillor John Kennedy spells out his reasons why the port could be positioned as an additional resource…
The Dunleary Lifeboat Project is the subject of a new exhibition at the DLR Lexicon in Dun Laoghaire from next week. Running from Tuesday 22 January to Monday 4 February, the exhibition is being held in partnership with Advanced Tourism…
Marine science-related projects were among those awarded at the 2019 BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition in Dublin yesterday (Friday 11 January). Rachel Cotter and Jack Mullen, pupils of Coláiste Muire in Crosshaven, Co Cork, placed second in the intermediate…
Focus On Galway Hooker Sailors In New Four-Part TG4 Documentary Series ‘Bádóirí’
9th January 2019 Maritime TV
#OnTV - A new four-part documentary series on the people of Ireland’s west who keep the Galway Hooker sailing tradition alive behind tomorrow night (Thursday 10 January) at 8pm on TG4. Bádóirí provides an insight into seven Connemara families, part of…
#GeorgesDock - Dublin City councillors were yesterday presented with plans to transform George’s Dock into an “elite” white-water canoeing amenity for sports and rescue training, according to The Irish Times. Last April, it was reported that a design tender had…
Researchers Rule Out Virus Outbreak In Beaked Whale ‘Unusual Mortality Event’
6th January 2019 Marine Wildlife
#MarineWildlife - New research as ruled out viral outbreak as a cause of mass strandings of deep-ocean beaked whales and others in Scottish and Irish waters last year. As Scotland’s The Herald reports, tissue samples collected from tests on 26…
A reptile feared to be a venomous turtle-headed sea snake was found on a beach on the East Cork coast on Thursday 3 January, as the Irish Examiner reports. However, minds were put at ease when the dead snake spotted…
Former commercial eel fisherman in Galway will receive compensation up to a maximum of €3 million from this month, as Galway Bay FM reports. Applications were opened till the end of November for the Support Scheme for Former Feel Fisherpersons…
A Public, Policy-Led Plan With Climate Change Focus: What Ireland Wants From New Marine Spatial Plan
29th December 2018 News Update
A policy-based plan that puts climate change front and centre and steers away from privatising coastal resources is what the country wants from the State’s National Marine Planning Framework, as The Irish Times reports. Details have been released from the…
Special World Sailing Council Meeting Confirms Olympic Keelboat Event Over Finn Class
28th December 2018 Olympic
Minutes of the meeting that decided the inclusion of an Olympic keelboat event in place of the Finn class have been confirmed by the World Sailing council, according to Sail World. Controversy has arisen after last month’s decision at World…
Ireland’s hottest surfing spot is… Dublin? It might not be Mullaghmore, but many surfers swear by the waves off Dollymount Strand in Dublin Bay, widely believed to the the longest in Ireland. Local kitesurfers already know the score — the…
Dublin Bay Sailing Club has announced its key dates for the 2019 sailing season, which kicks off right after Easter. Tuesday races will begin on 23 April with the last races taking place on 27 August. Thursday racing takes place…
#Surfing - A regular visitor to Ireland’s big wave surfing hot spots may have broken the world record for the biggest wave ever surfed, as The Irish Times reports. Cornish surfer Tom Butler rode a giant swell at Nazaré in…
British Government Accused Of ‘Coasting’ On Post-Brexit Fisheries Plans For Northern Ireland
15th December 2018 Fishing
#Fishing - The UK Government has been accused of “coasting” on plans for Britain’s and in particular Northern Ireland’s fisheries post-Brexit, as the News Letter reports. MPs on the Northern Ireland Affairs Select Committee have written to fisheries secretary Michael…
#TradeNews - Organisers of prestigious yacht shows in Florida and Monaco have taken over the boutique London On-Water Boat Show and are set to relaunch the brand next May as the London Yacht Show. As Motor Boat & Yachting reports,…
Irish Ferries has cancelled all further sailings to and from Dublin and Holyhead today (Friday 7 December) on the foot of a Status Orange gale warning for Irish coastal waters and the Irish Sea. The warning from Met Éireann issued…
#IslandNews - Air service between the Aran Islands and the mainland has been saved for two more weeks after a short-term tender was agreed, as The Irish Times reports. Aer Arann Islands gave notice in June that it would terminate…
