Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

Mayo county councillors have called for a formal letter demanding that Dublin Port Company reverse its decision to end the regular rail freight service to Ballina, as The Western People reports. At a meeting of Ballina Municipal District this morning…

New Zealand’s reportedly rejected multi-million-euro offer to host the next America’s Cup could give some indication of how much Cork Harbour’s ambitions would cost. According to Marine Industry News, the Auld Mug holders Emirates Team New Zealand are opening discussions abroad…

The remains of a whale washed up on a Co Wexford beach are likely to be those of a minke whale, the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) says. According to The Irish Times, the dead whale was discovered on…

A wildlife charity has urged the public to take care when disposing of face masks after it’s alleged a puffin became entangled in a mask and died. According to The Irish Times, the Irish Wildlife Trust (IWT) said it was…

Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council has closed two popular south Dublin beaches over elevated levels of bacteria in the water, as RTÉ News reports. The temporary notice advising against swimming at Killiney Beach and White Rock Beach was issued yesterday (Saturday…

A unique whale-shaped mosaic which is set for permanent public display aims to connect present-day Wexford with its storied maritime past, as RTÉ News reports. With the help of artist Helen McLean, Wexford Arts Centre has been creating the patterned…

The Connaught Telegraph reports that Galway city councillors are tendering for a study on the feasibility of a new blueway for Galway and Mayo. According to details on the State’s eTenders website, the proposed blueway would extend from Lough Mask…

Authorities in Northern Ireland are investigating a fish kill that’s claimed hundreds of trout in a stretch of the Three Mile Water in Co Antrim. According to BBC News, many of the dead trout “were sizeable fish of spawning age”.…

A swimmer rescued off Dalkey yesterday afternoon (Thursday 3 June) has died in hospital, as TheJournal.ie reports. It’s understood the deceased, a man in his 20s, had been swimming at the Vico Baths below Hawk Cliff when he got into…

A teenage boy said he “had no choice but to jump in” and rescue a mother and daughter from drowning in the River Barrow in Carlow at the weekend. As RTÉ News reports, Miley Doran (17) told how he saw…

IMOCA 60 yacht CORUM L’Épargne and the VO65 one-design of The Austrian Ocean Race Project have come first in Leg 1 of The Ocean Race Europe. Fickle breeze challenged all 12 international teams as they raced into Cascais in Portugal…

The Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) says it has confirmed its first humpback whale match between Ireland’s waters and the Canary Islands. Images of a fluke and dorsal fin captured by Alex Brenner at Valle Gran Rey on La Gomera…

Irish beaches need full weekend lifeguard service at the very least this summer, a Co Clare surfing instructor says. Lahinch-based Ben Bennett told RTÉ’s Claire Byrne that lifeguard cover on Ireland’s coastal beaches lags behind that in the Frame and…

Scientists at NUI Galway warn that a deadly bacteria found in many highly rated sea swimming spots in Ireland is not currently tested for as EU regulations do not require it. According to The Irish Independent, reseaechers with NUI Galway’s…

The Oireachtas Public Accounts Committee has heard that the Irish Coast Guard’s rescue helicopter service costs the state around €60 million annually. An initial 10-year contract with CHC Ireland to provide services with Sikorsky S-92 helicopters from four bases began…

Kilkeel RNLI launched their inshore lifeboat to the aid of two fishermen stranded in Carlingford Lough on Saturday (22 May). The fishermen had been lifting creels just off Cranfield Point on the Northern Ireland side when the 25ft boat’s propeller…

The British Government has announced a three-month delay in the implementation of the red diesel ban for private pleasure craft in Northern Ireland. The move follows lobbying by Bangor Marina and others in the NI leisure boating industry who emphasised…

Works to restore watercourses impacted by a bogslide in the North West last year could take “a number of years” to complete, according to the Loughs Agency. As previously reported on Afloat.ie, anglers in Donegal and Tyrone fear that the…

More than 2,000 people have already signed an online petition in support of legal protection for basking sharks in Irish waters. The appeal was started by Simon Berrow of the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group to encourage TDs to support…

The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine is seeking tenders for the resurfacing of repair bays within its boatyard at Howth Fishery Harbour Centre in North Co Dublin. The request for tender is divided into two lots and calls…