MacDara Conroy
MacDara Conroy is a contributor covering all things on the water, from boating and wildlife to science and business
#INLAND WATERWAYS - Fingal County Council invites any interested parties to make submissions on the future of the Royal Canal as a Greenway Route in the Fingal area. The council, in conjunction with the National Transport Authority and Waterways Ireland,…
#ANGLING - Two Irish anglers were the top sea trout samplers for the Celtic Sea Trout Project in 2011. Martin McKenny from the River Dee and Brian McShane from the Castletown River, plus several other Irish winners, will be presented…
#ANGLING - The Irish Times' resident angling expert Derek Evans was on hand at the launch of Sea to Stream, a new film documenting the salmon and sea trout season on Lough Currane in Co Kerry. The hour-long DVD follows…
#POWER FROM THE SEA - When will Ireland make the most of its wave energy? That's the question Journal.ie last week posed to experts in the field. Some studies claim that up to 75% of Ireland's energy needs could be…
#ANGLING - A landowner in Co Fermanagh has blocked access to a slipway and moorings used by anglers on his land, as BBC News reports. Fishermen found the road leading to the site blocked by hay bales after the 10-year…
#KITESURFING - Windsurfers have vowed to battle to overturn the decision to cut their sport from the Olympic Games in 2016 in favour of kitesurfing. As the Independent reports, kitesurfing has been given two medal events at the 2016 games…
#SURFING - It's official - an Irish-American surf pro did indeed ride the world's biggest wave, and will have his name in the Guinness Book of Records to prove it. Record-keepers have confirmed that a 78-foot monster wave caught by…
#ANGLING - 'Gone fishing' is where Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) wants you to be during Fisheries Awareness Week from tomorrow 12 to 20 May. Full details of events taking place country-wide for Fisheries Awareness Week are available on FAW.ie. Most…
#FISHING - The Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) aquaculture executive has criticised the Government's grant aid scheme announced this week, claiming that it rules out the majority of Ireland's fish farming industry from accessing funds. Richie Flynn said that the rules…
#BELFAST LOUGH - A woman has been arrested on suspicion of wasting police time after reports of a baby falling overboard from a ferry in Belfast Lough have turned out to be unfounded. As previously reported on Afloat.ie, a large-scale…
#MARITIME TV PROGRAMMES - A sunken U-boat off Malin Head will be one of the sites visited by Dan Snow in a new series looking at Northern Ireland's role in the Second World War. Dig WW2 With Dan Snow, a…
#CANOEING - The Irish Times profiles Irish canoeing contender Ciaran Heurteau ahead of the European Championships in Germany this weekend, where he hopes to claim his place at the 2012 Olympics. Born in Paris to a Northern Irish mother, Heurteau…
#SURFING - Surfing is Ireland's new national pastime, if the Irish Independent is anything to go by. The paper's Amanda Phelan travelled to Lahinch - home of 'biggest wave' award hopeful Ollie O'Flaherty - to investigate the boom in surf…
#COASTGUARD - Youghal in Co Cork will host the seventh Joint Search and Rescue (JSAR) competition between the Irish Coast Guard and HM Coastguard Northern Ireland this coming weekend 11-13 May. The contest is organised by the volunteers of the…
#ISLAND NEWS - Red Bull Cliff Diving will come to Ireland's west coast for the fourth stop of the 2012 World Series on 3-4 August. The competition will see the world’s best cliff divers converge on the biggest of the…
#COASTGUARD - The Irish Coast Guard has ended its search for a ferry passenger believed to be missing off the coast of Wexford, as the Irish Examiner reports. The alarm was raised early yesterday morning when the passenger, who had…
#MARINE WILDLIFE - The Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) reports that two marine science students from the Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology (GMIT) have joined IWDG members on an eight-day transatlantic cetacean and bird survey on board the RV Celtic…
#MARINE WILDLIFE - The second largest fish in the sea is making its return to British and Irish waters - and experts are calling on the general public to report any sightings, as BBC News reports. Basking sharks are a…
#MARINE NOTICE - The Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport (DTTAS) has issued a safety notice for all users of Electronic Chart Display and Information Systems (ECDIS). Following an announcement by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) concerning potential display anomalies…
#ANGLING - A revolutionary new fly-carrying package aims to eliminate the annoyance of going back and forth to replenish your bait supply, as The Irish Times reports. The Jodea, developed and patented by fly-fisherman Jeremiah O’Dea, can be clipped to…