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Coastal Development in Ireland
Rare Finds in 25th Anniversary Coastwatch Survey
#COASTAL NOTES - The remains of a leatherback turtle were among the finds reported by 'citizen scientists' taking part in the Coastwatch survey of Ireland's coastline, according to The Irish Times. As previously reported on Afloat.ie, the 'eco audit' marked…
Ireland to Get First 'Energy Bank' Beneath NI Lough
#COASTAL NOTES - The first ever 'energy bank' on this island will be constructed deep beneath a coastal lough in Northern Ireland, as the Irish Independent reports. Some 500 million cubic metres of gas are set to be stored in…
'Surfers Against Sewage' Tour Hits Northern Ireland Next Week
#COASTAL NOTES - Surfers Against Sewage will be taking their environmental education programme to Northern Ireland next week, as online surfing magazine Drift reports. The team are set to visit up to 15 schools, universities, youth groups and sports clubs…
New Targets for Oil Exploration Off Southwest Coast
#COASTAL NOTES - Oil exploration company Petrel Resources has identified a number of new targets off the southwest coast of Ireland as it seeks bigger partners for its venture. The Irish Times reports that the Dublin-based firm was awarded licensing…
Howth Harbour to Get Upgrade
#howth – Minister for the Marine, Simon Coveney TD, has signed a significant contract today in Agriculture House for remediation and upgrade development works at Howth Fishery Harbour Centre. The works will be carried out by an Irish company Wills…
Public Urged to Join Coastwatch Survey
#COASTAL NOTES - Coastwatch is appealing to the public to get involved in a country-wide 'eco audit' of Ireland's shoreline. The Irish Times reports that the survey marks the 25th anniversary of the first Coastwatch audit of the coastline of…
Barryroe Oil Field May Hold Further Resources Says Study
#COASTAL NOTES - The Barryroe field off the south coast of Cork may deliver even more oil than previously anticipated, according to the latest surveys. The Irish Times reports that Providence Resources has completed an evaluation of its Celtic Sea…
Excursion Day-Trips to Mull of Kintyre and Isle of Man
#EXCURSIONS – A series of day-long round trip excursion cruises, offering unusual routes from Northern Ireland to destinations in Scotland and the Isle of Man are to start before and during this weekend, writes Jehan Ashmore. The excursions are running…
Blackrock Baths to Face Demolition
#COASTAL NOTES - The famed Blackrock Baths are to be demolished after county councillors deemed the now-derelict facility as "dangerous", The Irish Times reports. Dating from 1839, the seafront baths were once Ireland's top venue for watersports, featuring a 50-metre…
Balbriggan Beach Reopens After E.coli Scare
#COASTAL NOTES - The Irish Times reports that Balbriggan Beach was reopened for swimming yesterday 31 August after the latest in a string of E.coli scares around the Irish coast. The beach at the north Co Dublin coastal town was…
End of Season: Seafront Memorials Tour
#SEAFRONT TOURS –The final Seafront Memorials Tour is to take place this Saturday (September 1st), where you can take in local historical landmarks, along the coast road and East Pier of Dun Laoghaire Harbour. The tour is free and covers…
Cork Beach Bathing Ban Lifted as E.coli Levels Drop 'Significantly'
#COASTAL NOTES - The bathing ban imposed last week on seven Cork coastal beaches has been lifted, according to RTÉ News. As previously reported on Afloat.ie, the seven beaches had been closed to swimming over concerns at elevated E.coli levels…
Dalkey Lobster Fest....Lobster, Crab & All That Jazz!
#LOBSTERS & JAZZ – The first International Dalkey Lobster Fest (24-26 August) starts tomorrow in the scenic coastal heritage town in south Dublin, and in which runs over the weekend, writes Jehan Ashmore. The festival is a fusion of local…
Fun for All Ages…Tallships and ‘Ducking’ in the Docklands
#DUCKING DOCKS - Who will have the best looking duck swimming in the Duck Race?...at the Duck Your Duck Workshop this Saturday 25th August (between 11am-5pm –both Sat. & Sun). The children's creative workshop will be held at the Waterways…
Take a Stroll with a Dún Laoghaire Seafront Memorial Tour
#SEAFRONT TOURS – Take in the sea-air while getting to know some historical landmarks, along Dun Laoghaire Harbour's waterfront with the Seafront Memorials Tour. The free guided tour runs every Saturday morning until the 1 September. The tours take in…
Cork Beach Closures Continue as E.coli Results Awaited
#COASTAL NOTES - Cork County Council has announced it will be at least two more days before it knows if its bathing ban at seven beaches can be lifted, according to RTÉ News. As previously reported on Afloat.ie, the seven…

Coastal Notes Coastal Notes covers a broad spectrum of stories, events and developments in which some can be quirky and local in nature, while other stories are of national importance and are on-going, but whatever they are about, they need to be told.

Stories can be diverse and they can be influential, albeit some are more subtle than others in nature, while other events can be immediately felt. No more so felt, is firstly to those living along the coastal rim and rural isolated communities. Here the impact poses is increased to those directly linked with the sea, where daily lives are made from earning an income ashore and within coastal waters.

The topics in Coastal Notes can also be about the rare finding of sea-life creatures, a historic shipwreck lost to the passage of time and which has yet many a secret to tell. A trawler's net caught hauling more than fish but cannon balls dating to the Napoleonic era.

Also focusing the attention of Coastal Notes, are the maritime museums which are of national importance to maintaining access and knowledge of historical exhibits for future generations.

Equally to keep an eye on the present day, with activities of existing and planned projects in the pipeline from the wind and wave renewables sector and those of the energy exploration industry.

In addition Coastal Notes has many more angles to cover, be it the weekend boat leisure user taking a sedate cruise off a long straight beach on the coast beach and making a friend with a feathered companion along the way.

In complete contrast is to those who harvest the sea, using small boats based in harbours where infrastructure and safety poses an issue, before they set off to ply their trade at the foot of our highest sea cliffs along the rugged wild western seaboard.

It's all there, as Coastal Notes tells the stories that are arguably as varied to the environment from which they came from and indeed which shape people's interaction with the surrounding environment that is the natural world and our relationship with the sea.