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Displaying items by tag: West Cork islands

The West Cork Islands of Bere, Dursey, Garnish, Heir, Long, Cape Clear, Sherkin and Whiddy are inviting visitors to 'explore the islands, experience island life' in a special island festival in June.

The idea behind the celebration from June 15 and 16 is to encourage visitors to see what life on an island is like. The island communities are saying 'be an islander for the weekend'. Enjoy reduced rates on ferries/cable car activities, services and accommodation. Jump on a ferry or the cable car at islander rates.

More details on the festival are here

Published in Island News

#ISLANDS – The recently established West Cork Islands Community Council was formally launched by the Mayor of County Cork, Cllr Tim Lombard at a meeting of Cork County Council in County Hall (Monday 27th February 2012).

Mr Syd Cheatle, a resident of Sherkin Island was elected chairperson of the new body which will be in a position to speak for all of the islands' communities and work for their long-term overall interests, as a voluntary, collective, representative structure modelled on Muintir na Tíre.

The Community Council should add a more representational and collective approach to the development of the West Cork Islands, and will facilitate the exchange of information and experiences between the island communities.

One of the key aims of the West Cork Islands Interagency Group was to establish a voluntary representative structure for the West Cork Islands as an Island Group. There are two members elected by the population of each of the seven inhabited islands.

The West Cork Islands have also launched their own website to inform Islanders of events and news on the Islands, to showcase the Islands to potential visitors and develop the brand of the west cork islands.

The Mayor wished the newly elected Community Council well and looked forward to exploring new ways that the Council and Forum can work together, listening and learning from each other.

"Community and town councils exist at a scale that reflects people's patterns of social interaction and their identification with place. They can therefore act to facilitate community activities, organise and sponsor community events and promote community spirit and inclusiveness," saild Cllr Lombard.

Speaking at the launch, County Manager Mr. Martin Riordan said that working together locally in an organised and focused way is one of the most effective methods of ensuring that the community's needs are heard and met and urged people to get involved. He added that voluntary activity forms the very core of all vibrant and inclusive societies and the linking together of all our west cork island communities offers great opportunities for the islands

John Walsh from Bere Island Projects Group said that they were delighted to be involved with the setting up of the West Cork Islands community council. This is the first time that the 7 inhabited of West Cork Islands will be represented by one structure and this will be a positive step forward for the communities living there.

Máirtín Ó'Méalóid, manager of the Comharchumann Chléire Teo which played a significant role in the council's development, stated that it will be a very important forum for discussion on matters collective to the seven islands of west cork and that the Comharchumann very much looks forward to working closely with the council in a supportive way into the future.

Published in Island News

#ISLANDS -The Cape Clear Ferry which operates the service between the Wst Cork island and Baltimore, has outlined revisions to sailing schedules for this year. The proposed changes follow a consultation process held with the islanders, as previously reported on Afloat.ie

The changes to sailings during the months of May, June and September and also to schedules between 1st April-30th December are available to view by clicking HERE.

In addition a table showing the minimum frequency of daily return sailings are also outlined.

Published in Island News

Marine Institute Research Vessel Tom Crean

Ireland’s new marine research vessel will be named the RV Tom Crean after the renowned County Kerry seaman and explorer who undertook three major groundbreaking expeditions to the Antarctic in the early years of the 20th Century which sought to increase scientific knowledge and to explore unreached areas of the world, at that time.

Ireland's new multi-purpose marine research vessel RV Tom Crean, was delivered in July 2022 and will be used by the Marine Institute and other State agencies and universities to undertake fisheries research, oceanographic and environmental research, seabed mapping surveys; as well as maintaining and deploying weather buoys, observational infrastructure and Remotely Operated Vehicles.

The RV Tom Crean will also enable the Marine Institute to continue to lead and support high-quality scientific surveys that contribute to Ireland's position as a leader in marine science. The research vessel is a modern, multipurpose, silent vessel (designed to meet the stringent criteria of the ICES 209 noise standard for fisheries research), capable of operating in the Irish Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). The Tom Crean is able to go to sea for at least 21 days at a time and is designed to operate in harsh sea conditions.

RV Tom Crean Specification Overview

  • Length Overall: 52.8 m
  • Beam 14m
  • Draft 5.2M 

Power

  • Main Propulsion Motor 2000 kw
  • Bow Thruster 780 kw
  • Tunnel thruster 400 kw

Other

  • Endurance  21 Days
  • Range of 8,000 nautical miles
  • DP1 Dynamic Positioning
  • Capacity for 3 x 20ft Containers

Irish Marine Research activities

The new state-of-the-art multi-purpose marine research vessel will carry out a wide range of marine research activities, including vital fisheries, climate change-related research, seabed mapping and oceanography.

The new 52.8-metre modern research vessel, which will replace the 31-metre RV Celtic Voyager, has been commissioned with funding provided by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine approved by the Government of Ireland.

According to Aodhán FitzGerald, Research Vessel Manager of the MI, the RV Tom Crean will feature an articulated boom crane aft (6t@ 10m, 3T@ 15m), located on the aft-gantry. This will be largely used for loading science equipment and net and equipment handling offshore.

Mounted at the stern is a 10T A-frame aft which can articulate through 170 degrees which are for deploying and recovering large science equipment such as a remotely operated vehicle (ROV’s), towed sleds and for fishing operations.

In addition the fitting of an 8 Ton starboard side T Frame for deploying grabs and corers to 4000m which is the same depth applicable to when the vessel is heaving but is compensated by a CTD system consisting of a winch and frame during such operations.

The vessel will have the regulation MOB boat on a dedicated davit and the facility to carry a 6.5m Rigid Inflatable tender on the port side.

Also at the aft deck is where the 'Holland 1' Work class ROV and the University of Limericks 'Etain' sub-Atlantic ROV will be positioned. In addition up to 3 x 20’ (TEU) containers can be carried.

The newbuild has been engineered to endure increasing harsher conditions and the punishing weather systems encountered in the North-East Atlantic where deployments of RV Tom Crean on surveys spent up to 21 days duration.

In addition, RV Tom Crean will be able to operate in an ultra silent-mode, which is crucial to meet the stringent criteria of the ICES 209 noise standard for fisheries research purposes.

The classification of the newbuild as been appointed to Lloyds and below is a list of the main capabilities and duties to be tasked by RV Tom Crean:

  • Oceanographic surveys, incl. CTD water sampling
  • Fishery research operations
  • Acoustic research operations
  • Environmental research and sampling operation incl. coring
  • ROV and AUV/ASV Surveys
  • Buoy/Mooring operations