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Displaying items by tag: 1916 Easter Rising

A new documentary 'Starboard Home' (on RTE One tonight at 10.15pm) which formed part of the 1916 Easter Rising centenary commemorations held in Dublin, involved musicians commissioned to produce works inspired by the capital, its port and the Liffey.

In a rare musicial opportunity, Dublin Port and the National Concert Hall invited Irish musicians to respond to the theme resulting to an acclaimed modern song cycle that rekindles the formative bond between the city and Dublin Bay through music, song and the spoken word.

Among musicians lined up for the unique commemorative event were James Vincent McMarrow and Gemma Hayes.

In conjunction with tonight's broadcast, Moira Sweeney’s film ‘Keepers of the Port’ will be airing on RTÉ’s Culture website.

So keep a look-out! for the Starboard Home documentary which is one not to be missed! 

Published in Maritime TV

#1916rising – A 1916 Easter Rising maritime themed exhibition entitled ‘Portals of Unpreparedness’ was launched today (14 November) in the Dun Laoghaire Lexicon Library.

The exhibition focuses on the arrival on the morning of 26th April 1916 of the Sherwood Foresters Regiment of the British Army in Dún Laoghaire (Kingstown in 1916). From there the regiment would march to Dublin and the Battle of Mount Street Bridge.

The exhibition by Leo Cullen and Peter Derbyshire is held on Level 5 of the Lexicon and continues to 20th December.

The main bulk of the British Army force, the non-commissioned ranks, made the Irish Sea crossing on board S.S. Tynwald and the officers on S.S. Patriotic. Also involved was the S.S. Munster as previously reported on Afloat.ie following the RTE/BBC documentary ‘The Enemy Files’ presented by former British Conservative Defence Minister Michael Portillo.

The portals, or viewpoints onto the events, as seen by a variety of witnesses include: the porthole of a troop carrier on the Bay; a window of the Royal St. George’s Yacht Club and the top of a tram.

The exhibition deploys hand drawn map images sourced from contemporary maps, paintings and sketches and commentary through poetry and prose.

Published in Coastal Notes

Marine Wildlife Around Ireland One of the greatest memories of any day spent boating around the Irish coast is an encounter with marine wildlife.  It's a thrill for young and old to witness seabirds, seals, dolphins and whales right there in their own habitat. As boaters fortunate enough to have experienced it will testify even spotting a distant dorsal fin can be the highlight of any day afloat.  Was that a porpoise? Was it a whale? No matter how brief the glimpse it's a privilege to share the seas with Irish marine wildlife.

Thanks to the location of our beautiful little island, perched in the North Atlantic Ocean there appears to be no shortage of marine life to observe.

From whales to dolphins, seals, sharks and other ocean animals this page documents the most interesting accounts of marine wildlife around our shores. We're keen to receive your observations, your photos, links and youtube clips.

Boaters have a unique perspective and all those who go afloat, from inshore kayaking to offshore yacht racing that what they encounter can be of real value to specialist organisations such as the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) who compile a list of sightings and strandings. The IWDG knowledge base has increased over the past 21 years thanks in part at least to the observations of sailors, anglers, kayakers and boaters.

Thanks to the IWDG work we now know we share the seas with dozens of species who also call Ireland home. Here's the current list: Atlantic white-sided dolphin, beluga whale, blue whale, bottlenose dolphin, common dolphin, Cuvier's beaked whale, false killer whale, fin whale, Gervais' beaked whale, harbour porpoise, humpback whale, killer whale, minke whale, northern bottlenose whale, northern right whale, pilot whale, pygmy sperm whale, Risso's dolphin, sei whale, Sowerby's beaked whale, sperm whale, striped dolphin, True's beaked whale and white-beaked dolphin.

But as impressive as the species list is the IWDG believe there are still gaps in our knowledge. Next time you are out on the ocean waves keep a sharp look out!