Waterways Ireland is commissioning a feasibility study on options for sustainable on-the-water living on Ireland’s canal network.

Details of the request for tender (RFT) are available online, with the study expected to include analysis of on-the-water living conditions abroad as well as assessing the suitability of Ireland’s inland waterways for similar development, as promised last year by Minister of State for Heritage Malcolm Noonan.

Currently, so-called ‘liveaboard’ barge owners have found themselves in legal limbo as canal bye-laws prohibit the mooring of vessels in any one spot for longer than five days.

Despite a growing demand for houseboat living in Ireland, there are only 28 residential moorings across the country — with the majority at the heavily oversubscribed Grand Canal Dock.

The deadline for submissions on the RFT is 5pm on Thursday 9 August.

Waterways Ireland proposes to dispose, by public tender, of a number of vessels removed from the Grand Canal, Royal Canal, Barrow Navigation and Shannon Navigation.

Thirty-one vessels are presently stored in the Waterways Ireland impound lot in Athlone, Co Westmeath.

All offers are to be made in writing and submitted by Friday 30 July to Waterways Ireland Offices, Harbour Street, Tullamore, Co Offaly for attention of the Assistant Inspector of Navigation.

All bids are to be made on the tender document which should be completed and returned in full, with the tender form completed and signed.

All vessels may be inspected (externally only) between 9am and 5pm next Wednesday 14 July.

Waterways Ireland advises that the towpath on the Grand Canal between Park West and the 9th Lock Road in Clondalkin, West Dublin will be closed from tomorrow, Monday 5 July until Friday 16 July to facilitate essential works on behalf of the ESB by contractor KLM Utilities. Detours will be in place on the route.

Waterways Ireland has issued separate notices for masters and owners of vessels on the Shannon Navigation regarding weed cutting and diving operations.

Weed cutting is currently taking place on the Lecarrow Canal in Co Roscommon and will continue until this Friday 2 July. Masters of vessels are requested to proceed with caution in the vicinity.

Elsewhere, diving operations are scheduled to take place between tomorrow, Thursday 1 July and next Tuesday 6 July in four locations on the Shannon Navigation:

• Portumna: 0.5km above the bridge downriver to the top of Lough Derg
• Shannon Harbour: between Minus Island and Lehinch Island
• Meelick: around Friar’s Island
• Banagher: between Muckinish Island and Inishee Island

Masters of vessels on the inland waterway are requested to proceed with additional caution in the vicinity of the diving operations and follow the instructions of the safety boat crew.

Malcolm Noonan, Minister of State for Heritage and Electoral Reform has launched the Waterways Ireland Digital Archive, making the history of the inland waterways more accessible than ever to all.

Unique and irreplaceable; over 7,800 of the 11,000 records including drawings, maps, slides, photos, videos and oral history held by Waterways Ireland, have been digitised, catalogued and uploaded to the searchable website archive.waterwaysireland.org

Minister Noonan said “I am delighted to launch the Waterways Ireland Digital Archive. For the communities that live along our navigable waterways, those whose families left Ireland via our canals, those who worked on the barges or distributed their wares via the waterway network, and those that study, research and love our heritage, this is a very exciting day. I acknowledge and thank the people and communities who have donated their stories, film, photographs and drawings to Waterways Ireland to conserve and digitise. Through the Waterways Ireland Digital Archive, access to this unique set of stories is available to us all.”

For the first time visitors will be able to search the free online catalogue and view some of the collections held in the Waterways Ireland Archive. The backbone of the archive is the Engineering Collection which is now available online. It contains the original drawings tracing the development of the waterways from their conception in the eighteenth century through to their construction and their ongoing maintenance during the nineteenth and early twentieth century. Included are engineer's plans for locks, sluices, bridges and harbours, all providing a fascinating insight into our waterway heritage.

John Mc Donagh CEO welcomed the launch stating “The unique collection of items held by Waterways Ireland on behalf of the community represents over 200 years of inland waterway history. The process of digitisation fulfils our need as an organisation to ensure the engineering drawings and documents which were used to construct our navigations continue to be available to the organisation in the future to ensure authentic and appropriate maintenance takes place. More importantly, though, the Digital Archive now makes accessible the records of our predecessors who worked, lived, and played along the waterways, enabling them to tell their stories and for them to be shared with our communities, students, academics and anyone with a love of the waterways.”

The new website features three collections personally donated to the Archive; the Ruth Delany Collection and the Ian Bath Collection. These images, scanned from the original transparency slides, showcase their efforts to document the campaigns to keep the waterways open, as well as reflecting their interests in recording the histories of the waterways. The Hayden Collection was donated by the family of the late Charlies Hayden. An avid boater and Royal Canal Amenity Group member, he shot a series of films in the 1980s and early 1990s of rallies and events on the waterways. Shot on smaller reels, they were played on bigger reels for screenings at the end of each year. This footage has been donated to the Archive and adapted for easier viewing online.

The Oral History Collection features interviews with people with personal connections to the waterways. These are available as short easy to listen extracts and are searchable by waterways, people and by themes. Learning resources have been created around the themes and can be accessed from the learning site.

Nuala Reilly, the Waterways Ireland Archivist said “The launch marks a significant step in preserving and making available our unique collections. These records represent only a small selection of the archive material held by Waterways Ireland. Additional collections will be added to the Digital Archive, as the materials are catalogued, and where possible digitised. Visitors to the Digital Archive will also be able to view themed exhibitions, stories of the waterways and timelines of the waterways.”

Waterways Ireland has issued an advisory to all vessels on the Shannon Navigation of low water levels, which are currently at or below ordinary summer levels.

Masters of vessels are requested to observe the 5km speed limits on the inland waterways to prevent squat in shallower areas.

All vessels, particularly those with deep drafts, are advised to navigate with additional caution and to remain within the navigation at all times.

Artists from Poland and Ireland have created a new mural on the banks of the Grand Canal in Portobello that celebrates Irish-Polish relations is part of the PolskaÉire Festival 2021.

Dublin Lord Mayor Hazel Chu and Polish Ambassador to Ireland Anna Sochańska officially launched the mural, created by Aga Grandowicz and Una Woods, in a ceremony yesterday morning (Wednesday 23 June).

The project is the initiative of the Embassy of Poland in Dublin, in celebration of 30 years of the embassy’s existence, in partnership with Waterways Ireland and Dublin City Council.

Lord Mayor Chu said: “I am delighted to launch this mural as a sign of Irish-Polish connection both in the city of Dublin but also in all the corners of Ireland. Let it be a reminder that the ties between the Polish community and the Irish people stay strong and will remain so in the years to come.

“Over the last 15 years we have welcomed over 100 thousand Polish people here in Ireland. During that time they have contributed significantly to the prosperity and cultural diversity of our country — for this we say thank you.

“I am sure that the local community of Portobello also greatly appreciates this new addition to the landscape. This mural radiates such positive energy and vibrancy that it will lift anyone’s spirits.”

Ambassador Sochańska added: “I am honoured to celebrate Irish-Polish relations in the form of this uplifting, colourful mural inspired by Irish and Polish folk art.

“The Irish shamrock and the Polish floral motif from folk paper cutouts perfectly symbolise the two cultures and how they interlink. The two birds, the starling and the robin, taking centre stage of the design, relate so well to the two countries’ natural heritage.”

Waterways Ireland advises masters and owners of vessels on the Shannon Navigation that a water quality monitoring buoy will be deployed on the western side of Lough Derg close to the entrance to Dromaan Harbour in Co Clare this week.

The monitoring buoy will be yellow in colour and be approximately three metres in height. The buoy will remain in position for up to four years.

Masters of vessels are requested to navigation with additional caution in the vicinity of the buoy.

Waterways Ireland advises master of vessels on the Royal Canal that due to ongoing serious mechanical issues with Begnagh Lift Bridge, it can only be operated manually.

The current scheduled dates for lift operation are Fridays 25 June, 2 and 9 July at 11am each day.

Prior notice must be given two days in advance to the water patroller in Clondra on 087 915 1400.

​Waterways Ireland has announced the creation of a non-motorised ‘safe play’ zone at Castle Archdale Country Park on Lower Lough Erne in Co Fermanagh.
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Echoing a similar scheme currently in operation at Muckross Bay in Kesh, Enniskillen, the new zone will operate until October and is located between the existing caravan park and Davy’s Island, delineated with floating buoys.
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​In temporarily closing off a section of the navigation to motorised craft, the cross-border body for the inland waterways is exercising its powers under the Lough Erne (Navigation) Bye-laws (Northern Ireland) 1978 as amended by The Lough Erne (Navigation) (Amendment) Bye-laws (Northern Ireland) 1986.
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​The aim of the proposal is to improve safety in the area, which has become increasingly popular with all types of waterway enthusiasts in recent years. It also comes after reports of a rise in personal watercraft infringements into swimming areas, as previously reported on Afloat.ie.