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#cityone – The Ilen School's new sailing boat CityOne will be on exhibition for Culture Night in Limerick City, Friday September 19th. A fleet of four CityOnes will be on view from 6pm to 9pm on Howley's Quay.

Culture Night, an annual all-island public event which celebrates culture, creativity and the arts, is a wonderful platform from which to exhibit the boats, whose dynamic graphics are the four selected designs from a very sucessful CityOne International Graphic Arts Competition. The boats have recently been designed and built in the Ilen School, Limerick City, as part of City of Culture celebrations.

The CityOnes will race the following day, September 20th from 1.30pm Saturday at Howleys Quay, Limerick City.

Published in Ilen
Cove Sailing Club's flagship even of the year, the Cobh to Blackrock Race, takes place this Saturday and the Cork Harbour club hopes to attract over 100 boats.

This historic race – sponsored by the Port of Cork – will again feature strongly as one of the biggest events supporting this years Cork Harbour Open Day

Starting at midday off Cobh Promenade the race will continue along its traditional route passing Ringaskiddy, Monkstown, Passage, across Loch Mahon and along to the finish at Blackrock Castle.

All boats are then invited to continue up to the City Quays where complimentary berthing will be provided by the Port of Cork at the Cork City Marina.

A barbecue and usual refreshments will be available at the Boardwalk Restaurant (just opposite the City Pontoon) along Lapps Quay. The prize-giving will take place during the afternoon at the Boardwalk. Crews, their families and friends will have plenty of time to relax and enjoy themselves as we wind up the CSC laptop (and operators) to collate the dozens of times across all manner of classes in to a meaningful set of results.

The club would appreciate it if competitors would come along to support the after race festivities and prize-giving, especially if you think you may have won something. As always, the race is free to enter and a collection will be held for the RNLI during the afternoon.

Published in Cork Harbour

Due to an opportunity for its owners overseas Dublin City's only powerboat training school, City Powerboat School is on the market. The Irish Sailing Association recognised training establishment is advertised in next week's edition of Afloat magazine. The school operates in the 'highly visible' River Liffey area. School principal Felix Finlay says 'the position of the school in Dublin City has attracted many enquiries, for not only powerboat training courses, but sail training, tourism activities, and educational opportunities'. More here.

Published in Marine Trade

For the first time since 1998, Dublin City will welcome back sailing's International Tall Ships Races, presented by Szczecin, Poland. As final host port for the 2012 Tall Ship Races, the event will see up to 100 Tall Ships sail into Dublin for a four day Festival and celebration, from Thursday the 23rd August to Sunday 26th August, 2012. Ships from as far away as Chile, Mexico, Argentina, USA and European and Baltic countries including Italy and Norway will chart their course to Dublin.

Over 5000 participants will compete in these "experience of a lifetime" races and there will be opportunities for young trainees from Dublin to be selected to participate in the races. The event offers young people a unique setting for developing essential life skills like team building, leadership, multi-cultural understanding and friendship with participants from up to 50 countries taking part.

The Lord Mayor said, "The visit of the Tall Ships to Dublin will be the biggest event in Ireland in 2012. It will provide a major boost to all city businesses and will enhance Dublin's position as a major International event destination. It should be great fun for everyone, young and old".

The next 18 months will see opportunities for businesses to get involved in sponsorship of the event such as the Trainee Recruitment Programme. These magnificent ships will also take bookings for corporate hospitality and it is expected that 1.5 million visitors from home and abroad will attend a full programme of activity and entertainment for all ages during the festival.

Commenting at the launch of the Tall Ships 2012, Mr. Enda Connellan, Chair of the Tall Ships Steering Group said, "When Dublin last hosted the Tall Ships Races in 1998 it reminded us all of the rich history and close associations between the port and the city that has grown up around it. When the Tall Ships return in August next year they will be greeted by a significantly altered skyline that now includes the Samuel Beckett Bridge, Dublin Convention Centre, the Spire, the Grand Canal Theatre and the O2. One million citizens visited the Tall Ships festival then and I have no doubt that many more will experience the carnival atmosphere when these magnificent sailing ships return to Dublin in 2012"

The races in 2012 will visit the ports of St. Malo in France, Lisbon in Portugal, Cadiz and La Coruna in Spain, from where they will set sail on the last leg of their races to their final host port, Dublin.

Eamonn O'Reilly, CEO of Dublin Port Company that manages Dublin Port said, "I am delighted to welcome the Tall Ships Races to Dublin Port, Ireland's premier port. The Port handles 50% of all Ireland's imports and exports, making it a significant facilitator of Ireland's economy. In addition it welcomes 1.7 million tourists through the ferry companies operating there and 2010 saw an additional 130,000 tourists and crew from the 85 cruise ship calls to the Port "

Looking for further reading on Tall Ships in Ireland? Click the links below:

Click this link to read all our Tall Ships Stories on one handy page


Previewing Ireland's Tall Ships 2011 Season


Can Ireland Get a New Tall Ship?

Published in Tall Ships

London is expected to provide a great SuperYacht venue for the Olympics and the hope is that some of the massive visitors may in turn continue cruising in Ireland according to www.YachtsLondon.com who are providing services to help yachts arrange to visit in 2012.

There are only a handful of capital cities that can accommodate SuperYachts in their hearts and London is one of these with its iconic river views of Tower Bridge, Greenwich, the O2 Dome and the Canary Wharf financial district.

A legacy of London's place at the centre of world trade in the past are its remaining docks which will provide high quality stern-to mooring for 50-100 large yachts as demand warrants. Canary Wharf will be the centre of this with added space in the Royal Docks next to City Airport. Yachts up to 200m LOA and 30m beam can be accommodated.

Hugh Agnew, one of the principals of YachtsLondon said that "many parties will be involved including dock owners, landowners, pier operators, PLA, MCA, security and suppliers. We can help with all of these, but the key at the moment is early decisions so that sufficient dock space is put in place for 2012."

As well as the Olympic Games there are many other events in the UK in 2012 including Superyacht Cup, J Class regattas, Westward Cup so if there was ever a year to plan to make UK the destination then 2012 will be it with the possibility to link to cruising in Ireland, Scotland and Scandinavia.

Published in Superyachts

Ireland's offshore islands

Around 30 of Ireland's offshore islands are inhabited and hold a wealth of cultural heritage.

A central Government objective is to ensure that sustainable vibrant communities continue to live on the islands.

Irish offshore islands FAQs

Technically, it is Ireland itself, as the third largest island in Europe.

Ireland is surrounded by approximately 80 islands of significant size, of which only about 20 are inhabited.

Achill island is the largest of the Irish isles with a coastline of almost 80 miles and has a population of 2,569.

The smallest inhabited offshore island is Inishfree, off Donegal.

The total voting population in the Republic's inhabited islands is just over 2,600 people, according to the Department of Housing.

Starting with west Cork, and giving voting register numbers as of 2020, here you go - Bere island (177), Cape Clear island (131),Dursey island (6), Hare island (29), Whiddy island (26), Long island, Schull (16), Sherkin island (95). The Galway islands are Inis Mór (675), Inis Meáin (148), Inis Oírr (210), Inishbofin (183). The Donegal islands are Arranmore (513), Gola (30), Inishboffin (63), Inishfree (4), Tory (140). The Mayo islands, apart from Achill which is connected by a bridge, are Clare island (116), Inishbiggle (25) and Inishturk (52).

No, the Gaeltacht islands are the Donegal islands, three of the four Galway islands (Inishbofin, like Clifden, is English-speaking primarily), and Cape Clear or Oileán Chléire in west Cork.

Lack of a pier was one of the main factors in the evacuation of a number of islands, the best known being the Blasket islands off Kerry, which were evacuated in November 1953. There are now three cottages available to rent on the Great Blasket island.

In the early 20th century, scholars visited the Great Blasket to learn Irish and to collect folklore and they encouraged the islanders to record their life stories in their native tongue. The three best known island books are An tOileánach (The Islandman) by Tomás Ó Criomhthain, Peig by Peig Sayers, and Fiche Blian ag Fás (Twenty Years A-Growing) by Muiris Ó Súilleabháin. Former taoiseach Charles J Haughey also kept a residence on his island, Inishvickillaune, which is one of the smaller and less accessible Blasket islands.

Charles J Haughey, as above, or late Beatle musician, John Lennon. Lennon bought Dorinish island in Clew Bay, south Mayo, in 1967 for a reported £1,700 sterling. Vendor was Westport Harbour Board which had used it for marine pilots. Lennon reportedly planned to spend his retirement there, and The Guardian newspaper quoted local estate agent Andrew Crowley as saying he was "besotted with the place by all accounts". He did lodge a planning application for a house, but never built on the 19 acres. He offered it to Sid Rawle, founder of the Digger Action Movement and known as the "King of the Hippies". Rawle and 30 others lived there until 1972 when their tents were burned by an oil lamp. Lennon and Yoko Ono visited it once more before his death in 1980. Ono sold the island for £30,000 in 1984, and it is widely reported that she donated the proceeds of the sale to an Irish orphanage

 

Yes, Rathlin island, off Co Antrim's Causeway Coast, is Ireland's most northerly inhabited island. As a special area of conservation, it is home to tens of thousands of sea birds, including puffins, kittiwakes, razorbills and guillemots. It is known for its Rathlin golden hare. It is almost famous for the fact that Robert the Bruce, King of Scots, retreated after being defeated by the English at Perth and hid in a sea cave where he was so inspired by a spider's tenacity that he returned to defeat his enemy.

No. The Aran islands have a regular ferry and plane service, with ferries from Ros-a-Mhíl, south Connemara all year round and from Doolin, Co Clare in the tourist season. The plane service flies from Indreabhán to all three islands. Inishbofin is connected by ferry from Cleggan, Co Galway, while Clare island and Inishturk are connected from Roonagh pier, outside Louisburgh. The Donegal islands of Arranmore and Tory island also have ferry services, as has Bere island, Cape Clear and Sherkin off Cork. How are the island transport services financed? The Government subsidises transport services to and from the islands. The Irish Coast Guard carries out medical evacuations, as to the RNLI lifeboats. Former Fianna Fáíl minister Éamon Ó Cuív is widely credited with improving transport services to and from offshore islands, earning his department the nickname "Craggy island".

Craggy Island is an bleak, isolated community located of the west coast, inhabited by Irish, a Chinese community and one Maori. Three priests and housekeeper Mrs Doyle live in a parochial house There is a pub, a very small golf course, a McDonald's fast food restaurant and a Chinatown... Actually, that is all fiction. Craggy island is a figment of the imagination of the Father Ted series writers Graham Linehan and Arthur Mathews, for the highly successful Channel 4 television series, and the Georgian style parochial house on the "island" is actually Glenquin House in Co Clare.

Yes, that is of the Plassey, a freighter which was washed up on Inis Oírr in bad weather in 1960.

There are some small privately owned islands,and islands like Inishlyre in Co Mayo with only a small number of residents providing their own transport. Several Connemara islands such as Turbot and Inishturk South have a growing summer population, with some residents extending their stay during Covid-19. Turbot island off Eyrephort is one such example – the island, which was first spotted by Alcock and Brown as they approached Ireland during their epic transatlantic flight in 1919, was evacuated in 1978, four years after three of its fishermen drowned on the way home from watching an All Ireland final in Clifden. However, it is slowly being repopulated

Responsibility for the islands was taking over by the Department of Rural and Community Development . It was previously with the Gaeltacht section in the Department of Media, Tourism, Arts, Culture, Sport and the Gaeltacht.

It is a periodic bone of contention, as Ireland does not have the same approach to its islands as Norway, which believes in right of access. However, many improvements were made during Fianna Fáíl Galway West TD Éamon Ó Cuív's time as minister. The Irish Island Federation, Comdháil Oileáin na hÉireann, represents island issues at national and international level.

The 12 offshore islands with registered voters have long argued that having to cast their vote early puts them at a disadvantage – especially as improved transport links mean that ballot boxes can be transported to the mainland in most weather conditions, bar the winter months. Legislation allowing them to vote on the same day as the rest of the State wasn't passed in time for the February 2020 general election.

Yes, but check tide tables ! Omey island off north Connemara is accessible at low tide and also runs a summer race meeting on the strand. In Sligo, 14 pillars mark the way to Coney island – one of several islands bearing this name off the Irish coast.

Cape Clear or Oileán Chléire is the country's most southerly inhabited island, eight miles off the west Cork coast, and within sight of the Fastnet Rock lighthouse, also known as the "teardrop of Ireland".
Skellig Michael off the Kerry coast, which has a monastic site dating from the 6th century. It is accessible by boat – prebooking essential – from Portmagee, Co Kerry. However, due to Covid-19 restrictions, it was not open to visitors in 2020.
All islands have bird life, but puffins and gannets and kittiwakes are synonymous with Skellig Michael and Little Skellig. Rathlin island off Antrim and Cape Clear off west Cork have bird observatories. The Saltee islands off the Wexford coast are privately owned by the O'Neill family, but day visitors are permitted access to the Great Saltee during certain hours. The Saltees have gannets, gulls, puffins and Manx shearwaters.
Vikings used Dublin as a European slaving capital, and one of their bases was on Dalkey island, which can be viewed from Killiney's Vico road. Boat trips available from Coliemore harbour in Dalkey. Birdwatch Ireland has set up nestboxes here for roseate terns. Keep an eye out also for feral goats.
Plenty! There are regular boat trips in summer to Inchagoill island on Lough Corrib, while the best known Irish inshore island might be the lake isle of Innisfree on Sligo's Lough Gill, immortalised by WB Yeats in his poem of the same name. Roscommon's Lough Key has several islands, the most prominent being the privately-owned Castle Island. Trinity island is more accessible to the public - it was once occupied by Cistercian monks from Boyle Abbey.

©Afloat 2020