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Displaying items by tag: renovation

Cork Boat club in Blackrock Village, Cork has celebrated the completion of an 18-month programme of renovation of its clubhouse with a re-opening ceremony attended by club members and their families, as well as local public representatives.

As Afloat.ie reported previously, the works were funded by a 2014 grant of €100,000 from the government’s Sports Capital Programme, Cork City Council and club members.

Cork’s Lord Mayor Cllr. Chris O’Leary and Minister for Agriculture, Food, Marine and Defence Simon Coveney attended along with TDs Ciarán Lynch, Jerry Buttimer and Micheál Martin, Deirdre Clune MEP and Cllr Laura McGonigle and Cllr Des Cahill.

Three construction projects were completed: the ruin of Blackrock Coastguard Station, which dates from the 1840s, is part of the club’s grounds and a prominent landmark in Blackrock Village and was in imminent danger of collapse. Through collaboration with Cork City Council, the club rebuilt and restored the building in a sensitive manner, preserving its historical value. The roof of the large clubhouse designed by renowned Cork architect Frank Murphy was also replaced in its entirety and the club’s gym received a complete renovation with new windows, reconstructed walls and painting. Part of this work involved restoring windows on the eastern perimeter revealing views toward Blackrock Castle.

Minister Coveney officiated at the ceremony. He said:

"The transformation of Cork Boat Club in recent years has been remarkable. The extent of work done is a credit to the club and is a tremendous example of the direct impact that the government’s Sports Capital Programme is having in the community. The club has shown itself to be a leading light in terms of collaboration with local agencies and organizations as shown by their recent partnership with Cork City Council to save the iconic Blackrock Coastguard Station which was in imminent danger of collapse, their agreement this year with Christian Brothers College to augment the rowing programme at one of city’s leading secondary schools and their work with Port of Cork and Cork City Fire Brigade to allow access to the site for emergency search and recovery launching. I commend the club and its members for their work to date and encourage them to continue with their ambitious plans for the club, one of the most successful in the country.”  

Minister Coveney cut a ribbon held between oars painted in the club colours, assisted by club stalwart Tom O’Riordan and the newest member of the Boat Club family, six-month-old Rory Judge Joyce. Rory’s parents, Fran Judge and Eamonn Joyce, both competed for club and country.

Published in Rowing

#NEWS UPDATE - The National Maritime Museum is set to re-open in March following extensive renovation work, according to The Irish Times.

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, the museum was 'soft' opened to invited groups in October to showcase the developments.

Located in the Mariners’ Church in Dún Laoghaire Harbour, close to the East Pier, exhibits at the museum previously included various marine artefacts and models, as well as a maritime library.

In addition, the new museum will include a section dedicated to marine wildlife, with exhibits on various birds and fish living around the Irish coast.

Hugh O'Rorke is in charge of the marine life section, and is seeking contributions of objects from the public. For more details contact Hugh at [email protected] or 086 372 4676.

Published in News Update

#WATERFRONT PROPERTY - A six-bedroom period house with superb south-facing views over Cork Harbour is now on the market for €550,000.

Whitegate House dates from the late 18th century and comes complete with a stone yard and outbuildings, a basement, around three acres of woodland and its own private pier.

The original property was built before 1780 and embellished over the years, and now presents a pleasant four-bay house with bright and spacious accommodation.

In recent years the house has benefited from substantial structural renovations and is now presented in a comfortable condition throughout.

The property has elegant formal reception rooms comprising a drawing room and sitting room to the front and a fine dining room to the rear.

A comfortable modern kitchen with all mod cons has a door to a rear hallway leading to the basement which features a laundry room, utility room and guest toilet.

Upstairs there are six bedrooms, some with original fireplaces, as well as a toilet and bathroom.

Viewing of Whitegate House is strictly by appointment only with Hegarty Properies. Full details of the property are available HERE.

Published in Waterfront Property

Marine Leisure & Aquatic Tourism

Domestic coastal tourism expenditure was approximately €698 million in 2018, while domestic marine tourism generated €381 million.

Activities such as walking/ running along the coast, swimming and beach visitations are among the most popular activities for domestic visitors on both day and overnight trips.

While participation rates in pursuits such as bird and wildlife watching in coastal areas and visiting nature reserves, etc. in coastal areas were lower, these activities did see the highest frequency of both day and overnight trips for those active in these activities. 

According to the National University of Galway (NUIG) research the average expenditure per coastal day trip in 2018 was calculated at €95. The equivalent for coastal overnight trips was €310. The estimated water-based activity expenditure per person per trip across the sample was €56 rising to €73 for the subsample that actually undertake waterbased activities on their coastal visits. The results also indicate that domestic tourists undertake the majority of their marine activities on the West and South coasts of Ireland and that there are notable differences in participation rates across age groupings, social classes and by family makeup.

A domestic tourist is defined in this report as a person who spends at least one night away from home on their trip. Total expenditure by domestic tourists in coastal areas was estimated to be €698 million in 2018, which represents 35% of the total expenditure by domestic tourists (using the broader Fáilte Ireland measure for domestic tourists that includes business trips equating to 10.92 million in total trips and €2,006 million in total revenue).

The marine-related activity expenditure, or what might truly be referred to as domestic marine tourism, is estimated to generate revenue of €381 million with €172 million being spent on water-based activities. Marine tourism makes up an estimated 19% of total domestic tourism expenditure.

Marine Leisure Tourism - FAQ

Coastal tourism refers to land-based and water-based tourism activities taking place on the coast for which the proximity to the sea is a condition including also their respective services. Coastal and Marine Tourism & Leisure are seen as one of the Blue Economy (BE) sectors that can help unlock the potential of multi-use of space at sea by engaging with Blue Growth (BG) sectors such as Aquaculture and Marine Renewable Energy among others.

Sports: sailing, surfing, diving and fishing Heritage: Unesco coastal villages, archaeological sites of interest, biospheres and historical points of interest Arts: coastal museums, art galleries, museums, wrecks Education: Eco-tourism, field courses, NGOs. Food: Seafood restaurants, Seafood festivals

NUI Galway carried out a survey of domestic residents in Ireland in 2019 as part of a survey entitled "Valuing and understanding the dynamics of Ireland's Ocean Economy". The purpose of the household survey was to profile the domestic market for single-day trips (leisure) and overnight trips (tourism) for coastal and marine-related activities in Ireland. The results of the survey are also used to estimate what proportion of an Irish resident's total domestic tourism expenditure is in coastal areas (coastal tourism) and what proportion is spent on undertaking marine-related activities (marine tourism).

The NUI results highlight the important contribution that Ireland's marine and coastal resources make to the leisure experiences of the general population and the importance of the domestic tourism market to local coastal economies. The analysis indicates that domestic coastal tourism expenditure was approximately €698 million in 2018, while domestic marine tourism generated €381 million. Activities such as walking/ running along the coast, swimming and beach visitations are among the most popular activities for domestic visitors on both day and overnight trips. While participation rates in pursuits such as bird and wildlife watching in coastal areas and visiting nature reserves, etc. in coastal areas were lower, these activities did see the highest frequency of both day and overnight trips for those active in these activities. Satisfaction with the available marine-related leisure facilities was also found to be very high across all activities.

©Afloat 2020