Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

Weather has once again forced the postponement of Féile an Spidéil, the regatta for traditional craft in Co Galway. The regatta, which was originally set for June 12th off An Spidéil on the northern shores of Galway Bay, had been…

Féile an Spidéil, the regatta for traditional craft in Co Galway, has been postponed by a week due to weather. A large fleet of traditional craft is anticipated for the 2022 event, which has been rescheduled for Sunday, June 19th.…

A large fleet of traditional craft is anticipated for Féile an Spidéil which takes to the water off An Spidéil, Co Galway, on June 12th. The regatta programme will include races for báid mhóra and leath bháid in the Galway…

Slipping out into Galway Bay before sunrise, several traditional craft from Galway Hooker Sailing Club participated in the Darkness into Light national fundraiser on  Saturday. “When a community comes together, it’s amazing what can be done,” the club said after…

The saga of the building and sailing of the traditional Galway Hooker Naomh Cronan by Clondalkin Community in west Dublin goes back nearly thirty years. And though the story has regularly featured in Afloat.ie,the various lockdowns had made it difficult…

Tributes have been paid to maritime author, historian, librarian, sailor and musician Tim Collins who passed away unexpectedly in Galway. “A polymath,” was how Galway hooker sailor and adventurer Dr Michael Brogan described him, while colleagues at NUI Galway (NUIG)…

Tributes have been paid to Badóirí an Cladaigh for illuminating their fleet of Galway hookers for the St Patrick's Day festival. Galway-based photographer Pat Cantwell captured images of the fleet of vessels on the Claddagh basin in Galway city. The…

One of Galway’s fleet of traditional craft has been lit in Ukrainian national colours in support of the people of Ukraine The Naomh Cronán is decked out in yellow and blue on Galway’s Claddagh basin each evening after sunset. The…

Ciarán Oliver's family history goes back over a hundred years to what was then known as the fishing village of the Claddagh in Galway. His great-great-uncle, Máirtín, was the last 'King of the Claddagh'. The 'Loveen' doesn't go back quite…

A Galway hooker restored with the support of a city publican has joined the local traditional fleet on Galway bay. Réalt na Gaillimhe or Star of Galway was built in Indreabhán, south Connemara, by the Cloherty boat builders in 1910.…

Several Galway hookers will join a fleet of finely tuned sailing dinghies on Lough Corrib for Europe’s longest and oldest inland yacht race this weekend. The Anam Cara and Lon Dubh gleoiteogs which have been restored by the Galway Hooker…

The Dublin Bay Old Gaffers Association invites traditional boat enthusiasts and all sailing fans to join their next Zoom session on The First Rescue of the Morning Star, which will be given by former DBOGA President Dennis Aylmer of Dun…

On the western edge of Europe lies a unique culture that depended and fought with the Atlantic Ocean for thousands of years. It is the native sailboat, the Galway Hooker, that sustained this poorest of communities, and the new generation…

When I walked into Adrian O’Connell’s office in Kilrush Boatyard on the edge of the Shannon Estuary in County Clare, a photograph on the wall caught my attention – a boat sailing at speed, red sails dramatic atop a black…

#OnTV - A new four-part documentary series on the people of Ireland’s west who keep the Galway Hooker sailing tradition alive behind tomorrow night (Thursday 10 January) at 8pm on TG4. Bádóirí provides an insight into seven Connemara families, part of…

The Chairman of the Galway Hookers Association says that these iconic boats deserve support to ensure their future as part of Ireland’s maritime heritage. Dr.Michael Brogan told me in an interview which you can hear on this week’s Podcast (below):…