There’ll be opportunities in Limerick and Greenland for young people to learn more of what the two Transatlantic voyages – outward and return - of the 56ft traditional ketch Ilen have discovered and explained, with schools now resumed after the summer break writes W M Nixon.
Several schools in the Limerick area and around Nuuk in Greenland were following the Salmons Wake voyage project, and three in particular – Thomond National School and Thomond Community College in Limerick, and Ukaliusaq Skole in Nuuk – were actively engaged in the exchange of information and personal interest by several means of communication, in addition to creating voyage-related material and artefacts.
The process develops – pupils at Thomond National School with a model of the traditional Limerick Salmon Cot and letters about to be posted to Greenland
Students from Thomond Community College aboard Ilen in the dock in Limerick before she departed on her Transatlantic voyage towards Greenland.
Supported by a Creative Ireland – Made in Limerick Grant 2018-2019, this international inter-linking was organised by Deirdre Power, Limerick Arts Co-Ordinator and Ilen Project Facilitator, and both she and artist Chelsea Canavan, the Education & Outreach Assistant at Limerick’s renowned Hunt Museum, were already in Nuuk to greet Ilen when the ketch arrived from Ireland under command of Ilen Project Director Gary Mac Mahon for the outward voyage.
Welcome to Greenland, welcome to Nuuk – the local news outlet made much of Ilen’s arrival
All were busy in Nuuk explaining aspects of the project, meeting the schools, being welcomed by the locals news outlets, making presentations and introducing the students and teachers to the real star of the show, the restored Ilen herself, which was conspicuous in Nuul harbour thanks to her traditional appearance amongst mostly very modern working craft.
School pupils in Greenland working on their Salmons Wake response
Students of Ukaliusaq School at the Katuaq Cultural Centre in Nuuk with their map of the Salmons Wake, a map which is now on display at the Watch House Cross Library in Limerick
As to the beneficial effect this was having on the students taking part, Bernie O'Driscoll the STEM Co-Ordinator at Thomond Community College in Limerick summed it up for those in Ilen’s home port:
“Both the students and teachers involved in this captivating Salmons Wake Project have thoroughly enjoyed learning about the traditional boat building techniques used in Limerick and lamenting the unfortunate decline of the Salmon in these parts over the years. It’s been an exciting and invaluable learning experience for all involved, and we look forward to continuing the relationship established with Hanne Pederson (Teacher) and the students at Ukaliusaq Skole in Nuuk, Greenland for future years to come.”
On the Greenland side, Hanne Pedersen, a teacher with Ukaliusaq School at Nuuk, summed it up:
“My students are 14 years old, turning 15. Their main language is Greenlandic and some Danish. We are interested in the Salmons’ Wake project and follow the Ilen voyage, and participating with the Limerick students has been great!”
A sculptural representation, literally of the bare bones of a traditional Limerick salmon fishing cot, is now on display in the Old Town in Nuuk, while at the harbour during their time there, Ilen’s crew entertained other seafarers and maritime workers who were keen to see their ship, particularly the local salmon fishermen.
A sculpture of the bare bones of a traditional Limerick salmon cot is now on display in the Old Town in Nuuk.
Natuk J Lyberth, a student at Ukaliusaq School, in the Archives Section of the Greenland National Museum in Nuuk wearing the distinctive Salmons Wake logo
The ultimate link…..Gary Mac Mahon, Deirdre Power and Natuk Lyberth aboard Ilen in Nuuk for a presentation of the Thomond Community College neck-tie.
With Ilen in Nuuk are (left to right) Liam O’Donoghue of the Ilen Project, a Greenland salmon fisherman, and Mike Grimes, a member of one of Limerick’s longest-established salmon-fishing families
Having done so much while she was in Greenland, Ilen is now approaching Ireland and well on her way to her Autumn location in Kinsale under the command of Paddy Barry. He brought the ship through Prinz Christian Sund at the south end of Greenland, and was then poised to take advantage of a favourable developing weather pattern for the homeward passage, a matter of experienced judgment and assessment of information, for at this time of the year the always difficult-to-predict Atlantic can be in a particularly volatile mood.
The Autumn period in Kinsale for a month and more will be used by Ilen under the command of James Lyons (who is on the homeward crew) for courses with the Sailing Into Wellness programme, as well as teaching sailing to trainees with the Ilen Boat-building Project, with Ilen eventually returning to Limerick in October. For now, this brief vid gives an idea of some of the favourable weather enjoyed by Ilen on the return voyage:
To be enveloped, on the face of the deep, in northern mists for consecutive days with little or no nighttime darkness, gradually breaks one out from that familiar time and space, the ones we everyday surrender to whilst living with land. pic.twitter.com/HrOs4cMsNL
— Ilen Project (@ilenproject) September 1, 2019
Meanwhile, co-ordinator Deirdre Power is deservedly pleased with the way this very unusual concept has developed in practice, and she concludes:
“The schools, and more importantly the students, take ownership of the project, which I think is very important. The participation and collaboration may be manifested in a simple gesture, such one student from
a community in Nuuk, Greenland writing a ‘real’ letter to another student living across the North Atlantic in Limerick city, Ireland.
This is something that would never happen without this other broader spectrum. I believe the process is the most exciting element, the tangible connection between the schools, through the both the programme and respective cultures, in a way that something such as social media cannot transcend. And the tangible presence of Ilen – first in Limerick and then in Nuuk – gives it an extra and deeply-felt meaning. It remains a wonderful experience for all involved at every level”.
