The Ilen is the last of Ireland’s traditional wooden sailing ships.

Who designed the Ilen?

The Ilen was designed by Conor O’Brien, the first Irish man to circumnavigate the world.

Where does the name Ilen get her name?

Ilen is named for the West Cork River which flows to the sea at Baltimore, her home port.

The Ilen was built by Baltimore Sea Fisheries School, West Cork in 1926. Tom Moynihan was foreman.

What is Ilen built from?

Ilen's wood construction is of oak ribs and planks of larch.

What are the dimensions of the lIen?

As-built initially, she is 56 feet in length overall with a beam of 14 feet and a displacement of 45 tonnes.

How did the Ilen get from Baltimore to the Falkland Islands in 1926?

Conor O’Brien set sail in August 1926 with two Cadogan cousins from Cape Clear in West Cork, arriving at Port Stanley in January 1927 and handed it over to the new owners.

How much did the Ilen cost in 1926?

The Ilen was delivered to the Falkland Islands Company, in exchange for £1,500.

What roles has Ilen performed in her lifetime?

Ilen served for over 70 years as a cargo ship and a ferry in the Falkland Islands, enduring and enjoying the Roaring Forties, the Furious Fifties, and Screaming Sixties. She stayed in service until the early 1990s.

Who from Ireland rediscovered the Ilen in the Falkland Islands?

Limerick sailor Gary McMahon and his team located Ilen. MacMahon started looking for her in 1996 and went out to the Falklands and struck a deal with the owner to bring her back to Ireland.

What condition was Ilen in when she was found in the Falkland Islands?

After a lifetime of hard work in the Falklands, Ilen required a ground-up rebuild.

How did the Ilen come back to Ireland?

A Russian cargo ship transported her back on a 12,000-mile trip from the Southern Oceans to Dublin. The Ilen was discharged at the Port of Dublin 1997, after an absence from Ireland of 70 years.

Who restored the Ilen?

It was a collaboration between the Ilen Project in Limerick and Hegarty’s Boatyard in Old Court, near Skibbereen. Much of the heavy lifting, of frames, planking, deadwood & backbone, knees, floors, shelves and stringers, deck beams, and carlins, was done in Hegarty’s. The generally lighter work of preparing sole, bulkheads, deck‐houses fixed furniture, fixtures & fittings, deck fittings, machinery, systems, tanks, spar making and rigging is being done at the Ilen boat building school in Limerick.

How long did it take to restore Ilen?

Ten years. The boat was much the worse for wear when it returned to West Cork in May 1998, and it remained dormant for ten years before the start of a decade-long restoration.

What is the role of the Ilen today?

Ilen now serves as a community floating classroom and cargo vessel – visiting 23 ports in 2019 and making a transatlantic crossing to Greenland as part of a relationship-building project to link youth in Limerick City with youth in Nuuk, west Greenland.

What is so good about Ilen’s relatively small size as a sailing cargo ship?

At a mere 56ft, Ilen is capable of visiting most of the small harbours of Ireland.

Displaying items by tag: Monkstown Bay Sailing Club

28th October 2010

Barry and Kenny on Top form in Cork 5o5 Nationals

12 boats took part in the years 505 Irish Nationals and British Isles Championships. Following a delayed Swansea Cork ferry, the four UK boats made it to MBSC at 12 30pm on Saturday.

Racing on Saturday was held in Cuskinny with the breeze touching 25 knots on the downwind leg to the race area. The OOD team of Ciarán McSweeney and David Barry got racing underway at 3 15pm with the north westerly breeze softening to 12 to 15 knots. Ewen Barry and Simon Lake(8945) lead at mark one followed by Charles Dwyer and Conor Kelly (8961). Dwyer and Kelly's race came to an end at the first gybe mark with an impressive capsize( their first of two in the race). Barry and Lake showed impressive upwind speed with Barry and Kenney flying on the downwind in perfect reaching conditions. Barry and Kenney eventually took the lead on the top reach of the last leg and managed to hold on to take first, Barry and Lake second and Ronan Kenneally and Denis Cartwright taking a well deserved third place.

In race two, Barry and Kenney lead all the way round with some great battles for the 2, 3, 4 positions going on behind. Brian Jones and Gary Frost sailing 7771 came out ahead taking 2nd place with Ewen and Simon in 3rd. With the sun going down and a beat home the OOD team made the call to head for home and the warmth of the clubhouse.

Day 2 again brought great sailing conditions with a cold Northerly breeze and brilliant sunshine, racing got underway again in Cuskinny at 11 30am. Three races were held, in 8 to 12 knots. Denis Cartwright was joined by the third Barry brother Colin for the rest of the weekend as Ronan Kenneally had laser sailing commitments. Barry and Kenney again showed their pace on the day and with two firsts and a fourth were going to be hard to catch. Dwyer and Kelly found their footing with a 3, 1, 2 winning the second race by a considerable margin. Colin and Denis had a very consistent day with a 2, 3, 3 and had some extremely close battles with Dwyer and Kelly. Jones and Frost struggled in the lighter breeze posting a 5, 6, 5 leaving some work to do to catch back up to the group battling for second. Wade and Robert Cuppage added another boat to the racing today in Ethel, possibly one of the most famous 505's around and still sporting a deck stepped mast. Damage to Mikie and Josh's boat caused them to retire from races 4 & 5 with redress granted later as they were found to be not at fault. This meant that the battle for the junior title with James and Lisa O'Brien was hotting up and all to play for on the last day.

Going into the last day, with a gale warning in place for Monday, Alex and Adam lead on 4 points, Charlo and Conor in second on 10 points, Ewen & Simon and Colin & Denis tieing for third on 11 points.

Sunday night brought the usual banter with plenty or arm wrestling, chair jumping and general tough man competitions in the bar and stories of days gone by from Jim.

Monday morning brought new conditions with a strong southerly breeze filling in to the bay. As there were big winds forecasted and ferries to catch, Dave and Ciarán decided to hold racing in the bay. Conditions were good for the 505 with flat water and 18 to 22 knots of breeze. There was no catching Barry and Kenney again with their downwind pace proving to be the winning factor. They posted another two firsts to take the title counting all 1sts. Charlo was joined by Ronan Kenneally this time and despite a lightweight crew they took two seconds on the day to cement their second place overall. With Ewen and Simon breaking an outhaul in the first race they now had to count a 7th and a 3rd in the final race was not enough to fight off Colin and Denis. Brian and Gary's big breeze pace was back and the posted a 3rd and a 4th. Jim and Barney had a great first race taking 5th but a capsize in the second race but them out of the race.

In the juniors, Mikie and Josh posted a 6th and a 7th to take the junior title with Lisa and James' equal 6th and a 7th not enough to catch up.

505 Irish Nationals and British Isles Championships – MSBC 23rd to 25th October 2010

1 IRL/GBR           8945 Alex Barry & Adam Kenny 1 1 1 4 1 1 1
2 IRL                8961 Charles Dwyer & Conor Kelly 7 4 3 1 2 2 2
3 IRL               8497 Colin Barry & Dennis Cartwright 3 5 2 3 3 4 5
4 IRL/GBR           8955 Ewen Barry & Simon Lake 2 3 4 2 7 12 3
5 IRL               7771 Brian Jones & Garry Frost 4 2 5 6 5 3 4
6 GBR                8907 Jim Berry & David Barnes 6 7 6 5 10 5 10
7 IRL               8552 Michael O'Brien & John O'Gorman 5 6 7 8 4 12 13
8 IRL               8380 Charles & Jeannie McCarthy 8 8 8 7 6 12 8
9 IRL               8*08 Mike O'Brien & Josh Barrett 10 10 9 APA8.4 APA8.4 6 7
10 IRL              8679 James & Lisa O'Brien 9 9 11 10 8 7 6
11 IRL              8216 Joanne McCarthy & Steven O'Reilly 13 13 10 9 9 12 13
12 IRL              7852 Wade & Robert Cuppage 13 13 13 11 11 13 13

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Monkstown Bay Sailing Club

Goldie Cronin 'Alta to Starboard To Finish' Trophy Event. Photo: Alan Fleury

Monkstown Bay Sailing Club

Monkstown Bay Sailing Club is located in the picturesque village of Monkstown, which overlooks Monkstown Bay in Cork Harbour.

Dingy league races are generally held within the Bay area, while Cruiser league races extend their reach up river to Passage and out the harbour to Cobh, Whitegate and beyond. Weekend events make full use of the Harbour waters, including races to Blackrock, East Ferry and Ballynacorra, and trips to Whitebay and Crosshaven.

Dinghy sailing club with racing every Tuesday and Friday. All classes welcome. Annual junior training programme run during July. Clubhouse and usual facilities. Membership open. Dinghy courses offered up to Improving Skill, Advanced Boat Handling, and Racing 1.

MBSC Officers and Committee 2009

Commodore – Finian O' Driscoll – Email: [email protected]

Vice-Commodore – John O'Driscoll – Email: [email protected]

Hon. Secretary – Andrew Moynihan – Email: [email protected]

Rear Commodore – Ewen Barry – Email: [email protected]

Hon. Treasurer – John Crotty – Email: [email protected]

Sailing Secretary – Ronan Kenneally – Email: [email protected]

Junior Training Organiser – Ann O'Brien – Email: [email protected]

Monkstown Bay Sailing Club, 3 de Vesci Place, Monkstown, Co. Cork. Tel: 021 485 9935 (Club House) or 087 825 2855 (Alan Fleury), or email: [email protected]

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