Historic Ketch Ilen Sails Up the Shannon & Arrives in Limerick Docks

30th September 2018

The Ilen crew onboard in Limerick Credit: Dermot Lynch

The restored Ilen has arrived in Limerick. She was sailed there over the weekend from West Cork, reports Tom MacSweeney.

Conor O’Brien’s historic 1926-built tradition ketch, the last of Ireland’s wooden schooners, originally built in Baltimore, was restored in a lengthy project which took several years to complete at Liam Hegarty’s at Oldcourt near Skibbereen and not far from where she was constructed in the fishing port of Baltimore, now a major sailing centre on the West Cork coastline.

She is now at Limerick Docks, returning to the Shannon, where she arrived at 12 noon today.

Ilen sailing up the Shannon Photo: Dermot Lynch

Gary McMahon, who has led the restoration project, said he was delighted after the long years of dedicated work by many people and so much help, that the ILEN was back in Limerick where an exhibition about her history is open at the Hunt Museum in the city.

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Ilen

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Tom MacSweeney

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Tom MacSweeney writes a column for Afloat.ie. He is former RTE Marine Correspondent/Presenter of Seascapes and now has a monthly Podcast on the Community Radio Network and Podcast services

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