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Displaying items by tag: Challenging

Higher revenues for the six months to the end of June have been reported by the Irish Continental Group, but a drop in earnings before interest and tax as the Covid-19 pandemic continued to create an "exceptionally challenging" trading environment for the company.

ICG which owns Irish Ferries, said its revenues rose by 8.3% to €141.6m, while EBIT generated was a loss of €10.3m, €0.8m worse than the same time last year.

The company reported a loss before tax of €12.2m compared to a loss before tax of €11.2m last year.

ICG said that travel restrictions in place in the first half of the year materially reduced its passenger business.

But it added that it has maintained services on all of its shipping routes, keeping critical logistical links to the island of Ireland.

RTE News has more to report here.

Published in Irish Ferries

The Rankin Dinghy of Cobh, Cork Harbour 

A Rankin is a traditional wooden dinghy which was built in Cobh, of which it’s believed there were 80 and of which The Rankin Dinghy Group has traced nearly half. 

The name of the Rankin dinghies is revered in Cork Harbour and particularly in the harbourside town of Cobh.

And the name of one of those boats is linked to the gunboat which fought against the Irish Volunteers during the 1916 Easter Rising and later for the emergent Irish Free State Government against anti-Treaty Forces during the Irish Civil War.

It also links the renowned boat-building Rankin family in Cobh, one of whose members crewed on the gunboat.

Maurice Kidney and Conor English are driving the restoration of the Rankin dinghies in Cork Harbour. They have discovered that Rankins were bought and sailed in several parts of the country.