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A new building has appeared overnight beside Howth Yacht Club during the Christmas period, and a row is simmering as to whether it has full planning permission. Sailors Declan MacManus and Robert Kerley, leaders of the construction team, anticipate receiving full retrospective planning permits. In fact, they hope that it will soon become a listed building, as it is a cool re-creation of the famous monastic beehive cells on Skellig Michael, and is also an important interpretation of the classic Inuit vernacular style traditional to Arctic regions.

With Ireland now expected to enter a new mini-Ice Age by 2035, they also anticipate that the Government's Emergency Response Committee will wish to retain them as consultants for future building projects. The new house is tastefully if sparsely furnished with IKEA's Fishbox Range, which is being introduced for 2011. It provides an unusual and comfortable venue to add to Howth's many bustling hospitality hotspots.

A representative of the local planning authority has reportedly said that they are putting the matter of planning permission on ice until after the holidays, and they expect that in due course the matter will simply melt away to provide an Irish solution to an Irish problem.

Howth_igloo_1

Howth YC is concerned about this new building which has suddenly appeared – without planning pemission - beside the clubhouse

Howth_igloo_2

Fully furnished, the new building is the centre for the training of a team of unique Mini Jack Russell Huskies

Published in Howth YC

Brothers Rory (37) and Eoin (36) O'Connor spent last night (Thursday 2 December 2010) in an igloo on Duncannon beach in county Wexford to raise funds for RNLI lifeboats. The pair went into the home-made igloo at 8pm last night and emerged this morning at 8am.

The igloo was built on Duncannon beach by local men Patrick Byrne and David Walsh following plummeting temperature and heavy snowfall in the southeast.  On hearing of the structure, Rory and Eoin approached the men to ask if they could spend a night in the igloo to raise funds for RNLI lifeboats.  With their agreement they made plans to spend the evening in the ice and brought with them special clothing and sleeping bags to brave the arctic temperatures.

Rory is a volunteer lifeboat helm on Fethard-on-Sea D class inshore lifeboat in county Wexford and when the temperatures dropped on the south-east coast he and his brother Eoin decided to do something to raise funds for the RNLI and to remind people that lifeboat crew go out in all types of weather.

Speaking from the igloo at the end of their night Fethard lifeboat helm Rory said "We are honestly delighted with the response from the public to our sleepover.  People were dropping by the igloo all night to say hello and drop some money in the bucket.  We even had a local pub send down some hot whiskeys to keep us warm.  It was actually quite comfortable and we even managed to get a good night's sleep."

The brothers emerged this morning in good spirits and were looking forward to a cooked Irish breakfast on the beach.

Rory and Eoin have set up a donations page HERE. The brothers have so far raised over €1,500 for the lifeboats.

igloo

A night in the cold has produced 1500 Euros so far!

 


Marine Warnings

Published in RNLI Lifeboats

Howth Yacht Club information

Howth Yacht Club is the largest members sailing club in Ireland, with over 1,700 members. The club welcomes inquiries about membership - see top of this page for contact details.

Howth Yacht Club (HYC) is 125 years old. It operates from its award-winning building overlooking Howth Harbour that houses office, bar, dining, and changing facilities. Apart from the Clubhouse, HYC has a 250-berth marina, two cranes and a boat storage area. In addition. its moorings in the harbour are serviced by launch.

The Club employs up to 31 staff during the summer and is the largest employer in Howth village and has a turnover of €2.2m.

HYC normally provides an annual programme of club racing on a year-round basis as well as hosting a full calendar of International, National and Regional competitive events. It operates a fleet of two large committee boats, 9 RIBs, 5 J80 Sportboats, a J24 and a variety of sailing dinghies that are available for members and training. The Club is also growing its commercial activities afloat using its QUEST sail and power boat training operation while ashore it hosts a wide range of functions each year, including conferences, weddings, parties and the like.

Howth Yacht Club originated as Howth Sailing Club in 1895. In 1968 Howth Sailing Club combined with Howth Motor Yacht Club, which had operated from the West Pier since 1935, to form Howth Yacht Club. The new clubhouse was opened in 1987 with further extensions carried out and more planned for the future including dredging and expanded marina facilities.

HYC caters for sailors of all ages and run sailing courses throughout the year as part of being an Irish Sailing accredited training facility with its own sailing school.

The club has a fully serviced marina with berthing for 250 yachts and HYC is delighted to be able to welcome visitors to this famous and scenic area of Dublin.

New applications for membership are always welcome

Howth Yacht Club FAQs

Howth Yacht Club is one of the most storied in Ireland — celebrating its 125th anniversary in 2020 — and has an active club sailing and racing scene to rival those of the Dun Laoghaire Waterfront Clubs on the other side of Dublin Bay.

Howth Yacht Club is based at the harbour of Howth, a suburban coastal village in north Co Dublin on the northern side of the Howth Head peninsula. The village is around 13km east-north-east of Dublin city centre and has a population of some 8,200.

Howth Yacht Club was founded as Howth Sailing Club in 1895. Howth Sailing Club later combined with Howth Motor Yacht Club, which had operated from the village’s West Pier since 1935, to form Howth Yacht Club.

The club organises and runs sailing events and courses for members and visitors all throughout the year and has very active keelboat and dinghy racing fleets. In addition, Howth Yacht Club prides itself as being a world-class international sailing event venue and hosts many National, European and World Championships as part of its busy annual sailing schedule.

As of November 2020, the Commodore of the Royal St George Yacht Club is Ian Byrne, with Paddy Judge as Vice-Commodore (Clubhouse and Administration). The club has two Rear-Commodores, Neil Murphy for Sailing and Sara Lacy for Junior Sailing, Training & Development.

Howth Yacht Club says it has one of the largest sailing memberships in Ireland and the UK; an exact number could not be confirmed as of November 2020.

Howth Yacht Club’s burgee is a vertical-banded pennant of red, white and red with a red anchor at its centre. The club’s ensign has a blue-grey field with the Irish tricolour in its top left corner and red anchor towards the bottom right corner.

The club organises and runs sailing events and courses for members and visitors all throughout the year and has very active keelboat and dinghy racing fleets. In addition, Howth Yacht Club prides itself as being a world-class international sailing event venue and hosts many National, European and World Championships as part of its busy annual sailing schedule.

Yes, Howth Yacht Club has an active junior section.

Yes, Howth Yacht Club hosts sailing and powerboat training for adults, juniors and corporate sailing under the Quest Howth brand.

Among its active keelboat and dinghy fleets, Howth Yacht Club is famous for being the home of the world’s oldest one-design racing keelboat class, the Howth Seventeen Footer. This still-thriving class of boat was designed by Walter Herbert Boyd in 1897 to be sailed in the local waters off Howth. The original five ‘gaff-rigged topsail’ boats that came to the harbour in the spring of 1898 are still raced hard from April until November every year along with the other 13 historical boats of this class.

Yes, Howth Yacht Club has a fleet of five J80 keelboats for charter by members for training, racing, organised events and day sailing.

The current modern clubhouse was the product of a design competition that was run in conjunction with the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland in 1983. The winning design by architects Vincent Fitzgerald and Reg Chandler was built and completed in March 1987. Further extensions have since been made to the building, grounds and its own secure 250-berth marina.

Yes, the Howth Yacht Club clubhouse offers a full bar and lounge, snug bar and coffee bar as well as a 180-seat dining room. Currently, the bar is closed due to Covid-19 restrictions. Catering remains available on weekends, take-home and delivery menus for Saturday night tapas and Sunday lunch.

The Howth Yacht Club office is open weekdays from 9am to 5pm. Contact the club for current restaurant opening hours at [email protected] or phone 01 832 0606.

Yes — when hosting sailing events, club racing, coaching and sailing courses, entertaining guests and running evening entertainment, tuition and talks, the club caters for all sorts of corporate, family and social occasions with a wide range of meeting, event and function rooms. For enquiries contact [email protected] or phone 01 832 2141.

Howth Yacht Club has various categories of membership, each affording the opportunity to avail of all the facilities at one of Ireland’s finest sailing clubs.

No — members can join active crews taking part in club keelboat and open sailing events, not to mention Pay & Sail J80 racing, charter sailing and more.

Fees range from €190 to €885 for ordinary members.
Memberships are renewed annually.

©Afloat 2020