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#SummerOfHeritage – The annual Summer of Heritage organised by Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council continues its events programme until 7th September.

So there's still time to visit places of interest, among them those with direct links to matters maritime.

Click the following links below to previous postings to reveal further information to the following venues where all have FREE guided tours / walking tours on offer.

Seapoint Martello Tower, Dublin Bay

Seafront Memorials Tours, Dun Laoghaire Harbour

Martello Tower (No.7) & Fortification, Killiney

Noting all tours do not require pre-booking, yet it is advisable to turn up early!... as spaces are limited.

For further details of guided tours, download programme HERE and for locations, dates and times visit: www.dlrevents.ie or call (01) 204 7011

 

Published in Dublin Bay

#HeritageWeekLectures – The Maritime Institute of Ireland is to run a lecture series during Heritage Week under the title of 'The War to End All Wars' held on 31 August in the Eblana Club, Dun Laoghaire.

The lectures are between 12 am and 8 pm and the venue is located on Elana Avenue off Marine Road. Lectures will be accompanied by discussions, debates, music and song.

Registration begins at 11.30, so make sure you book early as places are limited.

Programme details of the eight lectures (can be downloaded in PDF format) from the MII's website: www.mariner.ie

In addition to further details about their National Maritime Museum of Ireland which is located nearby to the Eblana Club.

 

Published in Dublin Bay

#KillineyMartello- The annual Summer of Heritage events programme organised by Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council (DLRCoCo) continues throughout the season, writes Jehan Ashmore.

The programme which runs until Sunday 7 September, includes some new and exciting venues for this season for you to see, visit and learn from a series of guided walking tours and all for free!

Among the new heritage site events is the restored Killiney Martello Tower (No.7) and Fortification on Tara Hill in Killiney, which is sited within a walled compound on Killiney Hill Road.

Its elevated position meant that it acted both as a supporting position and as an observation post with commanding coastal views sweeping across Killiney Bay between Dalkey Island and Bray Head.

Manned by 16 men, the tower consisted of an 18-pounder gun, a guardhouse and a raised earthen battery armed with three 24-pounder guns and the structure built between 1804-5, was to repel a threatened French invasion.

In this year's prestigious Europa Nostra Awards, Martello Tower No.7 received 'Special Mention' of the Jury of the European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage.

The Martello Tower was short-listed in the category of Conservation where entries made an outstanding contribution to the conservation and enhancement of heritage and were recognised and particularly appreciated by the Juries.

The Europa Nostra awards receive entries from the entire European continent stretching from Iceland to the Russian Urals and from Norway to Turkey.

Details of Guided Tours

Location: Martello Tower No.7 (Tara Hill) on Killiney Hill Road. Meet just inside the main gates. 

Guided Tours (Days): Every Tuesday and Thursday
Tour Times: Hours from 2pm – 5pm (4 tours daily)
Tour Duration: 60 minutes
Max Capacity: 15 people

Notes: Not wheelchair accessible.
Access to roof is very restricted.
Children Must be accompanied by an adult.
Proper footwear is essential.

ALL tours in the Summer of Heritage programme are non-pre booking and places are limited so turn up early!

For further details of guided tours, download programme HERE for details of locations, dates and times. Or visit: www.dlrevents.ie Contact: (01) 204 7011

 

Published in Dublin Bay

#dlharbour – The Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Leo Varadkar TD, has announced the appointment of Don McManus to the Board of Dun Laoghaire Harbour Company.
Don McManus – who is Chairperson of Dun Laoghaire Business Improvement District (BID) – has previously served terms on the board of the Harbour Company. Don is from Dun Laoghaire, and is Managing Director of his family-owned business which has operated in Dun Laoghaire since 1928.
The Board of Dún Laoghaire Harbour Company now comprises eight members, which is the maximum membership it can have.
Speaking on the appointments, Chairperson of Dún Laoghaire Harbour Company, Eithne Scott Lennon said: "Don's experience and commitment to improving the Dun Laoghaire is very important, and will be very valuable to the Harbour Company as we continue to expedite the elements of our development plan."
The development plan include the delivery of an International Diaspora Centre, a deep cruise berth facility and a new mixed use housing and retail development. A number of initiatives to add to the leisure offerings at the Harbour have already been instigated, including the Urban Beach project, the Shackleton Exhibition and the new drive-in movie initiative which will commence later this month. A key area of development for the Harbour Company has been the increase in cruise-calls to Dún Laoghaire in recent years, and we expect to deliver 100,000 leisure visitors and crew to Dún Laoghaire and its hinterland in 2015.

#SummerOfHeritage - As previously reported the annual Summer of Heritage events programme organised by Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council (DLRCoCo) started last week.

Running over five days a week until 7 September, the programme this year has some added new and exciting venues for you to see, visit and learn from and for free!

All tours are non-pre booking and places are limited so turn up early!

The events which drew thousands of people last year and to look forward to in 2014 are the various heritage sites across the county and among them are the guided Seafront Memorial Tours held in Dun Laoghaire Harbour.

DETAILS: The first date of these guided walking tours (again no pre-booking) starts tomorrow Sunday, 6 July.

Location: at the Queen Victoria Fountain, Dún Laoghaire.

Descripstion: The tour covers coastal memorials along the harbour waterfront, including the Queen Victoria Fountain, George IV Memorial, the mailboat Leinster's anchor, Christ the King, the Crimean War Cannon and the 1895 Lifeboat Disaster.

Tours: (every Sunday) from 6 July until 7 September
Time: 11.30am (1 tour per day)
Tour: 60 minutes
Max capacity: 20 people
Wheelchair accessible.
This is an outdoor event.

For further details of the full programme download programme HERE for details of locations, dates and times. Or visit: www.dlrevents.ie Contact: (01) 204 7011

 

#MotorYacht – A US training ship T.S. Empire State made a 'sail-past' in Dublin Bay this morning, however Dublin Port welcomed Katrion, an impressive three-decked 38m motoryacht, writes Jehan Ashmore.

Featuring a Jacuzzi high up on the uppermost deck above the bridge, the Cayman Islands flagged motoryacht is currently advertised for sale through www.y.co for €12,900,000.

She had docked at the 100-berth Poolbeg Yacht Boat Club & Marina having sailed overnight from Waterford. Beforehand she had cruised along the south and south-west coast in recent weeks.

The Georgetown registered vessel built in 2003 is from the Dutch yard of Feadship - which has completed more than 250 such luxurious vessels for wealthy clients globally.

Her interiors are by the hand of Michael Mcquiston / Art-Line Interiors and her last refit is understood to have been in 2008.

Guests have the use of four staterooms, a main salon, living and dining room spaces. Outdoor dining is available on the spacious deck and aft-decks.

Further luxurious facilities are to be found in accommodation for 8-guests, with a master bedroom and master-bathroom, a VIP-guestroom, guest-double and a guest twin. A crew of 7 cater for the needs of discerning clientele.

It is also undestood that her main engines of 2 X 620 HP generate a cruising speed of 11 knots though is capable of 14 knots.

Should dry-land be yearned for after travelling across Ocean's, in which she has a range of 3,000 nautical miles, there are custom-bikes already on board and an awaiting high-speed tender to whisk you ashore.

 

Published in Dublin Bay

#UStrainingShips –Afloat.ie can now confirm following our previous report, that the US training ship T.S. Empire State (1962/14,557grt) had made a 'sail-past' only visit of Dublin Bay this morning while en route to Copenhagen.

The vessel is no stranger to Dublin Port having called on previous occasions.

The brief appearance of the former general cargoship on US Independence Day, involved the vessel circling around the southern end of the bay before departing off the Baily Lighthouse.

On board are male and female students from the Maritime College of the State University College of New York (SUNY) who are undertaking their Summer Sea Term, which is held annually.

 

Published in Dublin Bay

#UStrainingShips -Today been the 4th July, the United States celebrates its Independence Day where patriotic events take place also overseas and on board a pair of training vessels in Irish waters, writes Jehan Ashmore.

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, the two US training ships visited Cork recently, SSV Corwith Cromar and TS Empire State (1962/14,557grt) though the latter vessel this morning arrived into Dublin Bay.

As part of her annual Summer Sea Term, she is scheduled to visit several European ports and among them the next port is call is understood to the Danish capital of Copenhagen.

The arrival into Dublin Bay of the cadetship with students from the Maritime College of the State University College of New York (SUNY) is somewhat surprising, though for the last three days she undertook training exercises held off Cork Harbour with overnight anchorage taken offshore.

It remains to be confirmed if the former general cargoship which has visited Dublin Port previously is set to make an un-scheduled call.

Or this could merely be a 'sail-past' of Dublin as part of the route taken of the Empire State during her passage through the Irish Sea, past Scotland and onward to Scandinavia.

Also following a transatlantic sail from the US East coast, the other training vessel, the steel-hulled 1988 built SSV Corwith Cramer which made her first visit to Cork. She remains berthed at Cork City Marina where she was open to the public last Sunday.

On Tuesday a talk "One Ocean: Lightening Talks on Ocean Discovery" was held on board with researchers from the US and Ireland. She is due to depart on Sunday.

 

Published in Dublin Bay

#SummerOfHeritage- The annual Summer of Heritage events programme organised by Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council (DLRCoCo) started today.

Running over five days a week for the next ten weeks until 7 September the programme has some added new and exciting venues this year for you to see, visit and learn from. All for free! for adults and children alike.

Among the events which drew thousands of people in 2013 when visiting various heritage sites across the county was and will continue to be the Martello Tower at Seapoint where guided tours are held. A unique story told in a unique setting.

The tower is one of a series along with batteries built between Bray and Balbriggan in 1804-5 to repel a threatened French invasion.

The first tour starts tomorrow, 2 July (and every Wednesday plus all Sundays). Hourly tours of 4 held on both selected days (2pm-5pm) and are restricted to 15 persons. They are not wheelchair accessible.

This is both an indoor and outdoor event where proper footwear is essential, noting bare feet are not allowed. Access to roof is very restricted. Noting, children 'must' be accompanied by an adult.

For further details of the full programme of guided tours, download the Summer of Heritage brochure HERE and which also outlines locations, dates and times.

Or visit: www.dlrevents.ie or by contacting: (01) 204 7011

 

Published in Dublin Bay

#DublinBay - James Joyce scholars have received some unwelcome news with a new report finding that the Joyce Tower in Sandycove unsuitable for storing a first edition of the author's most famed work Ulysses, among other delicate materials.

According to the Irish Independent, the report commissioned by Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council has identified that the seaside Martello tower in Sandycove - which featured prominently in Ulysses, and is due to reopen shortly following months of renovations - is unsuitable for housing rare papers due to damp conditions.

The news comes as a blow to Joyceans and the county council alike, the latter after investing more than €200,000 in the building to convert it and its present museum into what's expected to be a major tourist attraction.

The Irish Independent has more on the story HERE.

Update 10/4: Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council has since posted an update on the Joyce Tower renovations, claiming that recent news reports were based on incomplete information.

"The reported problem with damp in the tower was identified as an issue by the council in its first discussions with Fáilte Ireland and was also noted in the consultants report," the statements reads.

"Since the museum consultant's visit to the tower last year, Fáilte Ireland has been carrying out work on the conservation of the tower which we believe has addressed many of the structural issues, some of which related to the ingress of water and damp.

"The museum consultant who produced the report had not revisited the Tower following the works and therefore had not taken them into account in his report."

The full DLRCoCo statement can be read HERE.

Published in Dublin Bay
Page 3 of 11

Royal St. George Yacht Club

The Royal St George Yacht Club was founded in Dun Laoghaire (then Kingstown) Harbour in 1838 by a small number of like-minded individuals who liked to go rowing and sailing together. The club gradually gathered pace and has become, with the passage of time and the unstinting efforts of its Flag Officers, committees and members, a world-class yacht club.

Today, the ‘George’, as it is known by everyone, maybe one of the world’s oldest sailing clubs, but it has a very contemporary friendly outlook that is in touch with the demands of today and offers world-class facilities for all forms of water sports

Royal St. George Yacht Club FAQs

The Royal St George Yacht Club — often abbreviated as RStGYC and affectionately known as ‘the George’ — is one of the world’s oldest sailing clubs, and one of a number that ring Dublin Bay on the East Coast of Ireland.

The Royal St George Yacht Club is based at the harbour of Dun Laoghaire, a suburban coastal town in south Co Dublin around 11km south-east of Dublin city centre and with a population of some 26,000. The Royal St George is one of the four Dun Laoghaire Waterfront Clubs, along with the National Yacht Club, Royal Irish Yacht Club (RIYC) and Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club (DMYC).

The Royal St George was founded by members of the Pembroke Rowing Club in 1838 and was originally known as Kingstown Boat Club, as Kingstown was what Dun Laoghaire was named at the time. The club obtained royal patronage in 1845 and became known as Royal Kingstown Yacht Club. After 1847 the club took on its current name.

The George is first and foremost an active yacht club with a strong commitment to and involvement with all aspects of the sport of sailing, whether racing your one design on Dublin Bay, to offshore racing in the Mediterranean and Caribbean, to junior sailing, to cruising and all that can loosely be described as “messing about in boats”.

As of November 2020, the Commodore of the Royal St George Yacht Club is Peter Bowring, with Richard O’Connor as Vice-Commodore. The club has two Rear-Commodores, Mark Hennessy for Sailing and Derek Ryan for Social.

As of November 2020, the Royal St George has around 1,900 members.

The Royal St George’s burgee is a red pennant with a white cross which has a crown at its centre. The club’s ensign has a blue field with the Irish tricolour in its top left corner and a crown towards the bottom right corner.

Yes, the club hosts regular weekly racing for dinghies and keelboats as well as a number of national and international sailing events each season. Major annual events include the Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta, hosted in conjunction with the three other Dun Laoghaire Waterfront Clubs.

Yes, the Royal St George has a vibrant junior sailing section that organises training and events throughout the year.

Sail training is a core part of what the George does, and training programmes start with the Sea Squirts aged 5 to 8, continuing through its Irish Sailing Youth Training Scheme for ages 8 to 18, with adult sail training a new feature since 2009. The George runs probably the largest and most comprehensive programme each summer with upwards of 500 children participating. This junior focus continues at competitive level, with coaching programmes run for aspiring young racers from Optimist through to Lasers, 420s and Skiffs.

 

The most popular boats raced at the club are one-design keelboats such as the Dragon, Shipman 28, Ruffian, SB20, Squib and J80; dinghy classes including the Laser, RS200 and RS400; junior classes the 420, Optimist and Laser Radial; and heritage wooden boats including the Water Wags, the oldest one-design dinghy class in the world. The club also has a large group of cruising yachts.

The Royal St George is based in a Victorian-style clubhouse that dates from 1843 and adjoins the harbour’s Watering Pier. The clubhouse was conceived as a miniature classical Palladian Villa, a feature which has been faithfully maintained despite a series of extensions, and a 1919 fire that destroyed all but four rooms. Additionally, the club has a substantial forecourt with space for more than 50 boats dry sailing, as well as its entire dinghy fleet. There is also a dry dock, four cranes (limit 12 tonnes) and a dedicated lift=out facility enabling members keep their boats in ready to race condition at all times. The George also has a floating dock for short stays and can supply fuel, power and water to visitors.

Yes, the Royal St George’s clubhouse offers a full bar and catering service for members, visitors and guests. Currently the bar is closed due to Covid-19 restrictions.

The Royal St George boathouse is open daily from 9.30am to 5.30pm during the winter. The office and reception are open Tuesdays to Fridays from 10am to 5pm. The bar is currently closed due to Covid-19 restrictions. Lunch is served on Wednesdays and Fridays from 12.30pm to 2.30pm, with brunch on Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 3pm.

Yes, the Royal St George regularly hosts weddings and family celebrations from birthdays to christenings, and offers a unique and prestigious location to celebrate your day. The club also hosts corporate meetings, sailing workshops and company celebrations with a choice of rooms. From small private meetings to work parties and celebrations hosting up to 150 guests, the club can professionally and successfully manage your corporate requirements. In addition, team building events can utilise its fleet of club boats and highly trained instructors. For enquiries contact Laura Smart at [email protected] or phone 01 280 1811.

The George is delighted to welcome new members. It may look traditional — and is proud of its heritage — but behind the facade is a lively and friendly club, steeped in history but not stuck in it. It is a strongly held belief that new members bring new ideas, new skills and new contacts on both the sailing and social sides.

No — members can avail of the club’s own fleet of watercraft.

There is currently no joining fee for new members of the Royal St George. The introductory ordinary membership subscription fee is €775 annually for the first two years. A full list of membership categories and related annual subscriptions is available.

Membership subscriptions are renewed on an annual basis

Full contact details for the club and its staff can be found at the top of this page

©Afloat 2020

RStGYC SAILING DATES 2024

  • April 13th Lift In
  • May 18th & 19th Cannonball Trophy
  • May 25th & 26th 'George' Invitational Regatta
  • July 6th RSGYC Regatta
  • August 10th & 11th Irish Waszp National Championships
  • August 22- 25th Dragon Irish National Championships / Grand Prix
  • Aug 31st / Sept 1st Elmo Trophy
  • September 6th End of Season Race
  • September 7th & 8th Squib East Coast Championships
  • September 20th - 22nd SB20 National Championships
  • September 22nd Topper Ireland Traveller Event
  • October 12th Lift Out

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