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Displaying items by tag: Currachs

The river Lee was bustling with young people in traditional currachs as Meitheal Mara hosted their first physical event in Cork Harbour almost two years.

Some 50 participants in over 20 boats took part in the Ocean to City Youth Event, covering the 4.5km from Blackrock Village to Lapp’s Quay.

The Ocean to City Youth Event is part of the main Ocean to City –An Rás Mór since the very first race in 2005. Due to restrictions this year, it was held as a standalone event.

This year’s race participants reflect the great diversity of Meitheal Mara’s Bádóireacht youth rowing and sailing programme. Crews included young people from Mayfield Neighbourhood Youth Programme, Foroige’s Big Brother Big Sister programme, CDYS Youth Work Ireland Gurranabraher, St. Joseph’s Foroige Mayfield, Educate Together class of 2019, Naomhóga Chorcaí Currach Club, Fionnbarra Youth Crew, Glanmire Foroige, Foroige Togher and members the Bádóireacht Youth Council including past pupils from Cork Life Centre.

Some young people have been rowing with Bádóireacht since as far back as 2017, however, many there today were only introduced to currach rowing for the first time two months ago.

Over the past twenty years, Bádóireacht has provided rowing and sailing programmes to thousands of young people that would not otherwise have had access to the water. Bádóireacht in particular works with young people from marginalised groups or communities that are vulnerable or at risk of isolation. Over the past two years in particular; as a provider of non-contact, outdoor sport; Bádóireacht has played a particularly important role in creating a space where young people can be active and sociable in a safe environment. Today’s Ocean to City Youth Event is a culmination of that work.

The event is a celebration of the resilience of the young people over the past 18 months, of their achievements in training for this race and to mark the return of many more events and celebrations on the water.

Ocean to City participant Liam McCormack said: ‘’We trained for the last three months with the Bádóireacht programme as well as with Naomhóga Chorcaí. It has been great craic getting out on the water every week – I probably would have gone mental without!’’

Over the past year, Bádóireacht has also worked with Togher and Glanmire Foroige groups to establish integration rowing programmes with young people living in Direct Provision accommodation. This work has resulted in two very successful rowing programmes taking place this summer. These programmes are building on Bádóireacht’s work with young people from migrant communities since 2017 and sees young people from Direct Provision centres taking part in Ocean to City for their third successive race.

Clare Hayden, Bádóireacht Manager, said: ‘’I’m thrilled to have delivered a physical event for our young people at last. They have shown fantastic resilience over the past year and we’re delighted to put on an event to celebrate them. Our rowing programme gives young people space away from what’s going on in their lives. It gives them skills that they can build on and grow in confidence. They learn to problem-solve, overcome challenges in difficult weather - and it is fantastic to see them come through that programme and complete the 4.5 km race.’’

The Bádoireacht programme and youth event are organised by Meitheal Mara, the community boatyard, training centre and charity located in the heart of Cork City.

Published in Currachs

#Rowing: Two currachs set off from Ringsend and rowed up the Liffey into Dublin city to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the First Dail on Monday. Paraic Ó Fatharta, Gearoid Ó Conghaile, Dave Kelly and piper John Lamb drew the attention of an unsuspecting city audience to the Liffey. At 3.30 they positioned the currachs between the Ha'penny Bridge and O'Connell Bridge, while Lamb piped Amhrán na bhFiann to coincide with the centenary commemoration under way at the Mansion House at the same time. The Tricolour and the Starry Plough were flown.

Published in Currachs
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This month a collaboration between Haiti Orphanage Project ESPWA, Cork’s Community Boatyard, Meitheal Mara, and Naomhóga Chorcaí saw two flat pack currachs making their way to Haiti. The mainstay of the Haitian economy was agriculture and fishing which were wiped out after the 2010 earthquake. To hasten a meaningful recovery these industries need to be revitalised.

Cork volunteers, Seamus O’Brien (Meitheal Mara) and John Cronin (Haiti Orphanage Project ESPWA founder), travelled to Haiti to teach the locals to build currachs - the traditional Irish fishing boats.

Seamus O’Brien told us “this could be an affordable and easy solution to replacing the fishing boats that were destroyed. We now know that 80% of the materials can be sourced locally which makes this project very feasible.”

The two currachs were assembled in just three days. Seamus mentioned “the local workforce were really enthusiastic and picked up the skills very quickly. They even built a wood steamer while I was there which we can replicate in our boatyard so we both learned from each other.”

The boats were launched this week in Haiti and will be tested over the coming weeks in local waters. Seamus told us that “this is a very positive step, and with some small adjustments this can be a really viable project which will change lives.”

Seven years on Haiti is still struggling to rebuild after the 2010 earthquake, countless lives were lost and the death toll was ever increasing with the rampant spread of cholera. Rebuilding has seen many setbacks with two hurricanes hitting the island and a three-year drought bringing more poverty and political unrest.

The Haitians are a very resilient people, who strive to be self-sufficient again. With the help of various charities they are slowly achieving this, but with so many people still living in camps and many more below the poverty line it will be a long road.

Published in Currachs
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This weekend the River Liffey and surrounding areas come to life in celebration of Dublin’s rich maritime heritage and local boating communities, past and present, with a mix of free open air spectacles and events for the public to enjoy both on the water and on land.

On Friday evening, 18th September, the Dublin Docklands Office and Oireachtas na Gaeilge will stage a Currach racing event on the River Liffey. At 5.30pm on Culture Night, currachs will set off from the pontoon by the Jeanie Johnston Tall Ship and race for 2km up river to the Ha’penny Bridge and back.

On land, a series of talks and films about currachs and the beautiful Galway Hookers will take place in the Dublin Docklands Office on Custom House Quay, while the Dublin Dockers’ Preservation Society will also host an exhibition of photographs chronicling the history and the people of the Docklands.

On Saturday, 19th September, Dublin City Council in conjunction with Dublin Port Company will open three bridges consecutively - the Samuel Beckett, Sean O’Casey and East Link bridges - over the River Liffey to allow the passage of yachts from Dublin Bay to the Custom House Quay area of the city.

The Parade of Sail & River Liffey Cruise event will feature as many as 30 sail boats which will congregate at the East Link Bridge at 3pm on Saturday 19th September 2015. Between 2.30pm and 3.00pm both the Samuel Beckett and Sean O'Casey Bridges will open, followed by the East Link Bridge.

The boats will make their way down the River Liffey through the three bridges and will turn at the Matt Talbot (Custom House) bridge and come back up the river where they will then dock at the pontoons outside the 3 Arena.

A spokesperson for Dublin City Council said: "The Dublin City Council Docklands Office were delighted to be associated with these events which is in keeping with their policy of animating the River Liffey and facilitating its use as a natural resource for the public."

Eamonn O’Reilly, Chief Executive, Dublin Port Company, said: “Dublin Port Company is committed to integrating Dublin Port with the city through a wide range of events and initiatives that celebrate the maritime heritage and traditions of Dublin as a port city. We are delighted to be involved with the Currach racing and Parade of Sail, and I would encourage everyone to come along and show their support for the boating community on the River Liffey this weekend.”

Published in Currachs
Meitheal Mara which organisers the annual 'Ocean to City' rowing race are to hold a 'Boatyard Open Day' at their Cork city-centre boatyard located at Crosses Green House, Crosses Green on Saturday 27 November. Visiting hours are 10-4pm and all are welcome to the event which will be a feast for wooden-boat enthusiasts.

Topics will be on classic and traditional boat repair, restoration and build boatbuilding and lofting to varnish and tarring. The exhibition will feature slideshows and a boat display of a folk boat, Crosshaven clinker rowing punt, thullier sailing clinker punt, Valentia carvel seine boat follower, Rinn Rua, pram dinghies, currachs and canoes.

Also on hand will be Siubhán McCarthy who will be talking about the 'Ocean to City' race and what's happening in Cork harbour. For information contact Meitheal Mara Tel: (021) 4316813 or [email protected]

Published in Boating Fixtures

Galway Port & Harbour

Galway Bay is a large bay on the west coast of Ireland, between County Galway in the province of Connacht to the north and the Burren in County Clare in the province of Munster to the south. Galway city and port is located on the northeast side of the bay. The bay is about 50 kilometres (31 miles) long and from 10 kilometres (6.2 miles) to 30 kilometres (19 miles) in breadth.

The Aran Islands are to the west across the entrance and there are numerous small islands within the bay.

Galway Port FAQs

Galway was founded in the 13th century by the de Burgo family, and became an important seaport with sailing ships bearing wine imports and exports of fish, hides and wool.

Not as old as previously thought. Galway bay was once a series of lagoons, known as Loch Lurgan, plied by people in log canoes. Ancient tree stumps exposed by storms in 2010 have been dated back about 7,500 years.

It is about 660,000 tonnes as it is a tidal port.

Capt Brian Sheridan, who succeeded his late father, Capt Frank Sheridan

The dock gates open approximately two hours before high water and close at high water subject to ship movements on each tide.

The typical ship sizes are in the region of 4,000 to 6,000 tonnes

Turbines for about 14 wind projects have been imported in recent years, but the tonnage of these cargoes is light. A European industry report calculates that each turbine generates €10 million in locally generated revenue during construction and logistics/transport.

Yes, Iceland has selected Galway as European landing location for international telecommunications cables. Farice, a company wholly owned by the Icelandic Government, currently owns and operates two submarine cables linking Iceland to Northern Europe.

It is "very much a live project", Harbourmaster Capt Sheridan says, and the Port of Galway board is "awaiting the outcome of a Bord Pleanála determination", he says.

90% of the scrap steel is exported to Spain with the balance being shipped to Portugal. Since the pandemic, scrap steel is shipped to the Liverpool where it is either transhipped to larger ships bound for China.

It might look like silage, but in fact, its bales domestic and municipal waste, exported to Denmark where the waste is incinerated, and the heat is used in district heating of homes and schools. It is called RDF or Refuse Derived Fuel and has been exported out of Galway since 2013.

The new ferry is arriving at Galway Bay onboard the cargo ship SVENJA. The vessel is currently on passage to Belem, Brazil before making her way across the Atlantic to Galway.

Two Volvo round world races have selected Galway for the prestigious yacht race route. Some 10,000 people welcomed the boats in during its first stopover in 2009, when a festival was marked by stunning weather. It was also selected for the race finish in 2012. The Volvo has changed its name and is now known as the "Ocean Race". Capt Sheridan says that once port expansion and the re-urbanisation of the docklands is complete, the port will welcome the "ocean race, Clipper race, Tall Ships race, Small Ships Regatta and maybe the America's Cup right into the city centre...".

The pandemic was the reason why Seafest did not go ahead in Cork in 2020. Galway will welcome Seafest back after it calls to Waterford and Limerick, thus having been to all the Port cities.

© Afloat 2020