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The Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin, and the Minister of State for Sport and Physical Education, Thomas Byrne, announced that a new round of the Sports Capital and Equipment Programme (SCEP) will open for new applications from 17 July.

The SCEP is the government’s primary vehicle for providing support to sports clubs and communities to develop sports infrastructure around the country.

At MarineServices.ie we can help all sailing clubs and training centres around the country with new capital equipment; we can provide;

  • RS Sailing Dinghies
  • Airfloat Modular Pontoons
  • Selva Outboard Engines
  • RS Electric RIBs
  • Vanguard RIBs

The RS Sailing range is perfect for all clubs training and racing fleets around the country. MarineServices.ie have supplied many diverse boats to clubs in the four corners of Ireland throughout the last few years. The modern range of boats provides a 21st century twist on what is required for new sailors to embrace the sport and have a positive experience from their first sails.

The RS range includes the Tera, perfectly suited for smaller sailors as an alternative to other traditional beginner boatsThe RS range includes the Tera, perfectly suited for smaller sailors as an alternative to other traditional beginner boats

The RS Feva, well known as the perfect double handed training & racing boat for the 9-14 year old ages groupsThe RS Feva, well known as the perfect double handed training & racing boat for the 9-14 year old ages groups

The RS Zest which boasts innovative features such as a centreboard to avoid damage in shallow waters to a traditional daggerboard case. This boat is suited perfectly for two children or as a single-handed training boat for adults.The RS Zest which boasts innovative features such as a centreboard to avoid damage in shallow waters to a traditional daggerboard case. This boat is suited perfectly for two children or as a single-handed training boat for adults.

The RS Quest, jointly developed by the Sea Scouts has been sold in abundance and is the ultimate training dinghy with options including trapeze, asymmetric spinnaker, symmetrical spinnaker, the list is endless. A great training boat for adults and children alike that can be used to teach performance sailing but is also perfect for adventure camping sailing.The RS Quest, jointly developed by the Sea Scouts has been sold in abundance and is the ultimate training dinghy with options including trapeze, asymmetric spinnaker, symmetrical spinnaker, the list is endless. A great training boat for adults and children alike that can be used to teach performance sailing but is also perfect for adventure camping sailing

There are plenty more boats in the range, to arrange a test sail or for more information, see the online brochure here or contact [email protected].

Airfloat modular pontoons in Dun Laoghaire HarbourAirfloat modular pontoons in Dun Laoghaire Harbour

Recently MarineServices.ie took over the management of Airfloat modular pontoons which is a Highly versatile and the cost effective answer to create pontoons, floating jetties and walkways and can make an innovate solution for storing rescue boats and dinghies afloat. With a dedicated installation team we can design, supply and install a system for any of your needs throughout Ireland.

For further information, please see our website for all things AirFloat www.airfloatmps.com

MarineServices.ie is now in its sixthth year of supplying & maintaining Selva marine outboards, which are manufactured by well-known Yamaha and are available at a slightly reduced price. With country-wide installation and servicing available on-site and stock engines available for immediate delivery, we can supply from 2.5hp to 300hp.

MarineServices.ie supply and maintain Selva marine outboardsMarineServices.ie supply and maintain Selva marine outboards

The full range can be seen here. Contact [email protected] for an instant quote

New for 2023 MarineServices.ie is proud to be moving with the future with the addition of RS Electric RIBs to our stable. RS Electric Boats has announced that the new iteration of the Pulse 63, featuring a RAD40 (electric propulsion system) and increased battery capacity from 46kWh to 63kWh, will be on the market from August 2023.

RS Electric Boats has announced a new iteration of the Pulse 63, featuring a RAD40RS Electric Boats has announced a new iteration of the Pulse 63, featuring a RAD40

RS Electric Boats has calculated that the integral RAD40 offers 45 per cent more efficiency than the previous configuration, which was already a significant leap in terms of electric RIBs. The Pulse 63 will have even more speed and range than it previously enjoyed.

Further to this, the new set-up means the Pulse 63 will enjoy extreme manoeuvrability. This is because the RAD40 head unit stays still and only the bottom of its leg swivels. As a result, the propeller can turn 90 degrees in each direction, offering a fantastic 180 degrees – allowing the Pulse to spin in its own length.

Vanguard RIBsVanguard RIBs

As part of our agreement with Selva, we are also suppliers of Vanguard RIBs, or particular interest to clubs would be the Pro Work line. We have supplied various Vanguard packages from the smaller 450 Pro Work above to the Pro Work 850 in passenger boat format with over 200 horsepower!

As always, it is best to contact [email protected] for a quote or to discuss your exact requirements.

Whatever it is your club or training centre requires, we can supply it for you!

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MarineServices.ie the Irish agents for RS Sailboats, are reminding all RS boat owners about the winter sail and cover deal.

Get ahead for next season by having your new sails for racing ahead of the competition!

The terms are simple; Orders must be placed by the 30th of September to avail of a 10% discount on the 2022 Retail Price of all RS class sails & covers. A 25% deposit is required with the balance due on delivery which will be no later than the 31st March 2023.

There are further discounts available on the immediate delivery of RS Top Covers, please contact us for more information on this.

For more information or to submit your order, please email [email protected]

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MarineServices.ie is pleased to announce to be an official dealer of Sailmon. Sailmon is a Dutch-based soft- & hardware developer for the marine industry. They are known for their world-class displays, high-performance processors and innovative cloud solutions for sailing analysis.

Sailmon uses technology to create a new sailing experience. MarineServices.ie will focus on distributing MAX, their newest innovation.

Sail higher, faster and hit the right end of the line

Traditionally dinghy and sport boat sailing has all been about feel. MAX makes guesswork a thing of the past. It features a built-in, fast GPS and advanced 9-axis compass which generates the most accurate sailing data. Keep an eye on data such as heading, speed, heel and pitch, wind, and course over ground to sail higher and faster. In addition, MAX contains a ping function, countdown timer, distance to line, and time to start functionality.

MAX makes guesswork a thing of the past.MAX makes guesswork a thing of the past

By connecting the Bluetooth, solar-powered, wind sensor, you can receive instant and accurate apparent and true wind readings.

All data is presented on a clear transflective LCD display with anti-reflective front glass for maximum viewability. Powered by a lithium-polymer battery for all day use with waterproof charging.

Relive your trip with the Sailmon app

In addition to the technological and practical solution, MAX is the first sailing instrument with an accompanying app. The Sailmon app can be used to provide insight into, save or review data from training or competitions. The results of every trip are visualised in the app on a clear timeline and map, which you can also compare with your training partners and competitors. All functionalities of the Sailmon app helps you to improve your sailing.

About Sailmon

In addition to wind and water, Sailmon is a new element that makes sailing more fun and challenging. For everybody. From our founder and three-time Olympic sailor Kalle Coster to beginning sailors. From adventurers, racers and explorers to recreational sailors.

The Dutch company uses their technology to revolutionize sailing, making it even more challenging. Sailmon develops hardware and software, but is most proud of creating a new sailing experience, new ways to push the limits. They believe that capturing and sharing your performance makes you a better sailor. Nobody gets inspired by untold stories. No one gets challenged by unrecorded performances.

If you love sailing as much as they do, you use everything to maximize the experience. So feel the wind, get on the water and ‘’sail with us’’.

Receive a free and personal quote!

Please contact us via [email protected] for more information about the integration of Sailmon into your boat. We can supply you with a free and personal quote.

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MarineServices.ie the agent for RS Sailboats is delighted to announce the sale of a further four new RS Aeros into the class in Ireland.

The single-handed class has enjoyed a buoyant growth in the last year with many turning to the class due to superior ergonomics and a modern take on a performance dinghy.

With over 20 active boats in the Dublin area alone, the class is the largest PY class in the Dublin Bay Sailing Club summer racing series. Hopefully, as these numbers grow, the RS Aero will likely deserve its own start in the DMYC Frostbite series and Dublin Bay Series next year.

The Aero fleet is heading North to Carrickfergus on the 13th and 14th of August to meet up with a significant fleet that has also grown quickly in the North of Ireland, particularly in Ballyholme. Hammy Baker the recent winner of the RS Easterns in the Royal St George will be actively defending his recent win.

The fleet has a very healthy gender balance with many female sailors turning to the boat as it is significantly lighter and therefore easier to handle both ashore and afloat than other popular singlehanded dinghies.

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Ireland's offshore islands

Around 30 of Ireland's offshore islands are inhabited and hold a wealth of cultural heritage.

A central Government objective is to ensure that sustainable vibrant communities continue to live on the islands.

Irish offshore islands FAQs

Technically, it is Ireland itself, as the third largest island in Europe.

Ireland is surrounded by approximately 80 islands of significant size, of which only about 20 are inhabited.

Achill island is the largest of the Irish isles with a coastline of almost 80 miles and has a population of 2,569.

The smallest inhabited offshore island is Inishfree, off Donegal.

The total voting population in the Republic's inhabited islands is just over 2,600 people, according to the Department of Housing.

Starting with west Cork, and giving voting register numbers as of 2020, here you go - Bere island (177), Cape Clear island (131),Dursey island (6), Hare island (29), Whiddy island (26), Long island, Schull (16), Sherkin island (95). The Galway islands are Inis Mór (675), Inis Meáin (148), Inis Oírr (210), Inishbofin (183). The Donegal islands are Arranmore (513), Gola (30), Inishboffin (63), Inishfree (4), Tory (140). The Mayo islands, apart from Achill which is connected by a bridge, are Clare island (116), Inishbiggle (25) and Inishturk (52).

No, the Gaeltacht islands are the Donegal islands, three of the four Galway islands (Inishbofin, like Clifden, is English-speaking primarily), and Cape Clear or Oileán Chléire in west Cork.

Lack of a pier was one of the main factors in the evacuation of a number of islands, the best known being the Blasket islands off Kerry, which were evacuated in November 1953. There are now three cottages available to rent on the Great Blasket island.

In the early 20th century, scholars visited the Great Blasket to learn Irish and to collect folklore and they encouraged the islanders to record their life stories in their native tongue. The three best known island books are An tOileánach (The Islandman) by Tomás Ó Criomhthain, Peig by Peig Sayers, and Fiche Blian ag Fás (Twenty Years A-Growing) by Muiris Ó Súilleabháin. Former taoiseach Charles J Haughey also kept a residence on his island, Inishvickillaune, which is one of the smaller and less accessible Blasket islands.

Charles J Haughey, as above, or late Beatle musician, John Lennon. Lennon bought Dorinish island in Clew Bay, south Mayo, in 1967 for a reported £1,700 sterling. Vendor was Westport Harbour Board which had used it for marine pilots. Lennon reportedly planned to spend his retirement there, and The Guardian newspaper quoted local estate agent Andrew Crowley as saying he was "besotted with the place by all accounts". He did lodge a planning application for a house, but never built on the 19 acres. He offered it to Sid Rawle, founder of the Digger Action Movement and known as the "King of the Hippies". Rawle and 30 others lived there until 1972 when their tents were burned by an oil lamp. Lennon and Yoko Ono visited it once more before his death in 1980. Ono sold the island for £30,000 in 1984, and it is widely reported that she donated the proceeds of the sale to an Irish orphanage

 

Yes, Rathlin island, off Co Antrim's Causeway Coast, is Ireland's most northerly inhabited island. As a special area of conservation, it is home to tens of thousands of sea birds, including puffins, kittiwakes, razorbills and guillemots. It is known for its Rathlin golden hare. It is almost famous for the fact that Robert the Bruce, King of Scots, retreated after being defeated by the English at Perth and hid in a sea cave where he was so inspired by a spider's tenacity that he returned to defeat his enemy.

No. The Aran islands have a regular ferry and plane service, with ferries from Ros-a-Mhíl, south Connemara all year round and from Doolin, Co Clare in the tourist season. The plane service flies from Indreabhán to all three islands. Inishbofin is connected by ferry from Cleggan, Co Galway, while Clare island and Inishturk are connected from Roonagh pier, outside Louisburgh. The Donegal islands of Arranmore and Tory island also have ferry services, as has Bere island, Cape Clear and Sherkin off Cork. How are the island transport services financed? The Government subsidises transport services to and from the islands. The Irish Coast Guard carries out medical evacuations, as to the RNLI lifeboats. Former Fianna Fáíl minister Éamon Ó Cuív is widely credited with improving transport services to and from offshore islands, earning his department the nickname "Craggy island".

Craggy Island is an bleak, isolated community located of the west coast, inhabited by Irish, a Chinese community and one Maori. Three priests and housekeeper Mrs Doyle live in a parochial house There is a pub, a very small golf course, a McDonald's fast food restaurant and a Chinatown... Actually, that is all fiction. Craggy island is a figment of the imagination of the Father Ted series writers Graham Linehan and Arthur Mathews, for the highly successful Channel 4 television series, and the Georgian style parochial house on the "island" is actually Glenquin House in Co Clare.

Yes, that is of the Plassey, a freighter which was washed up on Inis Oírr in bad weather in 1960.

There are some small privately owned islands,and islands like Inishlyre in Co Mayo with only a small number of residents providing their own transport. Several Connemara islands such as Turbot and Inishturk South have a growing summer population, with some residents extending their stay during Covid-19. Turbot island off Eyrephort is one such example – the island, which was first spotted by Alcock and Brown as they approached Ireland during their epic transatlantic flight in 1919, was evacuated in 1978, four years after three of its fishermen drowned on the way home from watching an All Ireland final in Clifden. However, it is slowly being repopulated

Responsibility for the islands was taking over by the Department of Rural and Community Development . It was previously with the Gaeltacht section in the Department of Media, Tourism, Arts, Culture, Sport and the Gaeltacht.

It is a periodic bone of contention, as Ireland does not have the same approach to its islands as Norway, which believes in right of access. However, many improvements were made during Fianna Fáíl Galway West TD Éamon Ó Cuív's time as minister. The Irish Island Federation, Comdháil Oileáin na hÉireann, represents island issues at national and international level.

The 12 offshore islands with registered voters have long argued that having to cast their vote early puts them at a disadvantage – especially as improved transport links mean that ballot boxes can be transported to the mainland in most weather conditions, bar the winter months. Legislation allowing them to vote on the same day as the rest of the State wasn't passed in time for the February 2020 general election.

Yes, but check tide tables ! Omey island off north Connemara is accessible at low tide and also runs a summer race meeting on the strand. In Sligo, 14 pillars mark the way to Coney island – one of several islands bearing this name off the Irish coast.

Cape Clear or Oileán Chléire is the country's most southerly inhabited island, eight miles off the west Cork coast, and within sight of the Fastnet Rock lighthouse, also known as the "teardrop of Ireland".
Skellig Michael off the Kerry coast, which has a monastic site dating from the 6th century. It is accessible by boat – prebooking essential – from Portmagee, Co Kerry. However, due to Covid-19 restrictions, it was not open to visitors in 2020.
All islands have bird life, but puffins and gannets and kittiwakes are synonymous with Skellig Michael and Little Skellig. Rathlin island off Antrim and Cape Clear off west Cork have bird observatories. The Saltee islands off the Wexford coast are privately owned by the O'Neill family, but day visitors are permitted access to the Great Saltee during certain hours. The Saltees have gannets, gulls, puffins and Manx shearwaters.
Vikings used Dublin as a European slaving capital, and one of their bases was on Dalkey island, which can be viewed from Killiney's Vico road. Boat trips available from Coliemore harbour in Dalkey. Birdwatch Ireland has set up nestboxes here for roseate terns. Keep an eye out also for feral goats.
Plenty! There are regular boat trips in summer to Inchagoill island on Lough Corrib, while the best known Irish inshore island might be the lake isle of Innisfree on Sligo's Lough Gill, immortalised by WB Yeats in his poem of the same name. Roscommon's Lough Key has several islands, the most prominent being the privately-owned Castle Island. Trinity island is more accessible to the public - it was once occupied by Cistercian monks from Boyle Abbey.

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