Menu

Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

Displaying items by tag: Call to public

Naomh Éanna, the iconic CIE passenger/cargoship that for decades served the main Aran Islands-Galway route until 1988, is through artefacts to feature in a permanent maritime exhibition.

The exhibition according to the Galway Advertiser is to be part of the National Museum of Ireland - Country Life in Co. Mayo.

The ferry custom built for Córas Iompair Éireann to serve the three Aran Islands route, was completed by the Liffey Dockyard in 1958. For 30 years the vessel transported islanders, tourists, cargoes and animals to and from Galway, see port related story.

When the Naomh Éanna was decommissioned, the small vessel returned to the capital in 1989, Afloat adds firstly to Alexandra Basin before moving to the Grand Canal Dock.

There have been renewed calls for the restoration of the historic and rare surviving Irish built vessel, as for decades the vessel has lain in a derelict condition and in more recent times faced scrapping. In January, the vessel partially capsized in a dry dock of the Grand Canal Dock.

To assist in the collection of artefacts, the newpspaper has more details on how to contact the museum's exhibition on this part of Irish maritime heritage and culture. 

Published in Historic Boats

As an island economy, a healthy maritime sector is key to our national competitiveness. Virtually all our imports and exports pass through Irish ports.

Ireland is dependent on ports and shipping services to transport goods and 90% of our trade is moved though Irish ports. Shipping and maritime transport services make a significant contribution to Ireland’s ocean economy, with the sector generating €2.3 billion in turnover and employing over 5,000 people in 2018.

Ireland’s maritime industry continues to grow and progress each year with Irish ports and shipping companies making significant investments. The ports sector in Ireland is currently undergoing a number of expansions and developments with Dublin Port’s Alexandra Basin development, the development of Ringaskiddy in Cork by Port of Cork and the development of Shannon Foynes Port. Along with these major investments, shipping companies are also investing heavily in new tonnage, with Irish Ferries, CLdN and Stena leading new build programmes.

These pages cover the following sectoral areas: shipowners, harbour authorities, shipbrokers, freight forwarders and contractors, cruise liner operators, port users, seamen, merchants, academic institutions, shipyards and repair facilities, naval architects, navy and defence personnel.

Our pages are covering some of the most notable arrivals around our coast and reporting too on port development and shipping news.

This section of the site deals with Port and Shipping News on our largest ports Dublin Port, Port of Cork, the Shannon Estuary, Galway Harbour and Belfast Lough.

A recent study carried out for the Irish Ports Association (IPA) totalled 75.7 billion during 2004 and their net economic impact was some 5.5 billion supporting around 57, 500 full time employees.

Liam Lacey, Director of the Marine Institute’s Irish Maritime Development Office (IMDO) said, “The Irish maritime industry can look to the future with confidence. It has shown itself to be resilient and agile in responding to challenges. Over the past decade, it has had to respond to the challenges of the financial crisis of 2008, the uncertainty surrounding Brexit and recent challenges. Ireland’s maritime sector has continued to underpin our economy by maintaining vital shipping links for both trade and tourism.”