#TallShips - Phoenix, the tall ship owned by Cork man Shane McCarthy of marine film services firm Square Sail Ventures, will be the centrepiece of the Rush Harbour Festival this coming August Bank Holiday weekend.

The 34m-tall, two-masted brig will sail into Rush on Friday afternoon (4 August) amid a hail of cannon fire that will mark the start of the maritime festival's parade at 4pm.

Throughout the weekend, Phoenix will be unmissable as the backdrop to the pirate-themed festivities in the North Co Dublin harbour.

And the tall ship will be available to view all weekend thanks to Performance Marine and the Fingal Adventure Centre.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar was on board Phoenix during the recent SeaFest in Galway as he signalled the Government’s support for a new all-Ireland sail training ship.

Alongside the Atlantic Youth Trust’s longtime lobbying efforts, Square Sail is positioning Phoenix as “ideally suited for sail training duties” due to her transatlantic experience and appearances in various film and TV productions.

Phoenix’s crew recently called in to old friends at the Irish National Sailing & Powerboat School as it berthed in Dun Laoghaire Harbour for maintenance work on its bottom timbers.