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Irish Waterways Books & Maps

A selection of books and maps (not for navigation) related to the Irish Inland Waterways

  • First published in 1949, Green & Silver by L.T.C. Rolt describes a journey through the inland waterways of Ireland. He takes us over the mighty Shannon from the upper limit of navigation at the little village of Battlebridge, near Leitrim down to Lough Derg of the islands and storms. With him we travel on the Grand Canal across the curlew-haunted solitude's of the great Bog of Allen down to Dublin's Ringsend Docks and returning to the Shannon via the majestic Royal Canal. Rolt in his inimitable style paints a picture of an Ireland that has all but disappeared and very different to the Ireland of today. The Royal Canal closed a few short years after his journey and fell into a state of neglect and decay. However as a result of the Trojan efforts of some very dedicated people, the Royal Canal reopened to navigation in late 2010. Once again it is possible to follow in the wake of Rolt and while the towns and villages of his day have changed greatly, the waterways have remained the same. While not everybody will have the time or resources to enjoy the pleasures of slow boat travel along these incredibly beautiful waterways, reading Green and Silver with its descriptive prose is an excellent substitute. It is the classic book of the Irish Waterways and will appeal to the armchair traveler, boater, social historian and anyone with an interest in the history off our Irish canals. This edition published 2015 by The Canal Bookshop with a forward by Tim Rolt. Soft Cover, 237pages 240x185x16mm
  • Cool Metal – Clear Water – 2nd Edition. Fully revised and enlarged edition of the very popular history of the trading boats (and some others!) of the Irish inland waterways system. Originally published by the Heritage Boat Association in 2006 the book records the history of many of the historic vessels still to be seen travelling our inland waterways. There is also an index of the boats whose details appear in this volume and the companion volume “Fine Lines – Clear Water”. Published by the Heritage Boat Association. 218 Pages 209x151x14mm. Full Colour. Paperback.
  • A guide to the wide variety flora and fauna along our canals. Written by Brigid Johnston and Marie Dromey for Duchas - The Heritage Service a number of years ago, this 48 page book will appeal to adults and children alike.
  • Sean Cahill, Jimmy Casey and Gearoid O’Brien A unique guide to Lough Ree, and one of the most important new books published about Lough Ree in the recent past, includes the ecclesiastical, civil and social history of the larger islands on the lake. A must for those interested in the unique feature of Lough , that until very recently it still had inhabitants on its island. Hardback The IWAI has supported this final reprint and we have copies available now. Order this unique book today
  • (Photo Coming soon, having a problem uploading it) The late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries were a boom period for Irish waterways. HM Treasury had cash to burn and influential Irish MPs were keen to bring money home in the form of infrastructure investment. As navigation by waterway became faster and easier, new possibilities opened up: fresh eggs and bacon to Liverpool for breakfast, a ready supply of turf to Limerick to fuel the distillery, bogs drained for arable land, and fast comfortable trips to Kilkee to take the sea air. Based on a collection of the late Brian J Goggin's extensive research and writings on Irish waterways, this book tells the story of those improvements and of many diversions along the way: waterways which were never completed, debauchery in the canals of Dublin, cargoes stolen, workers on strike and boats sunk. This is a selection of what his family hope you will find to be interesting articles on interesting subjects, rather than a comprehensive history of Ireland's waterways. The book is a has a hardback cover with a paper slip. It measures 24.1 x 17 x 2.8cm
  • Round Ireland by Slow Boat by Richard Kennedy is a captivating and entertaining story of a sailing voyage taken by Richard and Rita Kennedy on their yacht Seachran.  Starting from Rossaveal in Connemara, they undertake a leisurely circumnavigation of Ireland to fulfill a long-standing resolve. Intended to be a 10 week journey, fate and circumstance allowed Rita and Richard to turn the trip into a 5 month voyage over two summers. Throughout the trip, Richard kept a detailed diary which became the basis for this book. Paperback, 261 pages plus 16 pages of colour photos.  157 x 234 x 20mm.  Published by Throughthechair Publishing.
  • - Ruth Delany A comprehensive, and many would say the definitive guide to the history and development of the canal systems of Ireland from the 1730s to the present day. Now updated to include recent developments this absorbing and fully-illustrated history of Ireland's inland waterways focuses on the stories of the routes and their economic role. Revised edition, Appletree Press, 2004 ISBN 0862818249
  • by Harry Rice "Being Personal Reminiscences, Traditions, History and Navigational Details about the River Shannon". Originally published in 1952, this edition is a reprint produced by Athlone Branch IWAI in 2002 with a foreword by Ruth Heard. Paperback, 234 pages, 215 x 135 x 19 mm
  • Few people today are aware of the history of organised yachting on the north Shannon on Lough Allen, Lough Key, Lough Drumharlow, Lough Boderg, Lough Bofin and Lough Forbes. Between 1896 and 1929 there was a prosperous yacht club in the north Shannon in which the landlords and professional classes who were residents of Counties Roscommon, Leitrim and Longford enjoyed time on the lakes. The club had a major influence on the creation of the Shannon one-design. This book is the definitive history of the club, warts and all. The North Shannon Yacht Club by Vincent Delany describes the history of the Club in the latter part of the 19th century and the early years of the 20th century.  Drawing on the Delany family archives, interviews with descendants of those involved and newspaper articles the book describes the events that took place under the flag of the club, the people involved and also lists many of the vessels involved. 82 pages with some colour images.230 x 152 x 7mm. Published by Vincent Delany.
  • Fine Lines - Clear Water is the second book published by the Heritage Boat Association documenting the floating heritage of Ireland's inland waterways. It complements the earlier publication Cool Metal - Clear Water. It covers a range of historic craft found on the Irish waterways including Irish built working boats, Dutch & English barges, Flying Boat Tenders and a number of pleasure boats. It also contains a very useful index to both volumes.

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