Ulster Canal
Ulster Canal | |
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Specifications | |
Length | 74 km (46 miles) |
Locks | 26 |
Status | largely abandoned |
History | |
Date completed | 1842 |
Date closed | 1931 |
Geography | |
Start point | Charlemont, Lough Neagh |
End point | Wattlebridge, Upper Lough Erne |
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The Ulster Canal is a
History
In 1778, a proposal was made for a canal from Ballyshannon to the Lower Lough Erne. The estimated cost of the scheme was £32,000, but it was already seen as part of a larger project, since a further £8,000 would have provided a link to Enniskillen, Belturbet and Ballyconnell. A future link from Ballyconnell to Ballymore, along the Woodford River valley, and on to Lough Scurr and the River Shannon at Leitrim was suggested but not costed. It would thus be an important section of a trans-Irish waterway, linking Belfast in the east to Limerick in the west, which would compete with a similar link formed by the Grand Canal and the Royal Canal further to the south. Government funding was forthcoming in 1783, and a section of the canal was constructed between Ballyshannon and Belleek, with Richard Evans, the engineer for the Royal Canal, overseeing the work, which included a lock at Belleek. The project stalled in 1794, when funds ran out.[1]
The Directors General of Inland Navigation asked Evans to prepare an estimate of the costs to finish the work in 1801, but no action was taken. By 1814, the Directors General were faced with problems of unemployment in the area, and a canal from Lough Neagh to Lough Erne was seen as a way to provide jobs for the local population. John Killaly was commissioned to survey the route of such a link, and produced his report in February 1815. His estimate of £233,000 would provide a canal which ascended through six locks from Wattlebridge to a summit near Monaghan and then descended through another sixteen to reach Lough Neagh. It would be 35.5 miles (57.1 km) long, and would include a branch to Armagh. The plan was ill-thought-out, as he decided to make the locks of a similar size to those on the Royal Canal, 76 by 14 feet (23.2 by 4.3 m), which would accommodate boats up to about 13.3 feet (4.1 m) wide, but those that already used Lough Neagh, and the Lagan Canal, the Newry Canal and the Coalisland Canal, were 14.8 feet (4.5 m) wide, and would not therefore be able to use the route.[2]
A public meeting was held at Monaghan in February 1817, and despite strong local support, including an offer to provide two-thirds of the cost by a group of landowners and businessmen, the Directors General did not take any action, and the project remained an idea. The proprietors who had taken over the Lagan Canal in 1810 saw the link as a way to increase traffic on their own canal, and public support for it grew steadily, until a large group of people requested parliamentary approval for a revised scheme, which was very similar to Killaly's of a decade previously. The government remained unconvinced that they would receive a return on any money advanced, and so the Directors General could not act. Finally, in 1825, a private company was authorised to construct the canal. It was estimated to cost £160,050, as a new survey had produced a plan which only needed eighteen locks.[3]
The company then applied to the borrow £100,000 from the
Operation
The canal failed to generate significant trade, as the water supply was inadequate, and goods had to be transhipped at either end into narrower boats. In addition, there was no link to the River Shannon to generate through traffic, and unlikely to be one while the canal did not prosper. The company were unable to repay any of the loan made by the Exchequer Bill Loan Commissioners, and in 1851, The Office of Public Works (The O.P.W., also known as the Board of Works) took control of it. After cosmetic repairs, it was leased to William Dargan, who had built most of it as contractor, and ran the only significant carrying operation on the waterway. The Ulster Railway reached Monaghan in 1858, and three years later the canal was in a ruinous state. Sir John Macneill, the Irish railway engineer, suggested that the best use of it was to drain the water and let cows graze on it.[5]
Ulster Canal Act 1865 | |
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Act of Parliament | |
Dates | |
Royal assent | 5 July 1865 |
In an attempt to recoup their losses, the government took control of it again in 1865, closed it, and spent £22,000 over eight years on repairs. Their main priority was to secure an adequate water supply, but when the canal reopened in 1873, this proved not to have been achieved. Maintenance costs far exceeded revenue, and what little traffic there was, was confined to the Lough Erne end of the canal, as the summit was mostly unnavigable, and there was only sufficient water during eight months of every year. However, there was a slight improvement in traffic in 1880, when W. R. Rea, the secretary of the Lagan Navigation Company, set up a new carrying company using smaller boats. There was a vague promise of government aid for any company interested in taking it over. A series of negotiations then took place, but the government failed on three occasions to pass a bill to authorise the sellout to the Lagan Canal. They eventually suggested that the Lagan Canal should try to obtain a private bill to achieve the aim, and they were successful in doing so in 1888.[6]
Decline
The House of Lords had succeeded in removing a clause from the bill which allowed the Lagan Canal company to close the Ulster Canal after ten years, and they were saddled with a liability in perpetuity. Vast sums were spent on maintenance, compared to income, and although some trade developed, profits from the Lagan Canal and the Coalisland Canal, which they also owned, were swallowed up in trying to keep the Ulster Canal open. The company never really recovered from the acquisition. The last boat to enter the canal did so in 1929, and a "warrant of abandonment" was finally obtained on 9 January 1931. This allowed them to abandon the section of the canal in Northern Ireland. An "order of release", obtained on 15 April, removed all liability for maintenance.[7]
A similar order in the newly established
Route
The canal follows a fairly straight south-west to north-east course, from the island and
The summit level was 213 feet (65 m) above sea level. The original locks were built for boats which were 62 by 11 feet (18.9 by 3.4 m). Of the large number of bridges that crossed the canal, 56 remained in 2002.[8]
Restoration
A feasibility study into the possible reopening of the waterway was carried out in 1998 (and revised in 2000). The report found that there were no insurmountable engineering problems to such a plan but issues such as lock capacity/size and the adequacy of the water supply would need to be addressed. All historic locks would need to be significantly widened to at least 5 metres (16 ft) to accommodate modern waterway craft. A restored canal would create significant long-term financial benefits to the local economy; however, the report concluded that unless the reasons that caused it to be an abject failure in the first place were addressed, there seemed little point in restoring the canal.[8]
In 2004 Waterways Ireland announced that a reopened canal would bring enormous benefits to the areas it passed through,[9] because it would reconnect with the already restored Shannon–Erne Waterway (opened 23 May 1994). Rather than being a true restoration, it involved the construction of a state-of-the-art waterway along a historic route, and a similar approach would be required on the Ulster Canal.[10]
At the
Despite a few objections,[16] Minister Heather Humphreys announced in February 2015 that the Irish government had given its approval to Waterways Ireland for the restoration of the canal between Castle Saunderson and Erne basin. The funding would come from Waterways Ireland.[17] On 24 April 2015 the project was formally launched, when a meeting was held at Derrykerrib Bridge, attended by Heather Humphreys and representatives of Waterways Ireland. The first phase involved extending the Erne Navigation from Quivvy Lough to Castle Saunderson, near Belturbet. Of the 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) forming this phase, some 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) was a new cut, following a somewhat different route to the original canal, and a new Derrykerrib Bridge was built, to increase the size of boats that can pass through it. Dredging of a section of the Finn River was expected to take place in Autumn 2015,[18] but this was delayed, with "contractual issues" being cited as the cause. Waterways Ireland's budget for 2016 included €2.7 million earmarked for the Ulster Canal project.[19] There were further delays caused by poor ground conditions, flooding, and the need to maintain access for residents while the work was ongoing. The new bridge and its associated channel were expected to be completed by April 2018.[20] The first phase of the Ulster Canal restoration was nearing completion in September 2019.[21]
With phase 1 completed and open to the public, funding for phase 2 of the project was announced. The Taoiseach's Shared Island fund promised €6 million in December 2020, and a further €5.57 million was provided by the Department of Rural and Community Development on 28 April 2021. This will fund a relatively short section, detached from the Phase 1 section, between Clones and Clonfad in County Monaghan. The work includes around 1 kilometre (0.6 mi) of canal and towpath, a 40-berth marina, two new bridges and restoration of a third bridge, together with the provision of an amenity area with car parks. Crucially, it will include the provision of a sustainable water supply. The main project is expected to be completed in mid-2023, with some of the amenities taking a little longer. Phase 3 of the project, which will increase the length of restored canal to 13.5 kilometres (8.4 mi), will link the first two phases together, and involves several crossings of the border.[22][23]
See also
- Canals of the United Kingdom
- Canals of Ireland
Bibliography
- Cumberlidge, Jane (2002). The Inland Waterways of Ireland. Imray Laurie Norie and Wilson. ISBN 978-0-85288-424-9.
- Delany, Ruth (2004). Ireland's Inland Waterways. Appletree Press. ISBN 978-0-86281-824-1.
- Hall, Thomas (3 April 2017). "Restoration of Ulster Canal Proves A Technical Challenge". Afloat. Archived from the original on 19 October 2019.
- McCutcheon, W A (1965). The Canals of the North of Ireland. David and Charles. ISBN 978-0-7153-4028-8.
- O'Brien, Tim (26 April 2016). "Work delayed on first stage of reopened Ulster Canal". Irish Times. Archived from the original on 15 August 2020.
References
- ^ McCutcheon 1965, pp. 98–99.
- ^ McCutcheon 1965, pp. 99–101.
- ^ McCutcheon 1965, pp. 101–103.
- ^ McCutcheon 1965, pp. 103–107.
- ^ McCutcheon 1965, pp. 108–109.
- ^ McCutcheon 1965, pp. 110–113.
- ^ McCutcheon 1965, pp. 113–117.
- ^ a b c Cumberlidge 2002, pp. 117–119
- ^ Delany 2004, p. 8
- ^ Delany 2004, pp. 199–201.
- ^ "Leaders announce cross-border projects". RTÉ News. 17 July 2007. Archived from the original on 24 December 2016.
- ^ "Ulster Canal Restoration Requirements Document" (PDF). Inland Waterways Association of Ireland. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 February 2012.
- ^ "Ulster Canal SEA". Waterways Ireland. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011.
- ^ "Waterways Ireland - Ulster Canal". Dept of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. Archived from the original on 10 August 2011.
- ^ "Inland Waterways and Fisheries". Dept of Culture, Arts and Leisure. Archived from the original on 29 August 2011.
- ^ "The folly of restoration". Irish Waterways History. March 2011. Archived from the original on 30 October 2020. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
- Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. 24 February 2015. Archived from the originalon 24 February 2015. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
- ISSN 0309-1422.
- ^ O'Brien 2016.
- ^ Hall 2017.
- ^ "Castlesaunderson moorings set for completion". The Anglo-Celt. Cavan. 26 September 2019. Archived from the original on 26 December 2020. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
- ^ "Ulster Canal Phase 2 Development". Waterways Ireland. 28 April 2021. Archived from the original on 28 April 2021.
- ^ "Ulster Canal: €12m project to revitalise communities". BBC News. 2 May 2021. Archived from the original on 2 May 2021.