If, on crossing Baggot Street Bridge, you notice the tail end of a barge disappearing into the late summer evening, chances are it's the Mac Lir. The first passenger boat on the Grand Canal since 1852, it offers Dubliners the chance to once again savour the canal's tranquillity while enjoying an alternative evening out.
Leisurely trips on the fully licensed boat normally take three hours and run from Baggot Street to Portobello and back again. Prop yourself up at the bar inscribed: "Weddings performed by the captain are valid for the duration of the voyage only". Then you can watch the canal go by, more often than not, in the company of some of the city's finest traditional musicians.
This is its first summer operating. There are trips most evenings, a special family outing on Sunday afternoon and the crew's latest innovation is the Oiche Gaeilge. Taking place every Wednesday until the end of September, everyone is welcome, from fluent Gaelgoirs to those with a cupla focail or simply an interest in hearing Irish spoken.
Getting the barge onto the Grand Canal has been a labour of love for crew and co-owners Damien Kearns and Bob Staines. Both in their twenties, they became friends while studying marketing but later found themselves on the dole.
According to Bob, "We were faced with the choice of either doing something ourselves or emigrating and neither of us wanted to leave Ireland." They came up with the idea of a passenger boat for the Shannon and set about looking for grant aid to underwrite the project.
They had hoped to be financed through a Graduate Development Programme but that fell through. "When we couldn't get the money that made us even more determined. We decided that a lot of businesses had started before grant aid ever existed and in a way we were glad to be out of the whole bureaucratic tangle of grants," says Damien.
They scaled down their plans, deciding on the Grand Canal rather than the Shannon, and approached their families who helped organise bank loans. Browsing through a magazine in Easons, Bob found the Mac Lir advertised in Southampton.
They brought the barge home on the back of a truck and then the real work began. "We knew we had to satisfy Department of the Marine regulations but we had no idea what that entailed. We eventually ended up stripping the boat down and spending four months rebuilding it."
"It cost more than £50,000 and we've worked unpaid for the past two years. Even now, whatever we make goes straight back into the business."
Seeing their enthusiasm as they talk about the canal you get the impression that the sacrifices have all been worth it. "By putting a boat on the canal we wanted to bring some of the country back to the city. It was built as a recreational facility so trees were planted. It's something to be preserved and used and is not just there for throwing rubbish into," says Bob.
The Grand Canal, they say, was modelled on canals in coalmining districts of England. Construction began in 1756 and was carried out entirely by hand by men known as navigators. According to Damien, it took an inordinately long time to build and was not a success when completed.
"Unlike other countries in Ireland, they expected industry to follow the canals and locate around them, which didn't happen. They were also built too late. By the time they were finished, the railroad had taken over."
At the moment the Mac Lir operates from March until October and with a capacity of between 40 and 50, it is available for corporate entertainment, private parties and day charter. Regular trips like the Oiche Gaeilge can be joined for a small fee. For booking information, contact Damien Kearns at 087 - 2275364.