Divers to sell their floating clubhouse

A unique piece of lakeside property has been put on the market in Athlone, Co Westmeath, but no one quite knows how to pitch …

A unique piece of lakeside property has been put on the market in Athlone, Co Westmeath, but no one quite knows how to pitch the sale.

Built before the first World War, this property has been cherished by previous owners and is currently being used as a sports and recreation centre.

The Tigh-na-Mara, affectionately known as The Tiny to countless members of the Athlone Sub-Aqua Club, is a yacht, houseboat - and home to the club since 1976.

The club is building a new headquarters, which will not be floating around on the Shannon, or indeed under it, when the members move in next year.

READ MORE

The association between the vessel and the club began in 1975 when the members decided they would purchase the Tigh-na-Mara where it lay for £300.

According to the chairman of the club, Jim Campbell, "where it lay" was the catch clause because the vessel had broken loose from its moorings near Terryglass, Co Tipperary, and ended up in swamplands just south of Portumna, on the Connacht side of the river.

The Proud family had used the Tigh-na-Mara as a family houseboat and it was a "yuppie" boat ahead of its time with cabins en suite, a fold-away sink and retaining tanks for waste.

The boat, according to Jim Campbell, had two auxiliary engines and he believes it may have been built as a lifeboat to be carried on the deck of a liner.

"The main deck consisted of multiple hatches so the passengers and crew could climb into it and wait for the ship to sink, and then sail off into the sunset," he said.

According to club records, the Athlone divers had bitten off almost more than they could chew when they went to pull the steel boat out to the Shannon.

"It took the members a year to get the Tigh-na-Mara into the Shannon, where she was allowed to sink. "She was raised again and brought to Shannonbridge Harbour for repairs," he said.

The boat eventually arrived in Athlone in January 1976 and became home to the club.

"We want to sell her now to someone or some group who will take pride in her. "However, it's difficult to describe her and we have no idea who might be interested but we are testing the market." Jim Campbell said the clubhouse will become obsolete when the club moves into its new headquarters near the Jolly Mariner pub on the outskirts of the town.

"We have had a lot of help in getting this new centre together, especially from LEADER and rural development organisations in Roscommon and Westmeath," he said.

Local industry, the local authorities and the ESB also helped out, and the people of Athlone had been good to the club. He said the club had been involved over the years in the recovery of bodies from the Shannon and in rescuing people in difficulty.

"I think people here are appreciative of that side of our club, which has trained hundreds of people to dive in its 27 years in existence," he said.

The club has also been involved in underwater archaeology and a large number of artefacts have been recovered from the Shannon and its estuaries over the years. The most important was a 3,000-year-old bronze shield which was found just north of Athlone by diver Louis Fleming while he was checking boat moorings.

Anyone interested in acquiring the clubhouse can contact 087-2359772 or Fax 090279417.