Construction of a weir along the River Shannon, which will enhance boat travel between the Atlantic coast and Ireland's inland waterways system, has started in Limerick.
By introducing stable water levels at Limerick, the weir will allow cruise boats and other vessels to navigate a currently almost impassable stretch of tidal river between the city and Ardnacrusha power station. For the first time, boats will be able to travel with ease from Lough Erne in Co Fermanagh to spots such as Dingle and Doolin, hundreds of kilometres away on the west coast. Holiday-makers who currently have to choose between boating on the coast or inland will be able to combine both areas in one trip.
"It will create one of the greatest inland pleasure waterways in Europe with easy access to the sea," said a spokesman for the Irish Sailing Association (ISA).
The £3 million weir and other navigation improvements are "piggy-backing" the EU-funded £100 million Limerick main drainage project, which is upgrading the city's sewer network and water quality levels. The weir, to be completed next year, will be built on top of a new sewer underneath the River Shannon between Sarsfield Lock and Curragour Point in the city centre. Funding for the navigation improvements, which form part of the Waterways Operational Programme for Tourism, 1994-99, is being provided by Duchas Waterways, Limerick Corporation and Shannon Development Company.
The project will also mean a new look for the centre of Limerick. A vista of falling weir waters, cruise boats and The Ilen, a 1920s sailing ship, will join the scores of swans that are currently a highlight of the city's wide river views. The Ilen, designed by Conor O'Brien, one of Ireland's foremost sailors this century, will be moored opposite the Hunt Museum in the former Custom House. O'Brien, from Co Limerick, was a pioneer of ocean sailing. His voyage around the world in 1923-25 is recorded in the book Across Three Oceans.
The new weir is a case of "third time lucky," said Mr Seamus Ryan, project engineer at Limerick Corporation. The navigation difficulties in Limerick had frustrated boaters and business people in the area for centuries, he said. Detailed plans commissioned in 1822 and a century later in 1923 for similar weir schemes failed for financial and other reasons. Although the new project will make future boat trips between Killaloe and Limerick easy compared with the current conditions - which are attempted by only around 100 vessels a year - some limitations will still apply. The low height of some bridges will continue to limit the size of vessels on the route. Sailors will have to plan for a greatly increased but still limited navigation "window" varying from between 91/2 hours and six hours per tidal cycle.
They will also have to plan on passing through a number of locks, including the dramatic lock at Ardnacrusha power station, which harnesses and releases immense volumes of water as the River Shannon approaches the end of its course.