IRISH PHOTO ARCHIVE

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Showing posts with label Carrick-on-Shannon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Carrick-on-Shannon. Show all posts

Friday, 24 April 2015

Does it beat Banagher?

On 10 April 1964, a Lensmen staff member, Steve Treacy, took this photograph of Clonony Castle in County Offaly. It was only taken 50 years ago, but it looks like another world with its donkeys and carts, the castle ruin in the background, and not a machine to be seen anywhere – unless you count the water pump.

Clonony Castle
10 April 1964
However, Steve was on an assignment to photograph scenes along the River Shannon, and just happened to pass by Clonony Castle between sites. As with many of our most popular photographs, and indeed many of the best photographs in general, the image was the result of an unplanned opportunity rather than a scheduled shoot.


 Clonony Castle is close to Shannon Harbour, where Lensmen photographed K Line Boats at work building a new craft. The founder of K Line Boats, Mr. George O'Brien Kennedy, was also photographed during this series. Mr O’Brien Kennedy was very influential in reviving the boating industry along the Shannon, and in turn providing an income for the population in the area.

K Line Boats, Shannon Harbour
Despite the ruin of the castle, there were also signs of progress in the area, as testified by the new primary school building, and the floating Shell station on the river at Shannon Harbour. The nearby Clonmacnoise was another homage to the past, but the beautiful bridge at Shannonbridge showed that a well-built structure can remain a living thing for a community.

The bridge at Shannonbridge
Offaly was not the only county visited by Lensmen on this trip, as the route of the Shannon was followed through Athlone harbour in Westmeath, Carrick-on-Shannon in Leitrim and Arigna near Lough Allen in Roscommon. The variety of activities directly connected to the Shannon was evident from the photographs taken on this trip. In Athlone, ‘floatels’ or floating hotels were waiting for holiday-makers to come and join them, in Ferbane in Offaly, the ESB energy station released warm waste water back into the river, in Carrick-on-Shannon, the locals depending on the river for their income also turned to it to relax during their leisure time.


Wouldn’t it be great to have a job that sends you on a jaunt along the banks of the Shannon, photographing crumbling castles and pleasure boats? I wonder how the scenes have changed over the past half century…

All images available @ Irish Photo Archive

Friday, 9 January 2015

Carrick-on-Shannon

Emerald Star are well known in Ireland for providing rental cruisers for people wanting to holiday along the Shannon. From their base in Carrick-on-Shannon, they have gone on to conquer the cruise liner market not just in Ireland, but also in the UK and across Europe.

In 1987, new customer service facilities were launched at Emerald Star’s base in Carrick. Some of the VIPs hosted at the launch by Mr Bodell, Chairman of Emerald Star, included: John Wilson, TD; Brian Slowey, MD of Guinness; and Michael McDonnell from the Department of Tourism.

The launch of the new Emerald Star customer facilities in Carrick-on-Shannon
8 June 1987
Carrick-on-Shannon had always been an important port for Guinness, as it connected the canal network with the Shannon, and the west of Ireland. Bodell was also a trustee of the Iveagh Trust, and operated as its chairman from 1999-2003, so there were strong connections between the two companies for a long time.

Another important player on the Leitrim industrial scene was General Plastics. The establishment of the factory was part of the IDA push to encourage firms from overseas to set up branches in Ireland, taking advantage of our proximity to the European market and readily available labour force. The Carrick-on-Shannon factory manufactured electrical products that were encased in moulded plastic, such as the hairdryers shown in this photograph.

Mary Cassidy and Elizabeth Moran making hairdryers at the General Plastics factory
10 April 1964 

But the river was always the life source for Carrick. The town was built at a strategic crossing point of the Shannon, which meant it became an important trading point. The river provided employment, food and leisure, as the longevity and prowess of the Carrick-on-Shannon Rowing Club, founded in 1854. 

The quay at Carrick-on-Shannon
10 April 1964


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