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Story Notes
Today Ireland has many miles of canals stretching back as far as 1731.
By 1850 there were 1,450 km of canals in Ireland, carrying cargoe and passengers. Today the canals are enjoyed by tourists and holiday makers, cruising at a leisurely pace through the rural heartland of Ireland.
The Grand Canal nowadays begins at the River Liffey in Grand Canal Dock, Dublin and continues through to the River Shannon with various branches, including a link to the River Barrow waterway at Athy.
During this aural journey, we hear of the history of Irelands inland waterwards, accounts of travellers who spent time on the canals, the hotels which built up around the canal areas to serve these water visitors. We jounrey through time and space, right upto 1981 on the canals of Ireland.
Produced by Prionsias O'Conluain for RTE with additional production from Jane Rundle (BBC Radio Ulster)
Canals of Ireland was first broadcast on October 1981.
An Irish radio documentary from RTÉ Radio 1, Ireland - Documentary on One - the home of Irish radio documentaries