Hello and welcome aboard Seascapes your maritime programme on this weeks we celebrate the Mermaid at 80 , we hear about Patsy Keohane one of our Polar heroes who is being honoured with a memorial in Courtmacsherry this weekend ; as the Tall Ships begin to appear on the horizon we talk to Michael Byrne of Sail Training Ireland and Gery Flynn on the latest edition of Inshore Ireland .... first to the East Coast and to Skerries Sailing Club which recently hosted the Mermaid National Championships celebrating the 80th Anniversary of these distinctive craft –** Skerries Sailing Club has the distinction as Stephen Costelloe told me when I arrived in the harbour of being the only Sailing Club on the East Coast to face due West....at the club the Mermaids were being weighed ....
Out on the water just beyond Skerries Harbour looking back towards Red Island , in light winds and bright sunshine we spoke to Garry Owens aboard the Committee Boat “Rockabill “ as the racing began....
Skerries Sailing Club has a magnificent vantage point in the Harbour and has a thriving , welcoming and energetic membership ...Seascapes talked to Martin O Toole as he came in off the water........ Next on Seascapes to the Commodore of Skerries Sailing Club Sam Shiels and his wife Micheline , Sam explained the link between the club and the Mermaids .
Next to Russia where we’ve had greetings from explorers Mike Brogan and skipper Jarlath Cunnane and the crew aboard Northabout svir river Russia marcus this is first wifi we have completed the white sea canal and are now on svir river between lake onega and ladoga, hope to arrive in st petersburg this weekend - facinating story of forced labour building the canal and the Gulag. thousands died of cold, starvation, infections, explosions etc during build between 1931 and 33. all well on board. We send greetings to everyone....
Well that is all about to change because This weekend in Courtmacsherry The first Irish woman to trek to the South Pole and also to conquer Mt Everest, Dr Clare O’Leary from Bandon, will officially unveil the memorial sculpture to Patrick Keohane at Lislee Court near Courtmacsherry on this Sunday...... The life size sculpture is by Don Cronin from Knockroe, and the project has been spearheaded by a voluntary committee.
The memorial site has excellent views of the Old Head of Kinsale and Courtmacsherry Bay and forms part of the popular Seven Heads Walk. Everyone is welcome to attend the historic event which gets under way at 3pm.
There will be an address by Ian Dempsey on behalf of West Cork Development Partnership, a major supporter of the project and an ecumenical blessing.
There will also be a brief lecture about the heroic exploits in the ill-fated Scott expedition of the Antarctic explorer from Barry’s Point in Barryroe by Michael Smith, author of the acclaimed book
‘Great Endeavour – Ireland’s Antarctic Explorers’, a recital by pipers Michael Heaney and Paul Finn and the performance by committee member and local bard Michael O’Brien, Butlerstown of a song in honour of Patrick Keohane which he specially composed.
Vincent O’Donovan will be master of ceremonies and the attendance will include three of the explorer’s grandchildren: Mary Underwood and Edel Greenwood, Plymouth (where Keohane lived for many years) and Patrick Madigan, Tavistock, Devon. Contact has also been made with several relatives in the USA. The Royal National Lifeboat Institution, the Coastguard and other organisations will be represented at the ceremony.
After the unveiling, there will be a vote of thanks by committee secretary Diarmuid Begley.
Parking will be provided adjacent to the monument and everyone is asked to arrive early and follow the instructions of stewards.
The ceremony will be followed by a reception in Courtmacsherry Hotel featuring an exhibition of photographs and other memorabilia, well as souvenir t-shirts, posters, keyrings, historical maps of the area and brochures concerning Patrick Keohane who is also commemorated by a mountain named after him in Antarctica over 15,700 kilometres from his native West Cork.
Further information about the project and how to make donations are available at www.patrickkeohane.org. The committee includes Billy Murphy, chairman; Diarmuid Begley, secretary; Jim Crowley and Sean O’Farrell, joint treasurers; Michael O’Brien, Micheal Hurley, Leo McMahon, Barry O’Donovan, Richard O’Flynn and Conor Dullea.
• On Friday, August 17th at 9pm in Courtmacsherry Community Centre, there will be a lecture and slide show by Michael Smith plus a photographic exhibition.
• The committee wishes to thank everyone who has supported the project through various fund raisers which included a super draw, walk, coffee mornings, lectures, a barbecue, a guided historical walk and picnic, the website and at displays at Clonakilty and Barryroe Agriculture Shows.
There will also be a brief lecture about the heroic exploits in the ill-fated Scott expedition of the Antarctic explorer from Barry’s Point in Barryroe by Michael Smith, author of the acclaimed book
‘Great Endeavour – Ireland’s Antarctic Explorers’, a recital by pipers Michael Heaney and Paul Finn and the performance by committee member and local bard Michael O’Brien, Butlerstown of a song in honour of Patrick Keohane which he specially composed.
Vincent O’Donovan will be master of ceremonies and the attendance will include three of the explorer’s grandchildren: Mary Underwood and Edel Greenwood, Plymouth (where Keohane lived for many years) and Patrick Madigan, Tavistock, Devon. Contact has also been made with several relatives in the USA. The Royal National Lifeboat Institution, the Coastguard and other organisations will be represented at the ceremony.
After the unveiling, there will be a vote of thanks by committee secretary Diarmuid Begley.
Parking will be provided adjacent to the monument and everyone is asked to arrive early and follow the instructions of stewards.
The ceremony will be followed by a reception in Courtmacsherry Hotel featuring an exhibition of photographs and other memorabilia, well as souvenir t-shirts, posters, keyrings, historical maps of the area and brochures concerning Patrick Keohane who is also commemorated by a mountain named after him in Antarctica over 15,700 kilometres from his native West Cork.
Further information about the project and how to make donations are available at www.patrickkeohane.org. The committee includes Billy Murphy, chairman; Diarmuid Begley, secretary; Jim Crowley and Sean O’Farrell, joint treasurers; Michael O’Brien, Micheal Hurley, Leo McMahon, Barry O’Donovan, Richard O’Flynn and Conor Dullea.
• On Friday, August 17th at 9pm in Courtmacsherry Community Centre, there will be a lecture and slide show by Michael Smith plus a photographic exhibition.
• The committee wishes to thank everyone who has supported the project through various fund raisers which included a super draw, walk, coffee mornings, lectures, a barbecue, a guided historical walk and picnic, the website and at displays at Clonakilty and Barryroe Agriculture Shows.
The Dublin Dock Workers Preservation Society are delighted to announce that as part of the Tall Ships Festival they are holding a photographic exhibition in the CHQ Building-Georges Dock from the 23rd August to the 26th August. We will also be running a series of four talks on the history of Dublin Docks
The Exhibition (covering 1940 to 1990 runs on the 23rd, 24th, 25th August 11am to 6pm and on 26th August from 11am to 2.30pm and the details of our talks are:
Stories from Deep Sea Dockers
Dr. Don Bennett is a sociologist and longtime Dublin resident. He has published on a variety of subjects, including Dublin street traders and the Concerned Parents Against Drugs movement. He has lectured at University College Dublin, at the Jagiellonian University in Poland, and at universities in the United States.
23rd August 13.30 to 14.00 hrs on the MV Cadhla Barge
Dr. Don Bennett is a sociologist and longtime Dublin resident. He has published on a variety of subjects, including Dublin street traders and the Concerned Parents Against Drugs movement. He has lectured at University College Dublin, at the Jagiellonian University in Poland, and at universities in the United States.
23rd August 13.30 to 14.00 hrs on the MV Cadhla Barge
The streets where you walk :
East Wall based Sarah Lundberg is a local publisher , Historian and an archivist. Her talk today is a tour through the streets and along the quay-sides on which the festival is taking place . Learn the history of the surrounding area, the people and the places - from the creation of Dublin Port and the reclamation of the land from the sea, right up to the present day - and discover the story of the dockers , sailors , and railway-men who worked here, the soldiers and rebels who fought and died here , the famous names like Luke Kelly and Sean O'Casey , and the local people who lived in the tenements , houses, flats and apartments on both sides of the river .
23rd August 14.30 to 15.30 at the CHQ
East Wall based Sarah Lundberg is a local publisher , Historian and an archivist. Her talk today is a tour through the streets and along the quay-sides on which the festival is taking place . Learn the history of the surrounding area, the people and the places - from the creation of Dublin Port and the reclamation of the land from the sea, right up to the present day - and discover the story of the dockers , sailors , and railway-men who worked here, the soldiers and rebels who fought and died here , the famous names like Luke Kelly and Sean O'Casey , and the local people who lived in the tenements , houses, flats and apartments on both sides of the river .
23rd August 14.30 to 15.30 at the CHQ
Dublin and its port 1913-1922:
Padraig Yeates is a former Industry and Employment Correspondent of the Irish Times and author of several books, including Lockout: Dublin 1913, A City in Wartime: Dublin 1914-1918 and a City in Turmoil: Dublin 1919-1921 (forthcoming).
24th August 16.00 to 17.00 hrs at the CHQ
Padraig Yeates is a former Industry and Employment Correspondent of the Irish Times and author of several books, including Lockout: Dublin 1913, A City in Wartime: Dublin 1914-1918 and a City in Turmoil: Dublin 1919-1921 (forthcoming).
24th August 16.00 to 17.00 hrs at the CHQ
Talks from the Docklands - Characters
Paul O'Brien is an oral historian ,song writer, and a collector of folk memories. From the Docksides of Dublin , Belfast and Rotterdam , hear the stories Paul has gathered - tales of tragedy and love , hard work and heartbreaks . Enjoy his unique and humorous take on the people and events from the Port communitys , such as the Dublin Lego fire of 1970 and pet Donkeys called Bethlehem and Jerusalem , relive the tradition of Hoolies in the Kitchen and learn a word or two of "Docklingo".
25th August 12.30 to 14.00 hrs on the MV Cadhla Barge
Paul O'Brien is an oral historian ,song writer, and a collector of folk memories. From the Docksides of Dublin , Belfast and Rotterdam , hear the stories Paul has gathered - tales of tragedy and love , hard work and heartbreaks . Enjoy his unique and humorous take on the people and events from the Port communitys , such as the Dublin Lego fire of 1970 and pet Donkeys called Bethlehem and Jerusalem , relive the tradition of Hoolies in the Kitchen and learn a word or two of "Docklingo".
25th August 12.30 to 14.00 hrs on the MV Cadhla Barge
Ukulele Hooley By The Sea 2012 (Ireland’s ukulele festival)
Sunday, August 19 at 12:30pm at The Peoples Park Dun Laoghaire
Tall Ships Dublin 2012 24th-25th August
• The Tall ships/Grand Canal Basin Entry - We hope to be able to facilitate entry to the Grand Canal Basin in Dublin City for yachts that wish to be close to the action for the tall ships races, a meal on the Saturday night, and some visits to a Tall ship as a group. It will require flexibility, and access is not guaranteed... but should be possibile for any yachts wishing to locate themselves there. Go to the CRUISING.IE home page, or Click here for details. "Register" for the event (follow the links in the article) and we will update you with any further information that comes to light. You can register interest in the Tall ship visits even if you do not wish to berth your boat in the Grand Canal basin.
Liffey Cruise 2012 - 1st September
• The Liffey Cruise is only a few weeks away - Time to register now ! Follow the links on the home page at cruising.ie,
• The Liffey Cruise is only a few weeks away - Time to register now ! Follow the links on the home page at cruising.ie,