The Government is to push for the restoration of the Ulster Canal, linking Lough Erne with Lough Neagh as a project to be funded by cross-Border peace dividend funds. Tim O'Brien reports.
The Ulster Canal which runs from the southwest corner of Lough Neagh through counties Tyrone, Armagh and Monaghan was completed in 1841 but by 1913 it was impassable beyond Clones. Partition accelerated its demise.
However, since the reopening of the Ballyconnell-Ballinamore Canal linking the Shannon and Erne waterways in 1994, waterways enthusiasts claim the economic precedent is in place for the reopening of the Ulster Canal.
The Inland Waterways Association of Ireland (IWAI) has described it as the last piece of a jigsaw that would link the north Antrim coast with Limerick docks, Dublin, the Donegal border and Waterford via inland waterways. The funds will be provided by the British and Irish governments, should a power-sharing Executive be set up in Northern Ireland by next March. It is expected they will be targeted at projects which engender cross-Border co-operation, promote tourism or improve infrastructure.
A commercial assessment has been carried out on the engineering feasibility of re-opening the canal and no insurmountable obstacles have been found. ESB International, which carried out the restoration of the Shannon-Erne, has worked on a number of studies as have consultancy company PricewaterhouseCoopers.
The IWAI has also been heavily involved in promoting the restoration. Last week the association held an information meeting in Armagh - one of a series of such meetings along the route - which spokesman Colin Becker said was attended by over 300 people, all of whom appeared impressed by the economic benefits of the waterway.
"There is great interest in the canal restoration on foot of the success of the Shannon-Erne waterway" Mr Becker told The Irish Times.
"In fact, we were able to tell people at the Armagh meeting that villages like Leitrim, Ballyconnell now had issues raised by the booming development . . . You only have to look at places like Carrick-on-Shannon to see the economic effect a waterway can create".
The restoration of the canal is on the agenda for the next meeting of the North/South ministerial meeting between Minister for Rural Affairs Éamon Ó Cuív and Northern Ireland parliamentary under secretary of state Maria Eagle.
A spokeswoman for Mr Ó Cuív said yesterday the Minister was "absolutely" committed to the project and believed it was "the right project at the right time" and appeared to meet all the criteria to avail of the cross-Border funds proposed by the British and Irish governments. She added that the Minister would be raising the success of the Shannon-Erne waterway as an economic driver in the region and said because of the project evaluations it was "ready to go".
The Shannon-Erne waterway was re-opened at a cost of some €51 million. It incorporates the Ballinamore-Ballyconnell Canal and covers some 61km from Leitrim village to Belturbet on the Erne. Fáilte Ireland has estimated that it generates some €19 million a year for the local rural economy.