Plan to link Longford by canal to the Liffey estuary is on schedule

A £10 MILLION project to restore the Royal Canal between Dublin and Abbeyshrule in Co Longford should see tidal access to the canal from the Liffey estuary opened by May 2000, a forum on the development of Ireland's waterways has been told.

The forum also expressed its optimism on the reopening of the Ulster Canal, a cross-Border link between the Shannon-Erne and Lough Neagh navigation systems. That would make navigation possible between Coleraine in the North and Limerick in the South.

Mr Ian Bath, the founder of the Royal Canal Amenity Group, said the reopening of tidal access would be followed by a programme to reopen the canal from Abbeyshrule to Richmond Harbour. This would restore the navigable link to the Shannon river.

According to Mr Bath, about £6.7 million of structural funds has already been spent on restoring the canal, and total funding of restoration work so far amounts to £10 million. Under the new tranche of structural funds, it is planned to finance the construction of six road bridges between Abbeyshrule and Richmond harbour.

Work on tidal access is held up because of work being carried out at Croke Park, but Mr Bath said this should not be allowed to continue beyond next April and a short stretch between Croke Park and Spencer Dock in Dublin's Docklands should be reopened by May.

This would allow access from the Grand Canal via the Liffey to the Royal Canal. A second link to the Grand Canal, via Lough Enn ell, the River Brosna and the re stored Kilbeggan branch, should be considered as a longer-term project, says the amenity group.

Mr Bath maintained that feasibility studies should be carried out on the Boyne at Longwood, where the canal passes over the river in an aqueduct. He added that it would be possible to extend the navigation to Navan and reopen the Navan to Drogheda system.

Other long-term plans include the development of Longford town as a destination for Shannon-based cruisers. Longford could be reached by the Royal Canal and a restoration of the old Longford branch.

Mr Bath told The Irish Times that he was optimistic that the new all-Ireland waterways authority, which is to be set up under the Belfast Agreement, would sanction the restoration of the Ulster Canal.

Duchas, the Heritage Service, in conjunction with the Department of Agriculture Northern Ireland, has already carried out a feasibility study of the reopening of the Ulster Canal. It has estimated the cost at about £66 million, at last year's prices.

The cross-Border navigation system would link the Shannon-Erne system with Lough Neagh, making navigation possible between Waterford or Limerick and Coleraine, Co Derry.

The waterway passes through Armagh, Monaghan and Fermanagh before entering the Upper Erne near Belturbet, on the Fermanagh/Cavan border.

The new waterways body will have in its remit just the Shannon-Erne system and the restoration project until April 2000, when it is planned to expand its activities to all inland waterways on the island.

According to Mr Bath, the cost is not prohibitive, given the funding available under the development plans North and South, the EU Peace Programme funds and Ireland Funds.