MIKEY Siuneara, King of the Currachs, was not a man to underestimate the sea. He would never have forgotten the traditional bottle of holy water in the bow, for instance.
And he never forgot that the crew was as important as the boat. Descended from a long line of Aran boatbuilders, the late Mikey or Maidhci Siuneara O Conghaile modelled his boats to suit individual sea skills. The customer had little or no say in the matter. It was Mikey who made that judgment.
With no keel, no rudder, and only a cowhide between crew and creation, the skin boat has proved over centuries to be a flexible and enduring craft. Its "elastic" design reflected diverse activities and conditions around this coastline, Mr Padraig O Duinnin, Cork currach maker, told the Glandore Summer School in Co Cork yesterday.
The skill of a crew is as much a part of the cultural heritage as the currach's design, he noted the real artists being those who could steer by instinct in surf and wave trough, plying mountainous Atlantic rollers. Change in design has not always been synonymous with progress, he said. When keels were added to Tory island currachs, they found it far more difficult to manoeuvre in short, steep seas.
Such was the resilience of the vessels, nicknamed "beetles" and "worms", that the skins were only changed every 10 years. It was when the workboat became a racing craft that traditional lines became corrupted, a situation now being reversed in some areas due to a currach revival inspired by Meitheal Mara.
The Cork project founded by Mr O Duinnin has built several naomhogs, and has taken part in international classic boat regattas.
Two years ago, when Glandore held its first maritime summer school, Mr O Duinnin and crews set out from the Lee by sea, intent on showing that Kerry did not carry the patent to the naomhog.
The week's north westerlies have done little to quell a similar spirit at this year's event, with late night discussions on forms and fishing techniques running into the moonlit hours. Wind hungry yawls and dragons and currachs are preparing for this weekend's classic boat regatta, which is to be opened for Glandore Yacht Club by the former Taoiseach and Celtic Mist skipper, Mr Charles Haughey, tonight.
Last night Ms Darina Tully, who has been researching small Irish craft, identified indigenous boat types from dug outs to dories, while Ireland's debt to Cornwall was recalled by Mr Criostoir MacCarthaigh of the National Museum of Ireland. He spoke of a craft associated with a remarkable fishery in west Cork and south Kerry, the seine boat.
Designed by the Cornish to catch pilchard, the vessel was unique in that it always had one crewman ashore. The "hewer" stood on high ground to direct the set of the net and alert those at sea to an approaching shoal of fish. Speed was the decisive factor in the vessel's design, and muscle in selecting the rowing crew.
