4.0 Athlone Yacht Club
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Roscommon, A Venue for Shannon Yachting Today and Yesterday by Vincent Delany Part funded by The Roscommon County Council Research Bursary October 2016. 1 Map 1. ROSCOMMON YACHTING VENUES. THOSE REFERRED TO IN THE TEXT ARE SHOWN IN RED. THE RIVER SHANNON FOLLOWS THE EASTERN BORDER OF ROSCOMMON COUNTY. 2 1.0 CONTENTS 1.0 Contents……………………………………………………………….page 3. 2.0 Schedule of maps……………………...………………………..…………...4. 3.0 Schedule of illustrations……………………………………………...……..5. 4.0 Methodology……..…………………………………………………………7. 5.0 Introduction…………………………………………………………...…….9. 6.0 Killinure Yacht Club………………………………………………………11. 7.0 Athlone Yacht Club regattas………………………………………………14. 8.0 Lough Allen regattas………………………………………………………16. 9.0 Lough Key regattas………………………………………………………..21. 10.0 Gailey Bay regattas, Lough Ree………………………………………….27. 11.00 North Shannon Yacht Club……………………………………………..38. 12.0 Hydroplane racing at Tarmonbarry………………………………………45. 13.0 Lough Ree Yacht Club, at Lenihan’s Hodson Bay Hotel………………..49. 14.0 Inland Waterways Association of Ireland………………………………..53. 15.0 Conclusions………………………………………………………………55. 16.0 References………………………………………………………………..56. 3 2.0 SCHEDULE OF MAPS Map 1.- County Roscommon, showing yachting venues………….page 2. Map 2.- Killenure Lough, off Lough Ree.1……………………………..11. Map 3.- Lower Lough Ree.2…………………………………………….12. Map 4.-Hodson Bay on Lough Ree.3……………………………………15. Map 5.-Lough Allen……………………………………………………..17. Map 6.- O’Reilly’s Island, Lough Allen.4……………………………….20. Map 7- Mid Lough Ree and Gailey Bay5………………………………..27. Map 8.- North Shannon Yacht Club premises at Killmore.6…………….38. Map 9.- River Shannon at Tarmonbarry.7………………………………..45. 1 Killinure, Map of Waterston Demesne, (N.L.I. MS 14A 29). 2 H. J. Rice, Thanks for the memory (Athlone, 1954), p.214. 3 Ordnance Survey Map original edition (www.myplan.ie) (21 Sept. 2016). 4 Ibid. 5 H. J. Rice, Thanks for the memory (Athlone, 1954), p.51. 6 Ordnance Survey Map, original edition (www.myplan.ie) (21 Sept. 2016). 7 Ibid. 4 3.0 SCHEDULE OF ILLUSTRATIONS Image 1.- The type of vessel used by members of Killinure Yacht Club.8…...13. Image 2.- Hodson Bay, home of Leonard Hodson.9 …………………………..14. Image 3.-O’Conor’s Lough Allen Lodge.10…………………………………...16. Image 4.-Newspaper advertisement for Lough Allen regatta.11……………….18. Image 5.-O’Conor’s boathouse at Lough Allen Island12……………………....19. Image 6. Water Wags on Lough Allen in 2015………………………………..20. Image 7. Lough Key and Rockingham, seat of Viscount Lorton.13 ………..…22. Image 8.- Colleen yacht moored at Rockingham harbor in the 1890s.14…...…23. Image 9.- Steamer at Rockingham harbor in the 1890s.15……………………..23. Image 10.- S.V. Grania moored at Lough Key.16……………………………...25. Image 11.-Lough Key shore-side facilities.17………………………………….25. Image 12.-Programme for Gailey Bay regatta………………………………...28. Image 13.- The regatta scene at Gailey Castle in 1903.18……………………… Image 14.- Results of rowing races at Gailey Bay Regatta……………………35. Image 15.- Gailey bay competitors and committee……………………………35. Image 16.- The Audax, owned by William Potts.19……………………………36. Image 17.- Yachts Amorita, Vill-u-an, Foam and Witch racing on Lough Ree. Image 18.- Gailey Castle in 2015.20 8 Athlone Independent, 4 June 1834. 9 Hodson Bay, (https://s-media-cache- ak0.pining/originals/26/19/93/26199343162ff80255ffa3a5b85a5b02.jpg) (6 Oct 2016). 10 Christiaan Corlett, Jane W. Shackleton’s Ireland (Cork, 2012) 11 Roscommon and Leitrim Gazette, 30 July 1859. 12 Christiaan Corlett, Jane W. Shackleton’s Ireland (Cork, 2012) 13 Rockingham, seat of Viscount Lorton. (N.L.I. ET A696) (Formerly N.L.I. 1612TA). 14 Boat harbor Rockingham, (N.L.I. Lawrence collection L_CAB_07 854). 15 Boat harbor Rockingham, (N.L.I. Lawrence collection L_CAB_07 854). 16 IWAI archives. 17 Alf Delany archives in possession of the Vincent Delany, Dun Laoghaire. 18 Water Wag Club archives in possession of the Vincent Delany, Dun Laoghaire. 19 Lough Ree Yacht Club archives, Hillquarter, Athlone. 5 Image 19.-Unloading Dublin Bay Water Wags at Jamestown Canal in 1904.21 Image 20.-North Shannon Yacht Club regatta and the clubhouse c.1920.22 Image 21.-North Shannon Yacht Club regatta and houseboats c.1920.23 Image 22.- The military band at North Shannon regatta c. 1920.24 Image 23.- Water Wags at Lough Boderg 2015.25 Image 24.-Alfred F. Delany’s hydroplane, Hold Everythin’III. 26 Image 25.- Hydroplanes on the river Bann. Image 26.- Lough Ree regatta competitors at Hodson Bay in 1958.27 Image 27.- Lough Ree regatta scene at Hodson Bay c. 1960s. Image 28.- Jimmy Furey in his workshop 2015. Image 29.- I.W.A.I. rally at Roosky in 1964.28 20 Copyright, Con Murphy, Rathfarnham. 21 Water Wag archives in possession of Vincent Delany, Dun Laoghaire. 22 Alf Delany archives, in possession of Vincent Delany, Dun Laoghaire. 23 Ibid. 24 Ibid. 25 Water Wag newsletter 2015. 26 Longford Leader, 15 Aug. 1931. 27 S.O.D.A. archives in possession of Ruth Delany, Killiney. 28 I.W.A.I. archives. 6 4.0 METHODOLOGY As a lifelong active Shannon yachtsman, who has, since the 1950s, spent many happy hours cruising, and racing to and from the banks of County Roscommon, I believe I have an insight into the motivation of yachtsmen of the past, and of today. My methodology consists of reading the available documentation on the subject, of which there is surprisingly little written material. (See bibliography below.) A detailed survey of engravings on the club trophies at the Lough Ree Yacht Club was undertaken. This gave me the names of many of the gentlemen who competed in yachting events. Many of these trophies originated at the North Shannon Yacht Club, which is no longer active. (See Chapter 11.) I examined regatta programmes on display at Lough Ree Yacht Club premises in Ballyglass/ Hillquarter, Co. Westmeath. This led me to a study Gailey Bay, and the regattas which took place there, and ultimately to organize and compete in a 21st century regatta there in 2015. The next step was to research the history of the Crofton family from Mote Park, and Lady Georgina Crofton’s diaries of 1835-7529 which illustrate the lifestyle and interests of the family. Lord Edward Henry Churchill Crofton competed at a regatta held on Lough Key, organised by Robert King of Rockingham, in the 1850s. King’s regattas at Lough Key were run in sequence with Michael O’Conor’s regattas at Lough Allen. Edward King- Tenison and Lady Tenison of Kilronan Castle were patrons to the Lough Allen regattas. This led me to visit Kilronan Castle,30 and research the King-Tenisons, who later became Earls of Kingston. Henry Edwin 9th. Earl of Kingston (1874- 29 Georgina Crofton’s Diary, (N.L.I. MSS 4066-4072). 30 Kilronan Castle, Keadue, is now a hotel. 7 1946) raced at Gailey Bay, and was, in 1900, elected commodore of the North Shannon Yacht Club which operated at the time on Lough Boderg. The local newspapers such as Athlone Independent, Athlone Times, Athlone Sentinel, Freeman’s Journal, Leitrim Observer, Roscommon and Leitrim Gazette, Roscommon Journal, Roscommon Herald, Roscommon Messenger and many others were studied, to obtain regatta advertisements and reports. The newspaper reporters did not fully understand yachting, so many gave more attention to the rowing races for the bogmen,31 which took place at regattas. These reports described the huge numbers of country people who turned up at the regattas to have a good time, and to observe the great yachts. In addition to the newspapers the Hunt’s Yachting Magazine provided infrequent (but technically accurate) reports on yachting activities in Irelands inland waters. They assumed that yachts with names like Foam or Dream, were the same yachts which raced at Cowes or on the Clyde. Generally, sailing yachts which raced on the Shannon stayed on the Shannon, and didn’t travel further afield. A substantial archive of race results, photographs, programmes and reports were acquired by, and relate to the time when my late grandfather, Vincent S. Delany,32 and my late uncle Vincent T. H. Delany33 who competed at regattas. I have visited the Roscommon county libraries, at Boyle, and at Roscommon town, to source background information relating to the times when regattas took place, and to provide insight into the events of 1916. 31 Men who transported turf from place to place were described as ‘bogmen’. 32 Of Mohill, Co. Longford, and subsequently Church St. Longford. 33 Of Longford, Dublin and Belfast 8 3.0 INTRODUCTION My recent National University of Ireland, Maynooth, M.A. (history) thesis ‘Yachting and Yachtsmen on the River Shannon, 1830-1930’ investigates the organisation of yachting on the River Shannon through the nineteenth century, and the first third of the twentieth century. It demonstrates how yachting contributed to the quality of life, for all the Shannon-side occupants of the Irish midlands, not only those who were rich enough to own a yacht. This document, which was prepared for Roscommon County Council, highlights the yachting activities on the eastern edge of that county, and describes how yachting was, and continues to be beneficial to the economy, and culture of a part of Ireland relatively unknown to Irish and European tourists. My thesis reveals that the three dominant yachting activities on the Shannon, were yacht racing, cruises-in-company, and military manoeuvers. Between 1830 and the present day, Roscommon has been a venue for each of these types of yachting. In particular, Lough Ree was the site of military manoeuvers organised by the Athlone Yacht Club, cruising on the Shannon always existed, but grew rapidly following the foundation of the Inland Waterways Association of Ireland by my namesake34 and others in 1953. Yacht racing and cruising took place on Roscommon waters, at Lough Allen, Lough Key, Lough Boderg and Bofin, Carnadoe Waters, Lough Forbes, Tarmonbarry and Lough Ree.