An Exhibition of Discovery: Lucas and Lottie’s Waterways Adventures “Have you ever explored the “No, tell me more waterways about them, is Lottie?” there a lot to see and do?” “Loads! Let’s go on an adventure and explore some of the waterways. Don’t forget Heidi!” Waterways Ireland @waterwaysirelan www.learning.waterwaysireland.org Did you know a waterway What is a waterway? can be a stream, river, canal or a lake? We are so lucky to have so many Water everywhere! About 2% of beautiful inland waterways Ireland is covered by over 4,000 lakes or ponds. There are over 13,500 km all around us. of river channels in Ireland – that is longer than the Nile and the Amazon added together! le oy Coleraine h F ug Lo Lower Bann Londonderry Navigation le oy F Larne Strabane Canal Strabane Lough Beg Antrim Donegal Omagh Tyrone Lough Navigation Neagh BELFASTBELFAST Lisburn n Ballyshannon o Blackwater La ti Belleek ga ga Lower Lough Erne Upper n Navi Benburb Bann N Portadown L. Melvin e w Belmullet E l r Enniskillen y r a Armagh Canal n n C e Poyntz Pass a a Sligo Upper Lough C n er a Erne t l Uls Clones Newry Newry Ship Lough AllenLough C. Allen Ulster Canal Canal Ballinamore Belturbet L. Key ne -Er Lough Boyle non y Dundalk Shan rwa Oughter Wate Legend has it that Lough Neagh Carrick-on- Shannon Westport was created by the giant Finn Tarmonbarry Longford Drogheda Lough McCool who in a fight scooped up Boyne Mask Roscommon Navan BallymahonAbbeyshrule the earth and tossed it at another Cong Canal Lecarrow Canal MullingarRo Lough Killinure Lough yal Lough Can giant. The piece of land fell into the Corrib Ree Ballykeeran al Athlone n o Kilbeggan Maynooth i Clonmacnois t sea and formed the Isle of Man! a l ig na Edenderry Ballinasloe v Grand Ca Galway a Robertstown DUBLINDUBLIN Eglinton Canal Suck Navigation N n Tullamore o Naas Branch Galway n n a Banagher Milltown Naas Bay h S Feeder Portumna Mountmellick Lough Derg Mountmellick Branch B a r r Athy o w Scarri N a v Ennis i Fergus g Carlow a Navigation Killaloe t i o n n Est o uar Castleconnell n y Bagenalstown n Kilrush ha S Limerick Foynes Did you Tarbert Graiguenamanagh N S l a St Mullins n e y know? New Ross S u Carrick-on-Suir i Wexford Waterways Ireland Tralee r Rosslare Bridgetown C Tralee Ship Canal Lismore Waterford helps to look after and Canal Fermoy protect some of the Bride Navigation Rivers are powerful sources of 0 50 100 km Munster Blackwater rivers, lakes and canals in energy and in some cases this power Ireland for everyone to enjoy. has been harnessed to generateCork electricity. Examples in IrelandLee include Navigation Bantry Ballyshannon Power StationKinsale on the River Erne and Ardnacrusha Power Station on the Rover Shannon. Waterways Ireland @waterwaysirelan www.learning.waterwaysireland.org Do you know the difference Well, rivers and lakes between a canal and a river? are natural. They are created when rain falls in the hills and flows So, where do Shannon-Erne Waterway rivers and lakes down to the sea. come from? The Lower Bann So, what is a canal then Canals were man Lucas? made by ‘navvies’ who dug them out by hand. They were built to carry people and goods before we had proper roads. Tools used in the building of canals Barge transporting goods Tools used in the along the Grand Canal building of canals Can you tell which of these are canals and which are rivers? Waterways Ireland @waterwaysirelan www.learning.waterwaysireland.org Who Lives here? Right Lottie, let’s go explore this wildlife paradise! Wow, I cant wait, it looks magical... Waterways Ireland @waterwaysirelan www.learning.waterwaysireland.org All the colours of the rainbow This place is awash with colours! Look at all the yellow flag irises dancing in the breeze, their scents attracting Come on Heidi, loads of bouncy bees... lets go pick some daisies so I can make a daisy chain! Waterways Ireland @waterwaysirelan www.learning.waterwaysireland.org Hidden Histories le Nowadays the inland waterways are used mostly for pleasure.oy ColeraineThousands of h F ug years ago the waterways were the motorways and highwaysLo of Ireland. People Lower Bann Londonderry Navigation travelled everywhere by water as it was safer and quickerle than walking. oy F Larne Strabane Canal Strabane Lough Beg Antrim Donegal A long long time Omaghago! Tyrone Lough Navigation Neagh BELFASTBELFAST Lisburn Did you know? The earliest settlement in Irelandn Ballyshannon o Blackwater La ti Belleek ga ga Lower Lough Erne Upper n Navi can be found at Mountsandel in Coleraine.Benburb Bann People N Portadown L. Melvin e w Belmullet E l r were living there 9,000Enniskillen years ago...imaginey that! r a Armagh Canal n n C e Poyntz Pass a a Sligo Upper Lough C n er a Erne t l Uls Clones Newry Newry Ship Lough AllenLough C. Allen Ulster Canal Canal Ballinamore Belturbet L. Key ne -Er Lough Boyle non y Dundalk Shan rwa Oughter Wate Monasteries Carrick-on- Shannon Westport From the 5th century AD ChristianityTarmonbarry cameLongford to Ireland. Drogheda Lough Over the next 400 years many monasteries were Boyne Mask Roscommon Navan built along the waterways and became famousBallymahonAbbeyshrule Cong Canal Lecarrow Canal MullingarRo Lough Killinure Lough yal places of learning.Lough Devenish Island on Lough Erne Can Corrib Ree Ballykeeran al Athlone n o Kilbeggan Maynooth and Clonmacnoise on the River Shannoni are famous Clonmacnois t a l ig na Edenderry Ballinasloe v Grand Ca examples and can Galwaybe visited today. a Robertstown DUBLINDUBLIN Eglinton Canal Suck Navigation N n Tullamore o Naas Branch Galway n n a Banagher Milltown Naas Bay h S Feeder Portumna Mountmellick Lough Derg Mountmellick Branch B a r r The Arrival of the Vikings Athy o w Scarri N a v Ennis i Who wereFergus the Vikings and where g did they come Carlow a Navigation Killaloe t i o n from?n TheEst Vikings were explorers from Scandinavia who o uar Castleconnell n y Bagenalstown n Kilrush ha cameS to IrelandLimerick in their long boats over 1200 years ago. They Foynes attackedTarbert monasteries and towns alongGraiguenamanagh the waterways for their N S l a St Mullins n e gold, jewels and valuable books. With their large woodeny boats they New Ross S could make a quick getaway with their loot!u Carrick-on-Suir i Wexford Tralee r Rosslare Bridgetown C Tralee Ship Canal Lismore Waterford Canal Fermoy Bride Navigation 0 50 100 km The Flying Boats! Munster Blackwater A flying boat is a sea plane built to land on water. During World Cork War 2 you would have seen lots Leeof Navigation these on Lough Erne as Castle ArchdaleBantry was used as a base by the Royal Air Force. Kinsale Waterways Ireland @waterwaysirelan www.learning.waterwaysireland.org Horse Drawn HGV’s What’s this I’ll tell you all all about I know about Lucas? barges A barge is a flat-bottomed boat used to transport heavy goods such as coal, turf, timber, sand, sugar and much more. Before the invention of engines barges were pulled by horses along the canal towpaths or by steam tugs on rivers and lakes. Let’s meet the crew! There were different jobs on board: The Skipper, the Driver, the Deckhand and the Greaser. It took a crew of 4 men to get the barge loaded up, keep it moving along the canal and get it to its destination. Crew often moved between barges, some men wanting to work closer to home. 24hr day! Driver Greaser Z Z Z Skipper Deckhand Sleep when you can! Waterways Ireland @waterwaysirelan www.learning.waterwaysireland.org Changing Times! Things have moved What happened on... the roads here? Where have and railways have all the barges taken over gone? With the arrival of railways and later, much improved roads it became much cheaper and faster to transport goods. The canals started to decline and by the mid 1950’s were abandoned. Some of the barges were sold and others just left to rot... This is terrible... How sad! Waterways Ireland @waterwaysirelan www.learning.waterwaysireland.org Exciting Engineering Lets meet Engineer Canals, locks, bridges, viaducts and Joe to hear all about aqueducts have been made by engineers the exciting engineering to connect waterways all you can find all over the over Ireland. Take some waterways! time to look at the feats of engineering along the rivers and canals in your area. Bridges Bridges are difficult to build. The Romans discovered by building a bridge with an arch of stone the bridge was stronger and could stretch across or span a wider river. The arches also had to be high enough to allow boats to pass under them. The same methods were used by enginners when they started building the canal bridges over 200 years ago and continue to be used today. Only the material used to build them have changed, steel and concrete are commonly used. Some bridges are too low to allow boats under them so they have been engineered to lift up or swing to make headroom. Lifting bridges rise vertically to let boats pass under while swing bridges swing open to let boats pass through. Other types of bridges found on the waterways include Aqueducts and Viaducts. An aqueduct carries a canal over a road or river. A viaduct carries a railway or road over a river. Locks A lock is simply a chamber with gates at either end.