Ted Barrett, one of the pioneers of cruising on the canal, was well aware of its environmental and leisure value. By the late 1960s he was advocating linking the canals with the lakes that might be made from the disused bogs to form a type of Norfolk Broads in Ireland.[1] In this letter of October 1964 he was to show his diplomatic and marketing skills in the course of advocating canal cruising. Barrett was the author of a guide to cruising on the canals.[2] At about the same time as Barrett Harry Egan and Frank Egan of Tullamore had developed a cruiser hire business based at Tullamore Harbour under the name Gay Line Cruisers. Later this was followed by Celtic Canal Cruisers (Mike and Heather Thomas). In fact by mid-1964 things were looking up for the Grand Canal after several years of uncertainty due to the Dublin Corporation proposal to cover over parts of the canal line in Dublin to facilitate sewerage disposal. The IWAI had been formed in 1954 to promote all the waterways but by the 1960s was in the van in protecting the Grand Canal waterway. A branch had been formed in Tullamore with the support of Frank Egan and PV Egan. These men went on to establish Gay Line Cruisers, based in Tullamore, and got involved in boat building. 1964 was also the year in which Brendan Smyth (d. 2021) of Banagher started his Silver Line Cruisers business – now one of the most successful on the Shannon and led by his children Barbara and Morgan. By 1991 up to nine hire cruise firms were offering almost 400 cruisers for self-drive, mostly on the River Shannon.
To return to Ted Barrett’s letter:
(To The Editor) Offaly Independent[3], 10 October 1964
Dear Sir,
As your paper has always shown interest in happenings on the Grand Canal and its environs, we would like at the end of a season of successful tourist promotion on hire cruisers to pass on a few impressions gained by both ourselves and our clients along the line.
During the season from May to September we operated six cruisers carrying from two-to five-berth capacity and hired from Lucan on a self-drive basis. The majority of our clients were English, some 15 percent were Irish (both North and South) and we had a small percentage of Americans and others. It is impossible to please everyone but by far the greater part were delighted with their canal holiday and we already have repeat bookings for 1965.
This is in no small measure due to that much maligned body, C.I.E. and their conscientious engineer. Mr. Dalton, who with his inspectors Mr. Joe Moore of Edenderry and Mr. Corcoran of Gallen, kept three gangs operating weed cutters, freeing the waterway for navigation. A new type of cutter, the first in these islands, was operated at the Offaly end and though it had its teething troubles, native ingenuity and resource overcame them and it did a wonderful job. At Edenderry the branch leading to the town harbour had been overgrown for years and cruisers wanting supplies had to moor a mile away on the main line while the occupants walked the distance, not always a welcome chore. More or less on his own initiative, Mr. Moore organized a workforce using the old method of manual cutting worked by a line from bank to bank and did a wonderful job of clearing. Subsequently almost all our boats used this much pleasant branch to their own benefit and that of local traders. There was only one tiny complaint about Edenderry – the local children, no doubt “new-fangled” with the boats were sometimes rather persistent in their requests for a “jaunt” down to the bridge [ Downshire] which not everybody was prepared to grant them.
Most of our clients were impressed not only with the peacefulness of this type of holiday, but recounted many instances of kindness and courtesy along the line. Here are a few examples. When the local petrol station was short of fuel, Mr. Manzor, of Sallins, took out his car and drove the crew into Naas for some. Mr. Callan of Robertstown, was praised for his attention to the needs of a contingent of fishermen taking part in the prosperous angling competition and one and all praised the postmistress in that village, Miss Hughes, for her unfailing courtesy and helpfulness.
We have also heard quite a lot of praise for Mr. Joe Byrne of Daingean. Apart from giving excellent value in his shop he has delivered the goods and petrol to the boats and always has a cheery word and helpful advice for the stranger. A little further along, Jimmy Connors, of Ballycommon, has been the perfect landlord and an interesting storyteller. A little word of advice to Jimmy – get your advert on the Dublin side of the Chevenix Bridge and put down a few mooring stakes this winter.
Lock keepers have on the whole done their jobs well and many have gone beyond the call of duty to make the trip easier for the tourist. This applies especially at the Offaly end and if we find a few singled out for special praise that does not mean that the others have not done their jobs well. All have praised Mrs. Kelly, who does four locks between Ballycommon and Tullamore, and travels by motor-cycle, a perfect example of anything a man can do, a woman can do better. Then there is Walter Mitchell of the 30th Lock who has been so generous with vegetables and whose fund of anecdotes has delayed many a traveler who would otherwise have gone too fast and missed all that Offaly has to offer. Another of our hirers told a charming story of the lady at Ballycowan Lock [Mrs Cummins] who taught her how to make brown soda bread and presented her with the finished product.
Tullamore has come in for a good share of praise by most. Its tidy appearance, modern shops and hotels where good meals can be had at a reasonable figure have all been mentioned. Tullamore, Daingean, Edenderry and Belmont have all been mentioned for the excellent value in butcher meat as regards both quality and price. Another praiseworthy feature which was brought to our notice late in the season was the enterprise of Frank Egan and others in opening up the harbour in Tullamore and putting toilets and fresh water points at the disposal of the tourists. And we must not forget how helpful and efficient Jack Thomas of Ballycowan has been with running repairs.
There have been complaints, but mainly minor ones, such as the children at Edenderry, lack of shore facilities or indications as to where these can be found, lack of delivery services at some points, but we feel sure that as the canal becomes more popular these will follow. This season at least, the people of Kildare and Offaly have made many friends among our customers and it would not be right to let the year close without saying “Go raibh mile maith agaibh.”
Yours faithfully,
E.C. Barrett
Manager, Joy Line Cruisers.
Dublin
10 – 10 – ’64
[1] Offaly Independent, 29 Mar. 1969.
[2] Offaly Independent, 1 May 1965.
[3] Offaly Independent, 24 Oct. 1964
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