81-636: The Ulster Canal is a canal running through part of County Armagh , County Tyrone and County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland and County Monaghan in the Republic of Ireland . The Ulster Canal was built between 1825 and 1842 and was 74 km (46 mi) long with 26 locks. It ran from Charlemont on the River Blackwater to near Wattlebridge on the Finn River , south-east of Upper Lough Erne . It
162-534: A caisson of water in which boats float while being moved between two levels; and inclined planes where a caisson is hauled up a steep railway. To cross a stream, road or valley (where the delay caused by a flight of locks at either side would be unacceptable) the valley can be spanned by a navigable aqueduct – a famous example in Wales is the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct (now a UNESCO World Heritage Site ) across
243-504: A drainage divide atop a ridge , generally requiring an external water source above the highest elevation . The best-known example of such a canal is the Panama Canal . Many canals have been built at elevations, above valleys and other waterways. Canals with sources of water at a higher level can deliver water to a destination such as a city where water is needed. The Roman Empire 's aqueducts were such water supply canals. The term
324-415: A "cistern", or depressed area just downstream from the fall, to "cushion" the water by providing a deep pool for its kinetic energy to be diffused in. Vertical falls work for drops of up to 1.5 m in height, and for discharge of up to 15 cubic meters per second. The transport capacity of pack animals and carts is limited. A mule can carry an eighth-ton [250 pounds (113 kg)] maximum load over
405-638: A branch to Armagh . The plan was ill-thought-out, as he decided to make the locks of a similar size to those on the Royal Canal, 76 by 14 feet (23.2 by 4.3 m), which would accommodate boats up to about 13.3 feet (4.1 m) wide, but those that already used Lough Neagh, and the Lagan Canal , the Newry Canal and the Coalisland Canal , were 14.8 feet (4.5 m) wide, and would not therefore be able to use
486-496: A canal has a series of dams and locks that create reservoirs of low speed current flow. These reservoirs are referred to as slack water levels , often just called levels . A canal can be called a navigation canal when it parallels a natural river and shares part of the latter's discharges and drainage basin , and leverages its resources by building dams and locks to increase and lengthen its stretches of slack water levels while staying in its valley . A canal can cut across
567-413: A combination of the three, depending on available water and available path: Smaller transportation canals can carry barges or narrowboats , while ship canals allow seagoing ships to travel to an inland port (e.g., Manchester Ship Canal ), or from one sea or ocean to another (e.g., Caledonian Canal , Panama Canal ). At their simplest, canals consist of a trench filled with water. Depending on
648-543: A journey measured in days and weeks, though much more for shorter distances and periods with appropriate rest. Besides, carts need roads. Transport over water is much more efficient and cost-effective for large cargoes. The oldest known canals were irrigation canals, built in Mesopotamia c. 4000 BC , in what is now Iraq . The Indus Valley civilization of ancient India ( c. 3000 BC ) had sophisticated irrigation and storage systems developed, including
729-542: A large group of people requested parliamentary approval for a revised scheme, which was very similar to Killaly's of a decade previously. The government remained unconvinced that they would receive a return on any money advanced, and so the Directors General could not act. Finally, in 1825, a private company was authorised to construct the canal by the passing of the Ulster Canal Act 1825 ( 6 Geo. 4 . c. cxciii). It
810-472: A meeting was held at Derrykerrib Bridge, attended by Heather Humphreys and representatives of Waterways Ireland. The first phase involved extending the Erne Navigation from Quivvy Lough to Castle Saunderson, near Belturbet. Of the 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) forming this phase, some 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) was a new cut, following a somewhat different route to the original canal, and a new Derrykerrib Bridge
891-593: A private bill to achieve the aim, and they were successful in doing so in 1888. The House of Lords had succeeded in removing a clause from the bill which allowed the Lagan Navigation Company to close the Ulster Canal after ten years, and they were saddled with a liability in perpetuity. Vast sums were spent on maintenance, compared to income, and although some trade developed, profits from the Lagan Canal and
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#1732848564942972-575: A rather low gradient for its time. The canal is still in use after renovation. In the Middle Ages , water transport was several times cheaper and faster than transport overland. Overland transport by animal drawn conveyances was used around settled areas, but unimproved roads required pack animal trains, usually of mules to carry any degree of mass, and while a mule could carry an eighth ton, it also needed teamsters to tend it and one man could only tend perhaps five mules, meaning overland bulk transport
1053-550: A true restoration, it involved the construction of a state-of-the-art waterway along a historic route, and a similar approach would be required on the Ulster Canal. At the North/South Ministerial Council meeting on 17 July 2007, it was announced that the governments would work towards the restoration of the stretch of the canal linking the town of Clones , in County Monaghan, to Upper Lough Erne . The cost of
1134-453: A uniform altitude. Other, generally later, canals took more direct routes requiring the use of various methods to deal with the change in level. Canals have various features to tackle the problem of water supply. In cases, like the Suez Canal, the canal is open to the sea. Where the canal is not at sea level, a number of approaches have been adopted. Taking water from existing rivers or springs
1215-422: Is a channel that cuts across a drainage divide , making a navigable channel connecting two different drainage basins . Both navigations and canals use engineered structures to improve navigation: Since they cut across drainage divides, canals are more difficult to construct and often need additional improvements, like viaducts and aqueducts to bridge waters over streams and roads, and ways to keep water in
1296-468: Is another lock above Blackwatertown, and the final lock below Charlemont, before the canal joins the River Blackwater. The summit level was 213 feet (65 m) above sea level. The original locks were built for boats which were 62 by 11 feet (18.9 by 3.4 m). Of the large number of bridges that crossed the canal, 56 remained in 2002. A feasibility study into the possible reopening of the waterway
1377-675: Is presumed, introduced in Italy by Bertola da Novate in the 16th century. This allowed wider gates and also removed the height restriction of guillotine locks . To break out of the limitations caused by river valleys, the first summit level canals were developed with the Grand Canal of China in 581–617 AD whilst in Europe the first, also using single locks, was the Stecknitz Canal in Germany in 1398. In
1458-578: Is rarely less than 30 metres (98 ft) wide. In the 5th century BC, Achaemenid king Xerxes I of Persia ordered the construction of the Xerxes Canal through the base of Mount Athos peninsula, Chalkidiki , northern Greece. It was constructed as part of his preparations for the Second Persian invasion of Greece , a part of the Greco-Persian Wars . It is one of the few monuments left by
1539-418: Is steeper than the desired canal gradient. They are constructed so the falling water's kinetic energy is dissipated in order to prevent it from scouring the bed and sides of the canal. A canal fall is constructed by cut and fill . It may be combined with a regulator, bridge, or other structure to save costs. There are various types of canal falls, based on their shape. One type is the ogee fall, where
1620-448: Is the pound lock , which consists of a chamber within which the water level can be raised or lowered connecting either two pieces of canal at a different level or the canal with a river or the sea. When there is a hill to be climbed, flights of many locks in short succession may be used. Prior to the development of the pound lock in 984 AD in China by Chhaio Wei-Yo and later in Europe in
1701-639: The Elbe , Oder and Weser being linked by canals. In post-Roman Britain, the first early modern period canal built appears to have been the Exeter Canal , which was surveyed in 1563, and open in 1566. The oldest canal in the European settlements of North America, technically a mill race built for industrial purposes, is Mother Brook between the Boston, Massachusetts neighbourhoods of Dedham and Hyde Park connecting
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#17328485649421782-530: The Naviglio Grande built between 1127 and 1257 to connect Milan with the river Ticino . The Naviglio Grande is the most important of the lombard " navigli " and the oldest functioning canal in Europe. Later, canals were built in the Netherlands and Flanders to drain the polders and assist transportation of goods and people. Canal building was revived in this age because of commercial expansion from
1863-532: The Phoenix metropolitan area was the most complex in ancient North America. A portion of the ancient canals has been renovated for the Salt River Project and now helps to supply the city's water. The Sinhalese constructed the 87 km (54 mi) Yodha Ela in 459 A.D. as a part of their extensive irrigation network which functioned in a way of a moving reservoir due to its single banking aspect to manage
1944-522: The River Brue at Northover with Glastonbury Abbey , a distance of about 1.75 kilometres (1,900 yd). Its initial purpose is believed to be the transport of building stone for the abbey, but later it was used for delivering produce, including grain, wine and fish, from the abbey's outlying properties. It remained in use until at least the 14th century, but possibly as late as the mid-16th century. More lasting and of more economic impact were canals like
2025-547: The River Shannon at Leitrim was suggested but not costed. It would thus be an important section of a trans-Irish waterway, linking Belfast in the east to Limerick in the west, which would compete with a similar link formed by the Grand Canal and the Royal Canal further to the south. Government funding was forthcoming in 1783, and a section of the canal was constructed between Ballyshannon and Belleek , with Richard Evans,
2106-576: The River Shannon to generate through traffic, and unlikely to be one while the canal did not prosper. The company were unable to repay any of the loan made by the Exchequer Bill Loan Commissioners, and in 1851, the Office of Public Works (also known as the Board of Works) took control of it. After cosmetic repairs, it was leased to William Dargan , who had built most of it as contractor, and ran
2187-594: The Songhai Empire of West Africa, several canals were constructed under Sunni Ali and Askia Muhammad I between Kabara and Timbuktu in the 15th century. These were used primarily for irrigation and transport. Sunni Ali also attempted to construct a canal from the Niger River to Walata to facilitate conquest of the city but his progress was halted when he went to war with the Mossi Kingdoms . Around 1500–1800
2268-548: The reservoirs built at Girnar in 3000 BC. This is the first time that such planned civil project had taken place in the ancient world. In Egypt , canals date back at least to the time of Pepi I Meryre (reigned 2332–2283 BC), who ordered a canal built to bypass the cataract on the Nile near Aswan . In ancient China , large canals for river transport were established as far back as the Spring and Autumn period (8th–5th centuries BC),
2349-404: The stratum the canal passes through, it may be necessary to line the cut with some form of watertight material such as clay or concrete. When this is done with clay, it is known as puddling . Canals need to be level, and while small irregularities in the lie of the land can be dealt with through cuttings and embankments, for larger deviations other approaches have been adopted. The most common
2430-466: The 12th century. River navigations were improved progressively by the use of single, or flash locks . Taking boats through these used large amounts of water leading to conflicts with watermill owners and to correct this, the pound or chamber lock first appeared, in the 10th century in China and in Europe in 1373 in Vreeswijk , Netherlands. Another important development was the mitre gate , which was, it
2511-465: The 15th century, either flash locks consisting of a single gate were used or ramps, sometimes equipped with rollers, were used to change the level. Flash locks were only practical where there was plenty of water available. Locks use a lot of water, so builders have adopted other approaches for situations where little water is available. These include boat lifts , such as the Falkirk Wheel , which use
Ulster Canal - Misplaced Pages Continue
2592-521: The Coalisland Canal, which they also owned, were swallowed up in trying to keep the Ulster Canal open. The company never really recovered from the acquisition. The last boat to enter the canal did so in 1929, and a "warrant of abandonment" was finally obtained on 9 January 1931. This allowed them to abandon the section of the canal in Northern Ireland . An "order of release", obtained on 15 April, removed all liability for maintenance. A similar order in
2673-526: The Department of Rural and Community Development on 28 April 2021. This will fund a relatively short section, detached from the Phase 1 section, between Clones and Clonfad in County Monaghan. The work includes around 1 kilometre (0.6 mi) of canal and towpath, a 40-berth marina, two new bridges and restoration of a third bridge, together with the provision of an amenity area with car parks. Crucially, it will include
2754-571: The Persian Empire in Europe . Greek engineers were also among the first to use canal locks , by which they regulated the water flow in the Ancient Suez Canal as early as the 3rd century BC. There was little experience moving bulk loads by carts, while a pack-horse would [i.e. 'could'] carry only an eighth of a ton. On a soft road a horse might be able to draw 5/8ths of a ton. But if
2835-753: The Southwest by 1300 CE. Archaeologists working at a major archaeological dig in the 1990s in the Tucson Basin, along the Santa Cruz River, identified a culture and people that may have been the ancestors of the Hohokam. This prehistoric group occupied southern Arizona as early as 2000 BCE, and in the Early Agricultural period grew corn, lived year-round in sedentary villages, and developed sophisticated irrigation canals. The large-scale Hohokam irrigation network in
2916-666: The United Kingdom was set up under the Public Works Loans Act 1817 ( 57 Geo. 3 . c. 34), to help finance public work projects that would generate employment. Commissioners included Thomas Telford and Francis Ludlow Holt . The body continued as part of the Public Works Loan Board , but its loans were restricted to twenty years by the Public Works Loan Act 1853 . This article relating to law in
2997-546: The canal at its southern end in 2015. In 1778, a proposal was made for a canal from Ballyshannon to the Lower Lough Erne. The estimated cost of the scheme was £32,000, but it was already seen as part of a larger project, since a further £8,000 would have provided a link to Enniskillen , Belturbet and Ballyconnell . A future link from Ballyconnell to Ballymore, along the Woodford River valley, and on to Lough Scurr and
3078-436: The canal pressure with the influx of water. It was also designed as an elongated reservoir passing through traps creating 66 mini catchments as it flows from Kala Wewa to Thissa Wawa . The canal was not designed for the quick conveying of water from Kala Wewa to Thissa Wawa but to create a mass of water between the two reservoirs, which would in turn provided for agriculture and the use of humans and animals. They also achieved
3159-418: The canal to form a dam. They are generally placed in pre-existing grooves in the canal bank. On more modern canals, "guard locks" or gates were sometimes placed to allow a section of the canal to be quickly closed off, either for maintenance, or to prevent a major loss of water due to a canal breach. A canal fall , or canal drop, is a vertical drop in the canal bed. These are built when the natural ground slope
3240-511: The canal under the Derelict Sites Act 1961. Stretches in County Monaghan which were not derelict at that time (i.e., which were being occupied) could not be acquired and ownership remains with the Office of Public Works. The canal follows a fairly straight south-west to north-east course, from the island and townland of Derrykerrib, at the mouth of the Finn River , very near Wattlebridge in
3321-462: The canal. Where large amounts of goods are loaded or unloaded such as at the end of a canal, a canal basin may be built. This would normally be a section of water wider than the general canal. In some cases, the canal basins contain wharfs and cranes to assist with movement of goods. When a section of the canal needs to be sealed off so it can be drained for maintenance stop planks are frequently used. These consist of planks of wood placed across
Ulster Canal - Misplaced Pages Continue
3402-463: The channel. There are two broad types of canal: Historically, canals were of immense importance to commerce and the development, growth and vitality of a civilization. In 1855 the Lehigh Canal carried over 1.2 million tons of anthracite coal; by the 1930s the company which built and operated it for over a century ceased operation. The few canals still in operation in our modern age are a fraction of
3483-411: The construction contract in 1832. Telford then decided that there were serious problems with the design and that a new survey should be made. This increased the number of locks to 26, and the contractors were asked for a new estimate. Agreement could not be reached, and they eventually withdrew from the project. John Killaly, the local engineer, died in 1832, and it is not known whether he decided to reduce
3564-574: The development would be €35 million, paid for by the Irish Exchequer. In August 2010, Waterways Ireland published an Ulster Canal Restoration Plan, an Environmental Report and an Appropriate Assessment. In September 2010 it held two Public Information Days, one in Clones, County Monaghan, and one in Newtownbutler , County Fermanagh, and invited written comments on its plans by 30 September 2010. Reports on
3645-399: The drop follows an s-shaped curve to create a smooth transition and reduce turbulence . However, this smooth transition does not dissipate the water's kinetic energy, which leads to heavy scouring. As a result, the canal needs to be reinforced with concrete or masonry to protect it from eroding. Another type of canal fall is the vertical fall, which is "simple and economical". These feature
3726-411: The engineer for the Royal Canal, overseeing the work, which included a lock at Belleek. The project stalled in 1794, when funds ran out. The Directors General of Inland Navigation asked Evans to prepare an estimate of the costs to finish the work in 1801, but no action was taken. By 1814, the Directors General were faced with problems of unemployment in the area, and a canal from Lough Neagh to Lough Erne
3807-648: The first summit level canal to use pound locks in Europe was the Briare Canal connecting the Loire and Seine (1642), followed by the more ambitious Canal du Midi (1683) connecting the Atlantic to the Mediterranean. This included a staircase of 8 locks at Béziers , a 157 metres (515 ft) tunnel, and three major aqueducts. Canal building progressed steadily in Germany in the 17th and 18th centuries with three great rivers,
3888-456: The freedom to make deliveries well away from rail lined road beds or ditches in the dirt which could not operate in the winter. The longest extant canal today, the Grand Canal in northern China, still remains in heavy use, especially the portion south of the Yellow River . It stretches from Beijing to Hangzhou at 1,794 kilometres (1,115 miles). Canals are built in one of three ways, or
3969-676: The higher waters of the Charles River and the mouth of the Neponset River and the sea. It was constructed in 1639 to provide water power for mills. In Russia, the Volga–Baltic Waterway , a nationwide canal system connecting the Baltic Sea and Caspian Sea via the Neva and Volga rivers, was opened in 1718. Exchequer Bill Loan Commission The Exchequer Bill Loan Commission of
4050-503: The level before Monaghan is reached and there is a flight of seven shortly after the town. The border with County Armagh in Northern Ireland crosses the canal below them. There are two isolated locks near Middletown , and the a level section before the canal reaches a gorge to the west of Benburb . Fitting the canal through here presented a lot of problems for the builders, as another six locks were required in awkward terrain. There
4131-535: The load were carried by a barge on a waterway, then up to 30 tons could be drawn by the same horse. — technology historian Ronald W. Clark referring to transport realities before the industrial revolution and the Canal age . Hohokam was a society in the North American Southwest in what is now part of Arizona , United States, and Sonora , Mexico. Their irrigation systems supported the largest population in
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#17328485649424212-465: The loan could not be agreed, and three further acts of Parliament, the Ulster Canal Act 1828 ( 9 Geo. 4 . c. xcvi), the Ulster Canal Act 1829 ( 10 Geo. 4 . c. cix), and the Ulster Canal Act 1831 ( 1 & 2 Will. 4 . c. lvi), were obtained before a loan of £120,000 was agreed. Problems were then experienced with the contractors, Henry, Mullins and MacMahon from Dublin, who were awarded
4293-437: The local economy; however, the report concluded that unless the reasons that caused it to be an abject failure in the first place were addressed, there seemed little point in restoring the canal. In 2004 Waterways Ireland announced that a reopened canal would bring enormous benefits to the areas it passed through, because it would reconnect with the already restored Shannon–Erne Waterway (opened 23 May 1994). Rather than being
4374-472: The longest canal in the world today and the oldest extant one. It is 1,794 kilometres (1,115 mi) long and was built to carry the Emperor Yang Guang between Zhuodu ( Beijing ) and Yuhang ( Hangzhou ). The project began in 605 and was completed in 609, although much of the work combined older canals, the oldest section of the canal existing since at least 486 BC. Even in its narrowest urban sections it
4455-523: The longest one of that period being the Hong Gou (Canal of the Wild Geese), which according to the ancient historian Sima Qian connected the old states of Song, Zhang, Chen, Cai, Cao, and Wei. The Caoyun System of canals was essential for imperial taxation, which was largely assessed in kind and involved enormous shipments of rice and other grains. By far the longest canal was the Grand Canal of China , still
4536-408: The newly established Republic of Ireland was refused. In the 1940s Monaghan County Council was granted a judgment mortgage on the canal in lieu of unpaid rates. The Lagan Navigation Company offered to give the canal to the council in lieu of monies owed, but the council declined, having been advised that the upkeep of bridges etc. would be beyond their ability to finance. The Lagan Navigation Company
4617-506: The numbers that once fueled and enabled economic growth, indeed were practically a prerequisite to further urbanization and industrialization. For the movement of bulk raw materials such as coal and ores are difficult and marginally affordable without water transport. Such raw materials fueled the industrial developments and new metallurgy resulting of the spiral of increasing mechanization during 17th–20th century, leading to new research disciplines, new industries and economies of scale, raising
4698-509: The only significant carrying operation on the waterway. The Ulster Railway reached Monaghan in 1858, and three years later the canal was in a ruinous state. Sir John Macneill , the Irish railway engineer, suggested that the best use of it was to drain the water and let cows graze on it. In an attempt to recoup their losses, the government took control of it again in 1865, closed it, and spent £22,000 over eight years on repairs. Their main priority
4779-582: The pre-railroad days of the industrial revolution, water transport was the gold standard of fast transportation. The first artificial canal in Western Europe was the Fossa Carolina built at the end of the 8th century under personal supervision of Charlemagne . In Britain, the Glastonbury Canal is believed to be the first post-Roman canal and was built in the middle of the 10th century to link
4860-523: The proposed restoration were available in both Northern Ireland and the Republic. Despite a few objections, Minister Heather Humphreys announced in February 2015 that the Irish government had given its approval to Waterways Ireland for the restoration of the canal between Castle Saunderson and Erne basin . The funding would come from Waterways Ireland. On 24 April 2015 the project was formally launched, when
4941-810: The provision of a sustainable water supply. The main project is expected to be completed in mid-2023, with some of the amenities taking a little longer. Phase 3 of the project, which will increase the length of restored canal to 13.5 kilometres (8.4 mi), will link the first two phases together, and involves several crossings of the border. 54°08′N 7°22′W / 54.133°N 7.367°W / 54.133; -7.367 Canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation ) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi ). They carry free, calm surface flow under atmospheric pressure , and can be thought of as artificial rivers . In most cases,
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#17328485649425022-446: The route. A public meeting was held at Monaghan in February 1817, and despite strong local support, including an offer to provide two-thirds of the cost by a group of landowners and businessmen, the Directors General did not take any action, and the project remained an idea. The proprietors who had taken over the Lagan Canal in 1810 saw the link as a way to increase traffic on their own canal, and public support for it grew steadily, until
5103-402: The secretary of the Lagan Navigation Company, set up a new carrying company using smaller boats. There was a vague promise of government aid for any company interested in taking it over. A series of negotiations then took place, but the government failed on three occasions to pass a bill to authorise the sellout to the Lagan Canal. They eventually suggested that the Lagan Canal should try to obtain
5184-467: The south-east of County Fermanagh , to Charlemont in the north-west of County Armagh , where it joins the River Blackwater . There were two locks close to the Finn River, two beyond Clones , and three near Smithborough , where the summit was reached. The summit pound was less than 6 miles (10 km) long, and was fed from Quig Lough reservoir, just to the north of the end of the summit. Two locks drop
5265-480: The standard of living for any industrialized society. Most ship canals today primarily service bulk cargo and large ship transportation industries, whereas the once critical smaller inland waterways conceived and engineered as boat and barge canals have largely been supplanted and filled in, abandoned and left to deteriorate, or kept in service and staffed by state employees, where dams and locks are maintained for flood control or pleasure boating. Their replacement
5346-399: The valley of the River Dee . Another option for dealing with hills is to tunnel through them. An example of this approach is the Harecastle Tunnel on the Trent and Mersey Canal . Tunnels are only practical for smaller canals. Some canals attempted to keep changes in level down to a minimum. These canals known as contour canals would take longer, winding routes, along which the land was
5427-420: The width of the locks before he died, or whether the decision was made by Telford, but they were built 12 feet (3.7 m) wide, preventing through traffic except in specially built boats. William Cubitt succeeded Telford after he died in 1834. The canal was eventually finished in 1841. From the summit pound , nineteen locks descended to Lough Neagh, and in the other direction, seven descended to Lough Erne. Water
5508-414: The work was ongoing. The new bridge and its associated channel were expected to be completed by April 2018. The first phase of the Ulster Canal restoration was nearing completion in September 2019. With phase 1 completed and open to the public, funding for phase 2 of the project was announced. The Taoiseach's Shared Island fund promised €6 million in December 2020, and a further €5.57 million was provided by
5589-466: Was also expensive, as men expect compensation in the form of wages, room and board. This was because long-haul roads were unpaved, more often than not too narrow for carts, much less wagons, and in poor condition, wending their way through forests, marshy or muddy quagmires as often as unimproved but dry footing. In that era, as today, greater cargoes, especially bulk goods and raw materials , could be transported by ship far more economically than by land; in
5670-462: Was an ill-considered venture, with the locks built narrower than the other Irish waterways, preventing through trade, and an inadequate water supply. It was an abject failure commercially, and contributed to the collapse of the Lagan Navigation Company, who took it over from the government but were then refused permission to abandon it when they could not afford the maintenance costs. It finally closed in 1931. Waterways Ireland started work on rebuilding
5751-458: Was an option in some cases, sometimes supplemented by other methods to deal with seasonal variations in flow. Where such sources were unavailable, reservoirs – either separate from the canal or built into its course – and back pumping were used to provide the required water. In other cases, water pumped from mines was used to feed the canal. In certain cases, extensive "feeder canals" were built to bring water from sources located far from
5832-494: Was built, to increase the size of boats that can pass through it. Dredging of a section of the Finn River was expected to take place in Autumn 2015, but this was delayed, with "contractual issues" being cited as the cause. Waterways Ireland's budget for 2016 included €2.7 million earmarked for the Ulster Canal project. There were further delays caused by poor ground conditions, flooding, and the need to maintain access for residents while
5913-440: Was carried out in 1998 (and revised in 2000). The report found that there were no insurmountable engineering problems to such a plan but issues such as lock capacity/size and the adequacy of the water supply would need to be addressed. All historic locks would need to be significantly widened to at least 5 metres (16 ft) to accommodate modern waterway craft. A restored canal would create significant long-term financial benefits to
5994-638: Was dissolved under the Inland Navigation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954 (c. 1 (N.I.)). This left the stretch through Monaghan as 'ownerless goods' ( bona vacantia ) and as such fell to the Minister for Finance. Ownership in the Republic passed back to the Office of Public Works under the State Property Act 1954. In the early 1970s, Monaghan County Council, Monaghan Urban District Council and Clones Urban District Council each acquired some sections of
6075-479: Was estimated to cost £160,050, as a new survey had produced a plan which only needed eighteen locks. The company then applied to the borrow £100,000 from the Exchequer Bill Loan Commission , a body created under the Public Works Loans Act 1817 ( 57 Geo. 3 . c. 34). The engineer Thomas Telford was sent to Ireland to inspect the plans and estimates, which he duly approved, but the interest rates on
6156-463: Was gradual, beginning first in the United States in the mid-1850s where canal shipping was first augmented by, then began being replaced by using much faster , less geographically constrained & limited, and generally cheaper to maintain railways . By the early 1880s, canals which had little ability to economically compete with rail transport, were off the map. In the next couple of decades, coal
6237-424: Was increasingly diminished as the heating fuel of choice by oil, and growth of coal shipments leveled off. Later, after World War I when motor-trucks came into their own, the last small U.S. barge canals saw a steady decline in cargo ton-miles alongside many railways, the flexibility and steep slope climbing capability of lorries taking over cargo hauling increasingly as road networks were improved, and which also had
6318-426: Was once used to describe linear features seen on the surface of Mars , Martian canals , an optical illusion. A navigation is a series of channels that run roughly parallel to the valley and stream bed of an unimproved river. A navigation always shares the drainage basin of the river. A vessel uses the calm parts of the river itself as well as improvements, traversing the same changes in height. A true canal
6399-422: Was seen as a way to provide jobs for the local population. John Killaly was commissioned to survey the route of such a link, and produced his report in February 1815. His estimate of £233,000 would provide a canal which ascended through six locks from Wattlebridge to a summit near Monaghan and then descended through another sixteen to reach Lough Neagh. It would be 35.5 miles (57.1 km) long, and would include
6480-461: Was supplied by Quig Lough reservoir, a lake near Monaghan which had been enlarged. The final lock at Wattlebridge was only 11.7 feet (3.6 m) wide, making it the narrowest in Ireland. The project had cost over £230,000. The canal failed to generate significant trade, as the water supply was inadequate, and goods had to be transhipped at either end into narrower boats. In addition, there was no link to
6561-477: Was to secure an adequate water supply, but when the canal reopened in 1873, this proved not to have been achieved. Maintenance costs far exceeded revenue, and what little traffic there was, was confined to the Lough Erne end of the canal, as the summit was mostly unnavigable, and there was only sufficient water during eight months of every year. However, there was a slight improvement in traffic in 1880, when W. R. Rea,
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