Inland Waterways of Ireland, transition from Commercial to Leisure use
#web site under construction#

IRISH WATERWAYS ARCHIVE aims to collect and preserve for future generations (and also for todays viewers) a snapshot of the people and places of inland waterways of Ireland as they rapidly changed from abandoned to restored, and from commercial use to leisure use. 
Ruth Heard and Brian Goggin researched and wrote inspiring histories of the Inland Waterways of Ireland, from their construction to the cessation of commercial traffic in the 1960s. That left the 1970s and 1980s and 1990s somewhat undocumented, at a time when there was in fact much activity on the waterways. Commercial operators, volunteer campaigners, boat hire and boat building enterprises all thrived in the period following waterways restoration works. This archive may shed light and fill in the gaps during that period. 
This archive can also contain images prior to the 1970s, but the aim is not to duplicate the work already done by existing publications. 
The Heritage Boat Association has already published histories of the working boats, and the aim is not to duplicate the HBA work already done. 
This is privately run project, and images on the web site will be viewed by everyone. The aim to show the condition of the inland waterways at a moment in time.