Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
LAST UPDATE | 19 Jun 2024
TAOISEACH SIMON HARRIS has hailed the completion of the second phase of a project to restore the Ulster Canal as a symbol of “peace and reconciliation on our island”.
The landmark €20 million project sees the canal now restored between Clonfad and Clones and open for navigation, along with an accompanying major canal basin marina and amenity area in Clones.
Harris was in Clones this afternoon to mark the completion of the second phase of the landmark cross-border restoration project in Clones, alongside Tánaiste Micheál Martin and Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle O’Neill.
Ministers Darragh O’Brien and Heather Humphreys, Minister of State Malcolm Noonan and Northern Ireland Minister for Infrastructure John O’Dowd were also in attendance.
The Ulster Canal, which runs through counties Armagh, Fermanagh, Tyrone, Cavan and Monaghan, was built in the 19th century but was abandoned in the early 1930s.
Phase one of the restoration involved the restoration of a 2.5 km stretch of the canal from Upper Lough Erne in Co Fermanagh to the International Scout Centre at Castle Saunderson near Belturbet in Co Cavan. This was completed in 2020.
The work on phase two of the restoration, which began in 2022, included securing a sustainable water source, a new slipway and marina infrastructure facilitating access to the canal for small craft and two new access bridges.
Repairs to an existing masonry arch bridge were also made, along with the delivery of flood relief culverts and the provision of a new service block facility.
A 1km Greenway was also delivered for use by pedestrian and cyclists. This runs alongside the canal and forms parts of the proposed Ulster Canal Greenway.
A Visitor Experience Plan to animate and activate phase two is being developed with the aim of delivering a marina that is a unique place to engage with the water and the local heritage.
The €20 million project was funded by the Government, with support drawn from the Shared Island Fund, the Rural Regeneration Development Fund and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.
The Government has said the restoration of the canal will provide communities across the rural border region with a new amenity to enjoy, as well as an important new tourism destination with opportunities for new businesses to open and existing businesses to expand.
Marking the project’s completion, the Taoiseach said it clearly embodies “the benefits of North South cooperation and investment for County Monaghan, and across the entire border region”.
He added that the “restoration of the Ulster Canal demonstrates the huge focus that the Irish Government places on investing in large-scale, cross-border projects”.
Tánaiste Micheál Martin also welcomed the project, saying the restoration of the Ulster Canal “reconnects the region with its rich heritage” and will “greatly enhance the lives of communities and the economy along the border”.
Minister Humphreys, who is from Monaghan, said the restoration marks “a historical day for the people of Clones and indeed the wider border region”.
“The Ulster Canal has been talked about for 30 years and indeed many people never thought today would come,” she will say, adding that the project will “breathe new life back into the area” by stimulating economic activity and opening up new tourism opportunities.
Phase three of the restoration, when complete, will link phases one and two, and fully reopen the waterway from Clones to Lough Erne.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Good on him
Seems cheap for a billboard. Good on him.
He should apply to Tv3. “I take other peoples original ideas and make a low budget version of it and claim it as my own!”
Fantastic!
Yeah I could really do with a job
haha Pause his video at 12 seconds in… ” Davina McCall : Please Stop Emailing ” … Persistent Lad!
Enterprising. He stands out from the crowd and he is using the medium that he wants to work in to best effect. PLease God he’ll have plenty of offers.
Fintan, if he gets a job then will that be because of his initiative or god?
Haha!! Why do people mention god!!!
Good idea but “im desperate for a job” ” i only want to work in media” is endemic of the problem we seem to have with people getting jobs, people only want to work in certain, usually fashionable industries.
I have no idea why you’re getting so many red thumbs. I love this misguided idea that you’re entitled to your dream job in your locality/country.
I study media because I want to direct and produce documentaries about issues of concern. The Irish Abortion debate, how the government retains power through political apathy and the manufacture of consent, feminism in the 21st century. I want to give a voice to the voiceless. I’ve already directed a documentary about cystic fibrosis. I have always been interested in documentary production. I’m not studying media because its ‘fashionable’. I couldn’t give a shit about fame or presenting. It’s hard to get into and competitive as hell but if I don’t go for it I definitely won’t make it. Some people have something called passion. If we were all employed in jobs we hated, then we wouldn’t really be living would we?! We’d just be slaves to the wage in jobs we hate.
Lisa I accept that, but this man is so desperate to get a job he spent his last 500 on a billboard , hes not one to be picking and choosing , looking for jobs in the media is just fine but considering the “recession” this man doesnt seem as desperate considering he started his ad with “if you work in keep watching”
Hey Lisa,
Best of luck with your career. At the same time I’m sure you accept the fact that the odds are very heavily stacked against people making a career in media in Ireland these days. If none are forthcoming when you graduate then you will probably have to settle for something else to tide you over. This is the reality of life….very few people end up doing what their dream job was as a teenager.
I have quite a few friends who tried to make careers for themselves in music and sport and it didn’t work out for them. In the end they settled for what they could get. I’m afraid that’s life in the middle of recession Ireland. You and your peers are going to have to accept that.
Degree in media studies….
I dated this lad. Mort
Cassie. I heard his next campaign is to billboard pictures of his exes.
Now that shows initiative! Good on him.
Pause the video at 12 seconds , he applied to babestation to be an on screen model???
Planted for viral hope I think
Guy in my work stood outside the Bank of England at lunchtime with sandwich boards handing out flyers that were kind of like a condensed version of his CV. He’s a smart guy anyway but managed to get a job on a graduate scheme for a large UK bank.
Check your header, is his name Alan or Adam… Obviously the billboard had an impact on you!
Well done, the error was corrected. I love the Orwellian way in which the journal corrects historically, with no mention if the error, Winston Smith would be proud! ;)
Original, informative & funny…
I would suspect that he’s already reemployed.
Brilliant
How is it original? And Irish guy did the exact same thing last year.
Fantastic . Fair play to him.
he is a total nerd. and probably unemployable.
Fair play to him, genuinely looking for work unlike some other sad sacks.
Brilliant idea…perfect for getting a job in media but I would wonder how effective it would be if a nurse or primary teacher took a billboard? Wonder how the HSE or Department of Education would react??!!;)
Waster,500 quid down the gary glitter,imagine him looking after your budget
Maybe he could take a sweeping brush with him to the site tomorrow and show how good he is with it. The place is nearly as dirty as Dublin.
His last 500 on the billboard? So the website hosting, design and domain name registration career first…..
Peep show: http://youtu.be/RMzJ9nXSR50
As a media student I fear a similar faith…. My dreams of documentary production are slowly being replaced by a fear that I’ll end up as the runner on some shitty talk show, making coffees and shouting “quiet on set”. Ugh.
have your say