Heritage Bill and Canals Act 2018
The details of the updated bye-laws are documented as the Heritage Act 2018 – Canal Bye-Laws 2018
Background
Today, many people view the canals in Kildare and elsewhere as a valuable part of our towns and countryside. They treasure them for their industrial heritage; they value the work and ingenuity that went into creating them by our ancestors, appreciate their urban and rural tranquillity and enjoy the recreational and tourism opportunities they offer.
Boaters also appreciate them for the opportunities it gives them to stay a while and become part of one of the many communities along the way, during a festival or boat rally or for just a couple of days, exploring an area and what it has to offer to the visitor.
As members of the IWAI, we have spent many years promoting the waterways of Kildare and the other counties along the banks of the Grand and Royal Canals and the Barrow Navigation. We have joined up with many local organisations in the promotion of their towns and amenities. We have welcomed Kildare Failte’s plan to promote the waterways over the coming years.
The Green and Silver initiative introduced by Dublin IWAI has resulted in many boats doing the ‘New Triangle’. This route might take you from the Shannon via the Royal Canal to Dublin, crossing the Liffey into Grand Canal Docks and then from there to Shannon Harbour, turning north on the Shannon and past Athlone back to the western end of the Royal Canal. It has been a great success and has introduced many boaters from the Shannon and elsewhere to places they have not visited before. People from the villages and towns have welcomed this new influx and many have been looking forward to having even more visitors in years to come.
The links below document the campaign, led by the Canal Action Group (CAG).
Heritage Act 2018 (Canal Bye-Laws 2018)
Heritage Bill – Canal Bye-Laws Nov 2016
Canal Action Group – campaign stages
Hire boat at Landenstown on Grand Canal