Page published 8 September 2002 

The Inland Waterways of Ireland

Author:	Jane Cumberlidge
Publisher:	Imray Laurie Norie and Wilson
Available by Post from:	Imray Laurie Norie and Wilson Ltd Wych House St Ives HUNTINGDON Cambs PE27 5BT
Format:	An A4 sized book with colour cover, some 90 photographs, almost half in colour, and about 30 two-colour maps.

General Comments:

P J G Ransom's Holiday Cruising in Ireland (David & Charles, 1971) provides guidance for navigating the Corrib and Lough Neagh, but it's the only book I have that does so. Jane Cumberlidge, however, covers them, and the Slaney, the Nore and the Suir, and all the more familiar waterways in this new and very welcome book.

It is remarkable for its breadth rather than its depth: it won't replace the navigation guides that most of us carry on our boats, but as a single-volume guide to the current status of the waterways it complements them very well indeed. It will also be extremely useful for the overseas reader looking for an introduction to Irish waterways and it contains a useful list of hire companies on both canals and rivers. It even covers the IWAI, the RCAG, the Ulster Waterways Group and the Heritage Boat Association, and provides contact information for the navigation authorities.

The book includes the main sea-loughs of Northern Ireland: Belfast, Carlingford, Foyle, Swilly and Strangford. I'm not quite sure why, unless it's to appeal to Scottish sailors. Then there are chapters on waterways both open and closed (eg Newry, Ulster). I asked a number of Learned Readers to check those chapters, only to find that Jane Cumberlidge had consulted some of them during her research: they were happy with the results. Others said that it was clear that local experts had been called upon, as the coverage of even minor waterways was impressive, while the historical material testified that the books listed in the bibliography had been studied.

We were reading an uncorrected proof copy, so we found a few minor errors, but nothing serious. Some of them simply reflect changes since the book was researched: that's the drawback of including details on pubs and restaurants! The layout and design are attractive and the writing is easy to read.

My favourite section came at the end of the book, where there is a brief account of abandoned waterways and a listing of "Waterways that were proposed but either never built or not completed." I particularly liked the proposed canals from Ballycommon to Tipperary and from Dublin to Dun Laoghaire, the latter a victim of the coming of the railways.

I suspect that the book is written mainly for the overseas reader, for whom it is a good investment, but it will also find a place on many an Irish bookshelf, including mine.

Reviewed by Brian J Goggin (First appeared in Irish journal, Inland Waterway News)