Local History with Monica McGill: The Grand Canal

THE 9th lock on the Grand Canal is on Clondalkin’s 9th Lock Road – well worth a visit. Saunter alongside the Canal bank, observe your surroundings and the lock itself, writes Monica McGill.

The 9th Lock is one of many.

They are hand-turned mechanisms letting water into or out of their chambers.

The water raises or lowers vessels so they can continue their journeys.

Each lock had its own Lock-keeper, an occupation typically found in the same families, as in some CIE workers’ families later.

A huge variety of plants, wildflowers, harmless insects and other wildlife enrich the Canal’s quietude.

In seasonable weather, kingfishers, swallows and dragonflies zip through the sunshine sparkling on the water while fish make circles on its surface.

Many species of colourful and camouflaged butterflies abound.

Listen awhile to the song birds hiding in dense, green foliage.

Ireland’s prevailing airstream comes from the west, so breathe deeply the cleaner air the Grand Canal offers, leaving your cares behind with the traffic and bustle of daily life.

Concerned locals agree with the people in Co. Carlow who objected to changing waterway bridle-paths into Greenways.

They say leave the bridle-paths alone; that putting tarmacadam or concrete over soft, quiet, earthen pathways is detrimental to natural habitats and requires regular upkeep using noisy, intrusive machinery.

They say Greenways favour 2- wheeled transport (which use the present paths anyway) and will startle walkers by their faster approach, especially from the rere.

Many note the absurdity of calling such a development a “Greenway”.

Two Canals once linked the Liffey with the Shannon without hindrance – the south-side’s Grand and the northside’s Royal.

The Grand’s 144kms length was nearly as busy as any Irish roadway now.

Dublin City’s Basin Street was one terminus and Shannon Harbour the other, reached in 1804.

Barges brought passengers and goods cargos into and out of the heart of our country at a time of great economic hardship.

In 1779, the Canal route between Dublin and Sallins (15th Lock) was completed, including the 9th Lock.

Standing there then, you might have witnessed the first commercial barge on this stretch.

These barges carried turf, corn, flour and other commodities eastwards to Dublin.

They brought Guinness’s stout, whiskey, salt, coal and other goods westwards for customers there.

The last commercial barge ceased in 1959/1960 in preference for road and rail transport.

Happily, there are still some barges on the Canal, used for leisure pursuits.

Some may be homes.

The Grand’s passenger barges started in 1780, ending in 1852.

Of various sizes, they had a maximum of 45 first-class and 35 second-class accommodation.

Passenger numbers increased to an amazing 111,225 in 1845, two years before the Great Famine.

The military hired barges to ferry soldiers and equipment especially during the 1798 Rebellion.

The crew comprised the Master (the vessel’s Captain), the Helmsman, Stopman, and Boy.

The Master’s wife was usually the on-board cook; there was a barmaid and waitresses.

Initially, horses led by hose-handlers walked on canal-side bridle paths, pulling the barges along at 4 miles an hour.

As Canal revenue improved, the crew and horse-handlers received blue, red and gold livery.

Now, postillions (horsemen) rode the Canal’s horses, carrying pistols and blunderbusses.

Galloping at full tilt, they swivelled sideways in the saddle at the Canal’s low bridges.

Passengers on the barge roof had to lie flat on such occasions to avoid injury. Rules evolved with experience.

No passenger could intercept the helmsman’s view.

Passengers “in liquor” were not allowed, and “if there be any appearance of a riot on board” the Master had to remove the suspects.

Masters were forbidden to play card games with passengers after card-sharking incidents.

Only first-class diners were allowed wine – a pint per person – forbidden to children under five.

No “saucy girls” could be hired as crew.

Barge travel was expensive compared to workmen’s wages but passengers could enjoy sumptuous meals cooked on board, including joints of many types of meat and vegetables.

The Grand sliced through the countryside, overcoming variations in land-heights by installing locks.

It linked the many navigable and other rivers along its route and used them to increase the Canal’s water supply.

To reach the Shannon, the Grand had to cross the centre of Ireland.

There the Bog of Allen like a monster lay waiting.

A major problem, its more than 900 square kilometers of raised bogland, swelling or shrinking with the changing weather.

Only by engineering and construction expertise did the Grand cut through this unreliable substrate.

Many debates arose about the best route to choose.

The experienced canal-designer, Thomas Omer, Engineer to The Commissioners of Inland Navigation, was the first involved in the Grand’s design and undertaking.

Undeservedly, Thomas was castigated in anonymously-written pamphlets – that time’s social media.

Unfortunately, some building contractors working on the Grand were not as reliable as Omer.

At least one was shoddy and his men’s work collapsed when water filled the channel the contractor had declared “finished”.

The Canal cost thousands of pounds (Euro-millions today) and employed hundreds of manual labourers (called navvies, from the word “navigators”).

Together, the Canals were equivalent to our Luas and Dart services today, although the barges transported both passengers and cargo.

Land ownership along the route (especially near Dublin City) meant that the Grand was constructed in separate stretches, then joined together as the land in between the stretches became available.

The Dublin authorities saw the Grand’s potential as a reliable water supply for its burgeoning, richer suburbs.

The Canal company charged Dublin a fee – a revenue source to defray outgoings.

The reservoir for this water supply is redundant now, but remains near the Canal.

The Canal company initially competed for customers with Bianconi’s horse-powered coaches.

Later, co-operation between them meant that passengers could travel using both transports in the one journey.

Bianconi cars collected passengers from the Canal’s stopping places for onward journeys, benefitting all concerned.

Then Clondalkin and Ballyfermot.

Thomas Omer Way, a modern road connects Ronanstown and the Outer Ring Road (R136).

It crosses over the Grand and is rightfully named for the Chief Engineer who died (it’s thought) in 1770.

For years he worked hard for 16-18 hours daily, making the Grand Canal and other major projects here.

So, gazing at the Grand Canal and all its beauty, consider its workmanship and engineering, its possibilities for leisure pursuits.

Nowadays we favour “slow food” and “slow fashion”.

Any votes for “slow transport” on the Grand?