Royal Canal
The construction of the Royal Canal was begun in 1789 by the Royal Canal Company and it was completed 1817.
Royal Canal. Image courtesy of www.longford.ie
Image courtesy of www.longford.ie
Image courtesy of www.longford.ie
The canal has forty-six locks and travels through the counties of Longford, Westmeath, Meath, Kildare and Dublin, in its journey from the Shannon to Dublin.
The development of the Royal Canal opened up the area to the transportation of goods both inwards and outwards of Abbeyshrule.
The canal cost the Royal Canal Company £15,000 per mile to build. In 1813, the company was dissolved, withouth having completed the canal. The Government had to fund the rest of the project, so that the canal would reach the Shannon. In 1845, the canal was sold to the Midland and Great Western Railway Company which used the land along the canal banks for their railway from Dublin to the West of Ireland. Ownership then passed to C.I.E. (now Iarnród Éireann) in 1944.
Lock Gates on the Royal Canal. Image courtesy of Abbeyshrule.com
Image courtesy of Abbeyshrule.com
Image courtesy of Abbeyshrule.com
Between the years 1961 and 1974, the canal closed for traffic. In 1974 the Royal Canal Amenity Group was set up to protect and if possible, develop the canal. In 1986, the canals were transferred from C.I.E. to the Office of Public Works to be developed as public resources and public funding was made available.
Whitworth Aqueduct & River Inny
River Inny in Spring 2006
The River Inny is situated approximately two miles southeast of Abbeyshrule and borders County Westmeath. This photograph is on the Lough Ree side of Ballymahon Town below the Red Bridge.
Image courtesy of Bernie Murphy.River Inny in Spring 2006
Image courtesy of Bernie Murphy.
Image courtesy of Bernie Murphy.
River Inny in Spring 2006
The River Inny is situated approximately two miles southeast of Abbeyshrule and borders County Westmeath. This photograph is on the Lough Ree side of Ballymahon Town below the Red Bridge.
Image courtesy of Bernie Murphy.The River Inny
is situated approximately two miles south-east of Abbeyshrule and borders County Westmeath. One kilometre to the north is the Whitworth Aqueduct, which carries the Royal Canal over the River Inny. The River Inny's name is derived from a story about the mythical Princess Eithne who is reputed to have drowned in the river.
River Inny with views of Abbeyshrule
This is an image of the River Inny dated back to 1891. It shows the ruins of Abbeyshrule Monastery in the distance.
Image from the History of Longford 1891.
Whitworth Aqueduct
The aqueduct was underpinned several years ago when the river drainage scheme was carried out.
Image courtesy of Abbeyshrule.comWhitworth Aqueduct
Image courtesy of Abbeyshrule.com
Image courtesy of Abbeyshrule.com
Whitworth Aqueduct
The aqueduct was underpinned several years ago when the river drainage scheme was carried out.
Image courtesy of Abbeyshrule.comThe river has provided lots of renewable energy in the last century for this village, as a thriving water-milling industry existed there up until the 1960s. The aqueduct was underpinned several years ago when the river drainage scheme was carried out.