Archive for Royal Canal

National Famine Way

Posted in Biographical, History, Maynooth with tags , , , , , on August 9, 2025 by telescoper

Yesterday evening on my way out for a meal I got talking to a couple of people who asked for directions. It turned out that they were on the National Famine Way which, to my shame, I hadn’t heard about. When I got home I looked up the website and decided to put it on my list of things to do. The question is whether I can fit it in before term starts near the end of September…

In a time filled with tales of hunger and hearbreak, the National Famine Way commemorates just one example of the cruelty inflicted on Ireland’s poor. No fewer than 1490 starving tenants of the Mahon estate at Strokestown were evicted from their homes then marched along the Royal Canal to Dublin, escorted by the Bailiff responsible for the evictions. At Dublin they travelled by steamer to Liverpool and then crossed the Atlantic on an assortment of coffin ships bound for Canada, about a third of them dying on the way. This was called “assisted emigration”.

The sorrowful journey of the emigrants is marked by 32 pairs of bronze sculptures of children’s shoes on the National Famine Way walking trail.  There is a pair at Maynooth harbour, though I’ve never noticed it.

The 165km historical trail from Roscommon to Dublin weaves mostly along the Royal Canal , which passes through Maynooth. The trail starts in Strokestown Park at the National Famine Museum and ends at the Famine statues in Dublin Docklands, close to EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum, Dublin. On foot it’s a relatively gentle but long six days of walking, which will give me a chance to exercise my old knees as well as staying overnight few places along the way giving me the opportunity to see a bit more of Ireland. Being alongside the Royal Canal it’s very flat so, although it’s a reasonable distance each day, it shouldn’t be too strenuous.

Maynooth is the last stop before Dublin, actually, so I’ll be able to stay at home for the night before doing the final stage of 27km. I was a bit worried about getting to the start, in deepest Roscommon, but there is a bus from Maynooth that goes direct to Strokestown where the jouney starts. There are recommendations of places to eat and places to stay on the way so it should be fairly relaxed. At any rate it will certainly be more comfortable than the journey of the poor souls that made the same trip in 1847, at the height of the Great Famine.

P.S. Come to think of it, I might just do the 27km from Maynooth to Dublin one day just to check out if my knees can take it.

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Swans Again

Posted in Maynooth with tags , , , on October 30, 2024 by telescoper

Some time ago, back in July, I posted about the sad demise of one of the beautiful swans that had been nesting at the canal harbour in Maynooth. I used to walk along the towpath to work sometimes, but currently there is work being done to renovate the canal bank so I have got out of the habit of walking along there. A couple of days ago, however, a colleague sent me a photograph which reminded me to post an update:

Picture credit: Joost Slingerland

You will see that there are two swans once again. In fact there are three, as I shall explain.

First, contrary to what I said in my previous post, it was the male swan (cob) that died of an infection. The female swan (pen) was also very ill, and was taken aware to be nursed back to health by the team at Kildare Wildlife Rescue hence her temporary disappearance. She recovered, and was returned to the canal. However, a new pair of young swans – shown in the picture – moved in on the little island where the previous pair used to nest and drove off older pen. I’m told there wasn’t exactly a peaceful handover; it was more of a forcible eviction. The new swans will no doubt nest on the island, and perhaps raise cygnets next year, while the older one is usually to be found further along the canal, near the Mullen Bridge, apparently healthy but on her own.

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Swan Back

Posted in Biographical, Maynooth with tags , , on August 2, 2024 by telescoper

As we enter a Bank Holiday long weekend here in Maynooth I thought I’d pass on a bit of news and a clarification about the swan(s). Some time ago I described the sad events that led to the death of one of the pair of swans that had nested on the Royal Canal for many years, along with all their cygnets. In that post I explained that one of the swans had died and the other had been taken away by the  Kildare Wildlife Rescue (KWR) team. All I know is that both seemed to have been suffering from some sort of be “infection” which may or may not be the same thing that cause of death as the cygnets.

At the time I had been told that it was the female swan (the pen) that had died and the male that had been taken away to be treated. It turns out that this was the wrong way round: it was the male swan that had died and the female (the cob) that had been removed by Kildare Wildlife Rescue.

The good news, however, is that she has recovered and has now been returned to the Canal:

Picture Credit: Caroline Connolly of Kildare Wildlife Rescue

Of course she’s on her own now, having lost her partner and all her cygnets. I don’t know if she’ll find another and start breeding again. I do hope so. A lone juvenile male has been spotted on the canal recently. Might they get together?

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A Lamentation of Swans

Posted in Maynooth with tags , , , , , , , , on July 18, 2024 by telescoper
The Harbour Swans and their Island, pictured last April
Swans with cygnets, last May

I was looking forward to making acquaintance with the beautiful swans of Maynooth when my sabbatical is over, but I’ve heard that recent tragic events mean that won’t be happening. The title of this post is not a reference to the collective noun for swans, but literally a lamentation.

A pair of swans had been nesting for several years on the little island in the harbour of the Royal Canal at Maynooth for several years- since before I arrived here. Every spring they have raised a batch of cygnets and these have grown up each summer and departed for a new life elsewhere. I’ve always enjoyed watching the little ones grow and learn how to find food under the very watchful eye of their parents. I had no reason to think things would be any different this year. I was wrong.

The first calamity to occur, earlier this year, was that the island flooded destroying this year’s batch of eggs. The swans tried again, and managed two more cygnets, but neither survived. I’m not sure exactly what happened but it seems, various locks were opened to allow water into the section of the canal England has a much more extensive system of waterways than Ireland and when rivers are close to flooding, water is often diverted into canals to stop them breaking their banks. I guess this is what happened earlier, but I don’t know.

It was bad enough that there are no cygnets this year, but worse was to come. Recently the female swan (pen) was found to be very ill. She was taken away by Kildare Wildlife Rescue (KWR) team and cared for but sadly passed away. All I know is that it seemed to be “an infection” which may or may not be the same cause of death as the cygnets. Avian flu is a possibility, so is some form of poisoning such as botulism. Sadly, people do feed the birds in the harbour with inappropriate things so this might also be a contributing factor.

What about the male swan (cob)? Well, he has gone. I don’t know whether he died too or whether he just left. Swans mate for life and I’ve heard of cases when one of a pair has simply pined away when the other has died.

So there are no swans nesting in Maynooth anymore. It’s really very sad. Swans are beautiful creatures and the pair on the canal was really well known to the community. I hope that another pair will nest on the island before too long. It may even be that a pair of rescue birds will be rehomed there by KWR. Before that happens though, I hope they find out why exactly caused the swans to die. We don’t want more deaths

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Swan Update

Posted in Maynooth with tags , , on May 4, 2023 by telescoper

Not long ago I posted an item about the swans of Maynooth, expressing anticipation of the forthcoming cygnets. Well, they have arrived at last; seven in total. Here’s a picture I took this morning near the harbour and one a couple of days ago further along the Royal Canal.

near the harbour
in midstream

The family probably won’t go far from their nest while the cygnets are very small, and the adults will stay very close to their little ones for quite a while, but soon they’ll be taking longer journeys and the youngsters will roam a little on their own. I spoke to two guys who work by the canal who have a little shed next to the harbour on the Royal Canal. They told me that when they’ve grown up a bit the cygnets regularly knock on the door of the shed to ask for food. They also warned me not to make any sudden movements near the Swan family, as Mr Swan can be very aggressive. All of them were very relaxed when I saw them, however.

P.S. It is interesting that the word “swan” is Germanic (cf. Schwann) while the word “cygnet” is via French cygne (cf. Latin cygnus, Greek κύκνος); the Irish word for “swan” is “eala”.

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