#irelandshistoricalspots #meelick #weir #walkway #martellotower #victorialock #waterways #waterwaysireland #galway #offaly #ireland #irishhistory
Mellick Weir walkway
The infrastructure, which is a part of the Hymany Way and the Beara-Breifne Way walking routes, connects the historical villages of Meelick in east Galway and Lusmagh in west Offaly.
The Shannon Navigation included the construction of the weir in the 1840s. It is more than 300 meters long, contains 12 sluice gates, and maintains and controls the waterway's navigation level between Athlone (Lough Ree) and Meelick (Lough Derg).
In 2009 and again in 2015-2016, when the boardwalk was also damaged and thus closed, the weir was damaged by violent storms.
The 300-meter walkway, new tilting weir gates, and other weir renovations were all part of the €3.2 million Waterways Ireland project that got underway in 2019.
Victoria Lock/Meelick Lock
Victoria Lock, also known as Meelick Lock, is the first lock on the River Shannon upstream of Lough Derg, it is situated between Meelick, County Galway and Clonahenoge, County Offaly where the Little Brosna River enters the Shannon. It is very near the tripoint where the provinces of Munster, Leinster and Connacht meet. The lock is of architectural and technical interest and is listed on the Nation Inventory of Architectural Heritage, the dimensions are 142 ft x 40 ft. Thomas Rhodes on the instructions of the Shannon Commissioners constructed the lock in the 1840s as part of a widescale upgrade of the Shannon Navigation. The lock is still in use today by pleasure craft, both private and fleets of rental cruisers who use the River Shannon and the connecting canals. A second lock, Hamilton Lock is also located nearby but is now disused. Protected StatusThe Record of Protected Structures lists both the lock and the lock keepers cottage as protected structures.The lock is listed by the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage as being of special interest in the architectural and technical interest categories in addition to being significant for its size. The Lock keepers house is similarly listed as being of special interest in the architectural and technical interest categories
Meelick Martello Tower
Martello Towers and other Napoleonic fortifications in Ireland were primarily found along the coast. Between Balbriggan and Bray, 28 towers were constructed as a line of defense for County Dublin's coastline. Great batteries were constructed throughout the Shannon Estuary, while others were built at Wexford, Cork Harbour, and Galway Bay. Why then were the only two inland Martello Towers in Ireland constructed in the country's center, one at Clonahenoge in Lusmagh, County Offaly, to protect the ford of Meelick and the other at Fanesker, County Galway, just west of Banagher Bridge?
Fear of a French invasion increased in Britain and Ireland around the end of the eighteenth century. A French expeditionary force with 14,000 soldiers reached Bantry Bay in 1796 thanks to Wolfe Tone's efforts, but they were foiled by a strong storm that prevented a landing and sank many ships. A far smaller invasion force arrived in Mayo two years later and made its way toward Dublin before being stopped at Ballinamuck in County Longford. The authorities were frightened by these narrow escapes, and they quickly constructed a network of defenses to protect the Irish shore. The majority of them were found in the east and south shores, notably close to Dublin. Yet because the west coast was so much more open, there were worries that a landing there could not be stopped. The Middle Shannon between Lough Ree and Lough Derg was then considered to be the landward fall-back line, and defenses were to be built at the major crossings. As a result, fortifications were built at Athlone, Shannonbridge, Banagher, Keelogue, and Meelick between 1803 and 1815.
Негізгі бет Meelick Weir walkway & Victoria Lock
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