Work on new pontoon at Doorly Park is underway
FOR almost 100 years, from 1840 until it fell into disrepair, a landing stage on the Garavogue River adjacent to the entrance of what is now Doorly Park, allowed large vessels to ply their trade on Lough Gill.
Now preparatory work has begun in addition to construction work off-site on a new pontoon jetty which is to be located adjacent to the Gate Lodge at Doorly Park. Grant aid of €200,000 from Failte Ireland to the Sligo Tourist Development Association will fund the new 27 metre floating pontoon in addition to redevelopment works at the Gate Lodge at Doorly Park.
“Work has started off-site on the pontoon jetty and I would expect that the refurbishment work on the Gate Lodge will be going to tender shortly”, Cllr Declan Bree, a strong supporter of the project, told the ‘ The Sligo Champion.’
“The work on the Gate Lodge, which is a protected structure, will include significant conservation work and the provision of a ticket office and waiting room so as to allow the building to be used for tourism related activities to facilitate the pontoon pier in addition to community activities.
“Other works will include the refurbishment of the historic riverside quay wall, landscaping and the provision of signage and a seating area.
“The development of the new jetty will support access to Lough Gill for sport, recreation and tourism purposes and will assist significantly in opening up the river and lake for locals and visitors. It will allow tour boat operators to safely dock and take on passengers at Doorly Park rather than visitors having to travel miles to have access to a tour boat.” he said.
“The project has been supported by the Tourist Development Association, Sligo Tidy Towns, the County Council and the local community and should be fully operational in the new year,” said Councillor Bree.
*The original landing stage on the river facilitated the first commercial sailing on Lough Gill which was introduced in 1840 with the “Maid of the Mill” carrying goods and passengers to and from Dromahair. In 1843 she was replaced by a paddle steamer- the “Lady of the Lake”. It was reported that in the six months ending October 1844, the “Lady of the Lake” had carried a total of 16,172 passengers.
In 1852 a screw steamer “Janet” was launched on the lake providing competition with the “Lady of the Lake”. Interestingly, in 1863 complaints were made to the Grand July (predecessor of the County Council) in respect of the poor condition of the landing stage on the Garavogue.
In 1873 the “Lady of the Lake” was replaced by “The Maid of Breffni”, which was licensed to carry goods and 300 passengers. Tragedy struck “The Maid of Breffni” on the 21st of March 1885 when it sunk at the mouth of the Bonet river. It never sailed again, probably due the competition from the newly opened Sligo to Enniskillen railway.