Ice cold in Ulster
LOVE them or hate them, the cold days of winter bring their own special magic to the inland waterways.
During times of exceptionally low temperatures ice can form, making navigation virtually impossible. To keep canals open ice boats were employed to break up the frozen waters. Here local historian and IWAI Newry & Portadown branch member, John McCabe, shares his findings on the Newry ice boat.
The working history of the Newry Canal and its environs has many interesting stories and hidden secrets which are occasionally revealed. One occurred back in 1980 when, in the Poyntzpass district, an ice boat was rescued after lying untouched for more than 50 years. It was found sitting in two feet of water beside the farm once owned by the Monaghan family, former inspectors of the canal.
During winter the almost annual freezing over of the canal would usually bring the working waterway to a halt. A solution to keep the waterway ice-free and traffic moving was the use of a locally built 16ft open iron vessel with a long raking bow designed to ride up on the ice before smashing down through it. To assist this, a rocking motion was employed by four to six men standing on a wooden platform moving the boat from side to side to impact more upon the frozen surface. Looking at old archive photographs of these boats at work, as many as 16 horses dragged a single boat through the stubborn ice.
More than 40 years ago, in the Belfast Telegraph, we learn about the discovery of one of these forgotten vessels by Joe McVeigh of Canal Bank, Poyntzpass: “It was an iron boat which was built either at Portadown Foundry or at Baileys of Bessbrook, probably about 100 years ago.”
Joe remembered a later and similar ice boat in operation on the canal – he thought it was now somewhere near Lough Neagh.
The ice boat was brought to light during drainage operations carried out by the Ministry of Agriculture in the Poyntzpass area and its existence was reported to the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum (UFTM) by George Robinson, who oversaw the central store and workshop at Moira.
“We are very grateful to Mr Robinson for drawing attention to the ice boat,” said Michael McCaughan of the museum’s maritime section, who considered the craft of particular interest in view of its technological construction and in the study of the country’s canal system.
“What makes it especially interesting,” he said, “is its iron hull.” Meanwhile he planned to peruse the records of the Newry Canal Authority to trace any reference that may have survived concerning the purchase of the boat and its builders.
Forty years on, it is unclear if the builders of this ice boat were discovered or details about its purchasing revealed; so we at IWAI Newry & Portadown thought we would have our own investigation into this story. We were to discover some interesting facts: in October 1931, the Newry Harbour Trust was faced with a choice of buying a new ice boat or repairing the old one. At a meeting of the trust, Messrs Bailey & Co, Bessbrook, tendered at £125 for a new build and £60 for the repair of the old one, while Portadown Foundry quoted £128 and £48 respectively.
The harbour secretary said that the representative of the Portadown Foundry could repair the old boat so that it would be almost as good as a new one. A Mr Cunningham advocated that the work should be kept at home (Bessbrook) for all the difference there was. On the suggestion of Mr Fisher, it was decided to repair the existing boat sufficiently to do the winter and to go into the question of procuring a new boat the following year.
So, we learn that Joe McVeigh was correct about the origins of these boats being built and repaired at Portadown and Bessbrook. To conclude it would be a nice thought if the Bessbrook repaired boat back in 1931 was the same one recovered from its watery grave at Poyntzpass and now in the UFTM at Cultra.
Facebook group
John McCabe has a natural ability for seeking out interesting subject matters and has gone on to create a popular Facebook group. This details much of the history relating to the Newry area but also specialises in some of the more mysterious stories and subject matters associated with the area. Details can be found under Useful Information.
The UFTM is well worth a visit so if you are planning a trip in 2022, add it to your itinerary. There is a wide range of exhibits to explore, from trams and locomotives to buses and coaches.
While compiling this feature I contacted the museum in the hope of obtaining a photo of the ice boat in question but unfortunately this is currently in storage awaiting a new placement within the museum exhibits. For visitors to the museum, there is also an exhibit on the Titanic which, as most are aware, came to a tragic end after colliding with an iceberg in mid-Atlantic.
So while winters may prove ice cold in Ulster visitors will discover plenty here to warm their imagination.