32: The Grand Canal Docks
NEW Season 4
Turtle recounts the remarkable tale of the rise, fall and resurrection of the vital docks and locks that linked Dublin Port and the River Liffey to the Grand Canal and the inland system beyond.
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27: The Ulster Canal
NEW Season 4
Turtle interviews Brian Cassells about the creation of the Ulster Canal, including its 2024 renaissance in Clones.
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31: Towpath Trails of Kildare
NEW Season 4
Turtle talks with Kildare historian Liam Kenny about the impact of the canals and the River Barrow on the history and lore of county Kildare, which has 120 km of canal side walking routes. Liam tells Turtle about some of the engineering triumphs, architectural legacies and other fascinating anecdotes.
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30: The Phoenix
NEW Season 4
John and Sandra Lefroy talk with Turtle about the Phoenix, their beloved boat, which is moored at the foot of their garden in Killaloe.
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29: Yachting on the Waterways
NEW Season 4
Turtle talks with yachting historian Vincent Delany about the Shannon One Design - Ireland’s iconic 18-foot clinker-built racing yachts - and explores their origins, design, as well as colourful yachtsmen from Lord Crofton to Jimmy Furey, and the rich heritage of sailing on the Shannon’s lakes.
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28: Lough Erne
NEW Season 4
Turtle talks with Michael Clarke, an admiral of the Lough Erne Yacht Club, about the lake’s unique water culture, the legacy of yachting, the original regatta, and its role as a base for RAF Catalina (American, California) flying boats in World War Two (Pacific battles.)
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26: Mapping Waterways
NEW Season 4
Turtle talks with Rob Goodbody, a prominent historian and conservation consultant, about how Ireland’s waterways were surveyed and mapped in times past.
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25: War on the Waterways
NEW Season 4
Turtle talks with Dr. Harman Murtagh, a former president of the Military History Society of Ireland, about the story of the historic settlement on the lakeshore and the islands. Harmon also homes in on boating on the lough from ancient times and the lakes’ island monasteries.
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24: The Navvys
NEW Season 4
Turtle is joined by Ultan Cowley who shares his insights into the daily lives, motivations and semi-mythological reputations of the Irish navvies who built the canals, and how their successors built Britain’s railways, motorways and the Channel Tunnel.
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23: The Royal Canal
NEW Season 4
Beginning on the eve of the French Revolution, the Royal Canal is Ireland’s longest manmade waterway running for 145 km (90 miles) from Dublin to the River Shannon. Here Turtle tells the colourful story of its founders Long John Binns and William Cope, and looks at why it took almost 30 years to finish the project.
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