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A Cruising Guide and Anthology of the Ballinamore
- Ballyconnell Canal
Published by the Erne-Ballinamore-Ballyconnell Rally Committee
1994
for the Inland Waterways Association of Ireland
The Epic voyage of the "Audax" from the Erne
to the Shannon in1873
A quote from Major Horay Lefroy in 1933 and a letter from Patrick Flanagan's excellent book on the Ballinamore
and Ballyconnell canal states and I quote "Many years ago there was a Ballinamore canal. It was the finest
canal that was built in "Britain" up to that time"
But a second quote from the same book from John Grey Vesey Porter in 1881 states,
"It is one of the most shameful pieces of management in any country-Not in Turkey could there be such a piece
of mismanagement as that Balinamore canal".
Mr.Porter who was a son of one of the canal trustees had brought the steamer SS Knockninny built in Dublin for
the Erne and evidently brought via the Grand Canal and the Shannon,the Balinamore and Ballyconnell canal to the
Erne. He stated that,
"Only through the kindness of the people and Mr.Pratt the engineer,was I able to get through the canal.They
took the greatest trouble to get water from one reach to the other to float me down.But my coming through it is
no proof of navigability,for it took me three weeks to get through"
If the Ballinamore and Ballyconnell canal was in such a state in 1868, it was probably much worse in 1873 when
Col.W.R.Potts of Newcourt house,Athlone bought the carvel built yacht "Audax" on the Erne and proceeded
to take her through the Ballinamore and Ballyconnell canal to the Shannon. The audax was a yacht of some 50ft and
a 12ft beam and must have had a draft of at least 5ft.
From the accounts I have of the epic voyage from the late Walter Levinge,who incidently built most of the Shannon
one design fleet,and whose father as a young boy had been one of the crew on the passage of the Audax.They had
a small steam launch towing Audax,plus poles etc. when the going got tough,but eventually they ran out of water
in one of the sections and the only way they could get any further was to lash beer barrels all along both bilges
to lift Audax over a foot,thus reducing her draft to under four feet. It seems that it took them even longer that
the voyage of the Knockninny.
The Audax sailed with the L.R.Y.C. fleet for many years. An account is given in Ruth Delaney's "By Shannon
Shores" of a mishap she had while waiting in Banagher Bridge to open to let her through(in the good old days
when all the bridges on the Shannon had an opening span). It seems that the strong current puled her broadside
on to the bridge and they had quite a job to get her away from it. I enclose a photocopy of "Audax" log
dated 22nd-23rd August 1874,the day they caught the topsail yard in the telegraph wires.
Audax later passed from the Potts family to the Smith family of Portlick castle and while at anchor in Portlick
bay around 1900 when Lough Ree was completely frozen over,the ice went through her and she sank, and evidently
they never tried to salvage her.
In 1973 I brought a team of divers which included Derry Mc Mahon and Rory Redpath of the newly formed Athlone Sub
Aqua Club,on my barge the "Fox" built in 1865 and which had already done eight work years on the Grand
Canal when the "Audax" came through the Ballinamore and Ballyconnell. The divers spent several hours
diving on "Audax" but it seems she was almost down to the decks in the muddy bottom.Among the artifacts
we recovered were the mooring chains and anchors and also a piece of the bulwark and failead which has been on
display in Sean's Bar since then.
I understand Sean Fitzsimmons is bringing some of the artifacts on board his barge "Ye Iron lung" for
one more trip along the canal,just for old times sake.
Sid Shine
M.V.Fox,Athlone
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