Coalisland Canal facts for kids

The Coalisland Canal is a waterway in County Tyrone, Ulster. It is about 7.2 kilometers (4.5 miles) long. People sometimes called it The Tyrone Navigation.

Building the canal started in 1733. It was a slow process, and the canal didn't officially open until 1787. Its main purpose was to make it cheaper to move coal from the Tyrone coalfields to Dublin. An extra part, called "Dukart's Canal", was built to connect the coalfields near Drumglass to the main canal at Coalisland. This part opened in 1777. However, it didn't work well and closed when the main canal opened.

After some early problems, more and more boats used the canal. Traffic was busiest in 1931. After that, fewer boats used it, and the canal was no longer used after 1954.

Today, most of the canal's path is still there. Some people are interested in fixing it up. A group, now part of the Inland Waterways Association of Ireland, is working to tell people about the canal. They are also looking into what could happen with it in the future. In April 2008, a small boat event was even held on the canal.

History of the Coalisland Canal

Coal was found in East Tyrone in the late 1600s. But it was too expensive to sell this coal in Dublin. This was because it cost so much to transport it. Coal from England or Scotland was cheaper.

The first ideas for a canal to the coalfields came in 1709. Thomas Knox, who owned a coal mine, asked the Irish Parliament for permission. He wanted to build a canal from Knock Bridge to Fathom Point. This was similar to the route of the later Newry Canal. But nothing happened with his idea at that time.

By 1727, Dublin was importing a lot of coal. People started thinking about getting coal from Ireland instead. In 1727, Thomas Prior suggested a canal from Dungannon, near Coalisland. Two years later, Arthur Dobbs, a government surveyor, talked about the benefits of a canal to Lough Neagh. He thought it would be easy to build.

Also in 1729, Francis Seymour, who owned a coal mine, wrote a paper. He suggested a canal could be dug across a bog from Drumglass. This would connect to the River Torrent. From there, coal could go to the River Blackwater and then to Newry.

The year 1729 also saw the start of the Commissioners of Inland Navigation for Ireland. This group looked at many plans. They approved work on the Newry Navigation in 1731. They also approved a canal from Coalisland to the Blackwater in 1732. This canal would be about 4.5 miles (7.2 km) long. It would run mostly next to the River Torrent.

Work began in the summer of 1733. Acheson Johnson was in charge. But progress was very slow. The canal's end point was still far from the coal mines at Drumglass. In 1749, a company was formed. They asked the government for help to build a 3-mile (4.8 km) road. This road would link Drumglass to the canal. They received £4,000 for this project. At this time, the mines were producing a lot of coal. It was thought that once the road and canal were done, coal could be sold in Dublin for much less money.

Building the canal was difficult. Progress stayed slow. At Coalisland, a large basin was built. Water for it came from the River Torrent. But the river carried stones, clay, and mud. This clogged the basin and the canal's locks. The canal needed seven locks. The top two were built on sand. The bottom three were built in a peat bog. Both places needed special foundations, but these were not done well enough. The lower parts of the canal were too close to the river. The river would flood the canal when it was high. It would also drain the canal when it was low. The Coalisland Canal took a long time to finish. It received £25,000 from public money between 1746 and 1782.

Dukart's Canal: An Experiment

We don't know if the road from Coalisland to Drumglass was ever finished. In 1760, a government group asked Thomas Omer to survey a route. He was to find a way from the Newry Canal to the Drumglass coalfields. He also suggested building a canal from Coalisland to the mines. This canal would be 3 miles (4.8 km) long. It would go up through 16 locks and cost £15,668. His plans were approved in 1761. This canal was meant for very large boats, weighing 100 tons.

In 1762, Christopher Myers took over the project. He built about 0.5 miles (0.8 km) of the canal and part of a lock. He then suggested making the canal smaller. It would fit boats that were 60 by 12 feet (18 by 3.7 meters). £5,000 was given for the first part of the building. But then, a French-Italian engineer named Daviso de Arcort, also known as Davis Dukart, offered a different idea. He suggested using two flat sections of canal, mostly in tunnels. Coal would be carried in boxes on small tub boats. These boxes would be lowered down shafts into boats on the canal below.

By 1767, some open-air parts of Dukart's canal were built. Part of an aqueduct (a bridge for water) was built over the River Torrent. This cost £3,839. Dukart asked for more money to finish the project. The price went up, and the tunnels were dropped. Instead, they decided to use inclined planes. These were like ramps where boats could be moved up or down. They were called "dry hurries" or "dry wherries" locally.

The inclined planes were supposed to have rollers. But there were problems. Engineers William Jessop and John Smeaton gave advice in 1773. Changes were made, including balancing the boats. But the planes still didn't work well. The rollers were replaced with cradles that ran on rails, carrying the boats. Dukart's Canal finally opened in 1777.

The Canal is Finished

The Coalisland Canal went down 51 feet (15.5 meters) through seven locks. It went from the Coalisland Basin to the River Blackwater. It was 5 feet (1.5 meters) deep. There was a path on both sides for horses to pull the boats. The canal was finished in 1787.

That same year, Dukart's extension failed. It was clear the ramps were too steep for balancing to work. There were also big problems with water leaking from the upper part. In 1787, the government stopped controlling inland waterways. The Coalisland canal's care was shared by coal mine owners and local leaders. People asked for a better water supply for the Drumglass to Coalisland extension. They also wanted a way to transport coal for the linen industry. In 1797, the linen industry had to import coal from England. They couldn't get it from Tyrone. They called for the canal to be completely fixed.

How the Canal Was Used

Not as much coal was moved on the canal as expected. This was because there wasn't a good link from Coalisland to the coal mines. But trade in other goods slowly grew. These included flaxseed, grain, rock salt, timber, fish, and metal goods.

However, the canal's condition got worse. By 1801, it was almost abandoned. The government took back control of inland waterways. They sent an engineer, Henry Walker, to inspect it. He started repairing the canal. But he was replaced by John Brownrigg in September 1801. This was because his work on the Newry Canal was said to be faulty. Brownrigg reported that much of the canal was unsafe. A third engineer, Daniel Monks, was asked for his opinion.

Between 1801 and 1812, over £20,000 was spent on the canal. This money was used to clean the basin at Coalisland. They also built docks, storage buildings, and walls around it. Lock walls and floors were rebuilt. The whole canal was dredged to make it 4.5 feet (1.4 meters) deep. Lock houses were repaired. The lower parts of the canal, which went through peat, were sealed to stop leaks. The towpaths were also improved.

Trade in many different goods steadily increased. But coal traffic did not. After the Act of Union in 1800, trade between Ireland and England became free. Dublin started importing all its coal. This imported coal was slightly more expensive, but it was much better quality.

Coalisland grew into an industrial town. It imported raw materials using the canal. It then exported things like tiles, bricks, pottery, spades, shovels, and chemicals. All these were made locally. But getting these products out was hard. This was because the Ulster Canal, which connected to the River Blackwater, had narrower locks and was shallower.

The Office of Public Works (OPW) took over the canal in 1831. Traffic kept growing. It went from 8,200 tons in 1837 to 18,888 tons in 1866. After that, railways started to take away trade. The canal was kept in good condition, but the costs of doing so were more than the money made from tolls.

To fix this, the government looked for someone else to run it. They finally sold it to the Lagan Canal Company in 1888. This company made the canal deeper, to 5 feet (1.5 meters). This allowed 80-ton barges to reach Coalisland. The transport of sand, bricks, farm products, pottery, and Irish timber to Belfast greatly increased. Traffic in grain, coal, hardware, foreign timber, and supplies going the other way also grew. Between 1890 and 1900, total traffic went from 18,000 tons to 36,000 tons. The canal went from losing £89 to making a profit of £355.

There were plans to make the canal even deeper. This would allow boats to travel directly from the Lagan Navigation. But the start of the First World War in 1914 changed things. After the war, the canal faced more competition from road transport.

The British Government controlled the canal from July 1, 1917. When it went back to private ownership, it shared a £19,000 improvement grant with the Lagan Navigation. Even with competition, traffic in building sand, grain, and coal kept growing through the 1920s. It reached 57,000 tons in 1931. Tolls brought in £1,634, and the company made a profit of £650. After that, traffic quickly dropped. The company made less than £50 in 1939. Very few boats used the canal during the Second World War. All traffic stopped in 1946. In April 1954, the canal was officially abandoned. It became just a drainage ditch. Control of it went to the Ministry of Commerce. From 1962, it was under the Ministry of Finance.

What Remains Today

The basin at Coalisland was drained in 1961. It is now under the car park for the Coalisland Heritage Centre. The rest of the canal is owned by the local council and the Department of Agriculture.

A group called the Friends of the Coalisland Canal started in the 1990s. They wanted to make people aware of the canal. They also wanted to see if reopening it would help the area. In May 2003, the group became a part of the Inland Waterways Association of Ireland. In April 2008, they held a small boat rally. Several boats sailed on parts of the canal for the first time in over 50 years.

The old Coalisland Canal has left important reminders in Coalisland. This includes the 5-story former corn mill. It stands in the old canal basin and is a major building in the town.