Strabane Canal facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Strabane Canal
The restored Devine's Lock
Specifications
Length	6.5 km (4.0 miles)
Locks	2
Status	part restored
History
Date of act	1791
Date of first use	1796
Date closed	1962
Geography
Start point	Strabane
End point	Porthall
Connects to	River Foyle

The Strabane Canal is a short waterway, about 6.5 kilometers (4 miles) long, located in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It was built to connect the town of Strabane to the River Foyle. From there, boats could reach the port of Foyle Port on the north coast of Ireland. The canal first opened in 1796 and was used until 1962.

The Story of Strabane Canal

The idea for the Strabane Canal came from the Marquess of Abercorn. He wanted to help businesses and trade grow in Strabane. Most of the land around Strabane was part of his large estates.

Building the Canal

A special law was passed by Parliament in 1791 to allow the canal to be built. The Marquess bought the land needed for the canal. He paid for the project himself, which cost about £11,858. He also got a loan from the Irish Parliament.

The canal started near Derry at the tidal waters of Lough Foyle. It then went up to Strabane. The main water supply for the canal came from a stream. This stream flowed into the canal above one of its locks.

Construction started in late 1791. John Whally was the engineer in charge. Most of the canal was finished within a year. However, building the locks and the connection to the Foyle River took longer. The canal was finally completed in 1795.

The official opening happened on March 21, 1796. It was a big celebration! Important people had a fancy dinner. They made many toasts, which are like cheers. Free ale was given to everyone, and there were bonfires and lights.

How the Canal Worked

The canal had two locks: Crampsie's Lock and Devine's Lock. Locks are like water elevators that help boats move between different water levels. These locks were big enough for large sea-going ships called schooners. These ships could carry up to 300 tons of goods.

Devine's Lock was about 33 meters (108 feet) long and 7 meters (23 feet) wide. Crampsie's Lock was even bigger, about 35 meters (117 feet) long and 7.3 meters (24 feet) wide.

The Marquess's agents collected money, called tolls, from boats using the canal. It cost two shillings (about 10p) for every ton of cargo. Goods like coal, timber, tools, and food were brought into Strabane. Farmers also sent their produce from Strabane to Derry.

At first, people thought the tolls were too expensive. Larger boats called lighters were pulled by a steam tug boat to the canal entrance. Horses then pulled them the rest of the way to Strabane.

Canal Business Grows

From 1820, a group of local people rented the canal from the Marquess. They ran it successfully. In 1836, 583 lighters traveled between Strabane and Derry. They carried over 10,500 tons of goods, mostly grain.

Many warehouses, grain stores, and docks were built along the canal in Strabane. The canal helped Strabane and Lifford become busy market towns in the early 1800s.

Competition from Railways

In 1847, a new railway line opened from Derry to Strabane. This railway was later extended to Omagh in 1852. Soon, a whole network of railways developed. This had a huge impact on the canal.

The canal started to have money problems. The company that had rented the canal for 40 years closed down in 1860. A new company, the Strabane Steam Navigation Company, took over. Even though about 20,000 tons of goods were still carried each year, the canal didn't make much profit.

Another company, the Strabane Canal Company, took over in 1890. They rented the canal for 31 years.

Rules and Inspections

In 1888, a law called the Railway & Canal Traffic Act was passed. It said that public companies had to tell the government their prices. The government could then change the prices if they thought they were unfair.

The Strabane Canal Company said they were a private company and didn't have to follow this law. The Duke of Abercorn, who owned the canal, even took the case to a higher court.

In 1898, an inspector named Lieutenant-Colonel Addison checked the canal. People in the area said the canal was not usable. Addison found that parts of the canal needed repairs, and the water was shallow. However, he decided that the canal could still be used. He also ruled that the canal company was a public company. This meant the 1888 Act applied to them. The price for carrying goods was then lowered to a quarter of what it used to be.

The Canal's Decline

Conditions on the canal continued to get worse. The water was less than 0.6 meters (2 feet) deep in many places. Over 3 kilometers (2 miles) of the canal's bank needed repairs to stop water from leaking. The lock gates also leaked.

Sandbanks and shallow areas formed in the Foyle River below the canal entrance. This happened because the authorities in Derry didn't clean out the river channel. In the early years, large ships could reach Strabane. But after new bridges were built in the 1860s, this was no longer possible.

Even though boats could only carry half their usual load, trade continued. A grain mill owned by Smyth's created about half of the canal's business. Near the canal basin, there were also sawmills, a leather factory, a brewery, and repair shops for the boats. Coal was also unloaded from the canal to supply the local gas works.

When a new narrow-gauge railway opened in 1900, it was expected to compete with the existing railway. But the two railway companies actually agreed on prices. This was because the canal was still offering some competition. In 1910, it was still cheaper to transport food and fertilizer by water. The canal basin was also closer to the town center than the railway station.

James McFarland, a main owner of the Canal Company, died around this time. Without good management, the canal declined further. In 1912, the Strabane and Foyle Navigation Company Limited bought the canal from the Duke. William Smyth, who owned the mill, was the main owner. They tried to make the canal deeper and bought a steam tug to pull barges. But traffic didn't improve and stopped completely in the early 1930s.

Attempts were made to officially close the canal from 1944. The section between Strabane and the Dysert swing bridge was finally closed in 1962. The rest of the canal officially remained open.

Restoration Efforts

In June 2006, a group called the Strabane Lifford Development Commission started a project to restore the canal. They spent £1.3 million on this cross-border project. The President of Ireland, Mary McAleese, launched the project. The goal was to fix 2.4 kilometers (1.5 miles) of the canal and its two locks.

The two sets of locks were successfully repaired. However, the work on the canal channel itself was not done very well. Because of this, the local council has refused to take care of the restored part of the canal. As a result, it has started to fall apart again.

Images for kids

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  The restored Devine's Lock