Proponents of the Ulster Canal Thon Sheugh like to tell us that this is a wonderful tourist attraction that will revitalise Clones and all other areas that the canal served.
Not only do I beg to differ (even the Cost Benefit Analysis of the “restoration” – which calculated a negative return – accepted that traffic on any restored navigation would be displaced from elsewhere in Ireland and not generate additional business overall), but it appears that boating activity on the one navigation in Ireland that should work for tourism (the River Shannon) is in decline.
Certain Leitrim county councillors are trying to blame this on fees charged by Waterways Ireland and are calling for the proposed fee increases that WI are seeking to be deferred.
From the Leitrim Observer (linked to above):
“The numbers have fallen from about 100,000 in the mid 1990s to 76,000 in 2004 and down to 36,000 in 2023. It looks like it’s going to dip under 30,000 this year,” explained Cllr Flynn.
https://www.leitrimobserver.ie/news/home/1557625/councillors-advocate-for-study-on-declining-traffic-on-river-shannon.html
If the premier boating resource in Ireland is seeing a natural decline in usage, what makes anyone think that a dead end canal to Clones will see sufficient activity to justify its restoration?