"It was fascinating to see the work of the people who had spent their life learning their craft and trade. The work was REAL..." Eddie Cleary, Co. Tipperary
The workshop was fantastic, the crew in the boatyard were great, we all gelled together as a team and despite the busy social life, we managed to complete our work. Mike Ruane, Co. Wexford
For 3 days I was lost in time, watching and helping Fachtna & Liam turn out intricate frames from the rough-sawn slabs of oak Captain J.G. Burns, MNI, Serving Master Marine
I was convinced that not only did the shipwrights appreciate our assistance – however inexpert – they enjoyed too the colour, the banter & energy we brought with us. Críostóir Mac Cárthaigh UCD National Folklore Collection
Connect with a piece of the Ilen - sponsorship of a plank is a meaningful way for you to support our project.
Donations are very much appreciated and allow us to continue to provide hands-on education.
Limited edition poster print of the Ketch Ilen is now available.
What's Happening
- The Irish Times, Extract - An Irishwoman's Diary, Lorna Siggins
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...FURTHER ALONG the coastline, this Friday is also an auspicious day for Gary McMahon and a team of master shipwrights who have been working on restoration of a very special vessel. The ketch Ilen is as significant in Irish maritime history as the Asgard or it successor, Asgard II .
- Baltimore Wooden Boat Festival - Framing Out Ceremony
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One of the opening events of the festival this year is the Framing Out Ceremony of the good ship followed by a tour of the vessel and a talk on the Ilen Project.
- Next Workshop Dates Confirmed
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Traditional Wooden Boat Building
June Wed 23 – Fri 25th 2010
The Ilen
The Falklands Link
Throughout her long life, the Ilen has been a lucky ship. From January 1927 onwards, she was working for her living in some of the most demanding waters in the world, ferrying people, school teachers, sheep, stores and mail between the scattered island communities of the Falklands. Her traditional rig and reliable old Kelvin engine gave trustworthy service year after year, and the familiar shape of her rugged hull became part of the fabric of life in those remote islands whose threatening rocks failed time and again to wreck her.
For nearly fifty years she was the faithful workhorse of the Falkland Islands Company. Her longest-serving skipper was Sandy Bonner of Speedwell Island. He died in 1960, but the old boat had played such an important part in the life of the Bonner family that when the Company decided to replace Ilen in the early 1980s, Sandy's daughter, Mrs Yona Davis, bought her for her son Maurice, who continued to carry cargoes with the old ketch for nearly ten more years. When the Irish sailor John Gore-Grimes called at the Falklands in 1987 during an Antarctic cruise, he was delighted to see the Ilen at Port Stanley: 'She is still afloat and plying her trade' he wrote, 'She looks just fine, and her hull is painted green'.
Ilen's working life finally ended in the early 1990s. But in testimony to the integrity of Tom Moynihan's shipwrights in Baltimore, her hull was still in good order, and the engine ran sweet as a bird. The boat was bought by islander Paul Ellis, who planned to use her for leisure purposes. But the harsh climate of the Falklands is not conducive to relaxation afloat, and Ilen became a little-used fixture of the Port Stanley waterfront.
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