CONCERNS have been raised for the future of the iconic Galway Hooker workboats which have been made in the west of Ireland for over 100 years.
Generations of boatbuilders have built and maintained the iconic boats, many of which have remained in family ownership for 120 years or more.
The boats, particularly the Bád Mór fleet, are widely regarded as one of Ireland’s most iconic images.
However the lack of suitable and affordable timber needed to maintain them could have a “disastrous effect” on their future, a new documentary has found.
Ciarán Oliver is among the boatbuilders featured in the documentaryTG4’s Ó Lámh an tSaoir uncovers the “unprecedented challenges” faced by both boat owners and builders during the most difficult period yet for the Galway Hooker community since their revival in the late 1970s.
“Maintenance costs are a part of life for the owners of these wooden boats, but the availability of suitable and affordable timber is currently having a disastrous effect on the repair and restoration of these unique boats,” a TG4 spokesperson said.
“Sourcing suitable timber in Ireland has become next to impossible and the importation of timber has become so expensive that the delays involved now means that the majority of the Bád Mór fleet is on dry land instead of at sea racing in the various annual summer regattas,” they added.
The future of the boatbuilding and maintaining tradition hangs in the balanceBoat owners who are struggling with these difficulties have spoken out in the documentary, as they strive to continue and protect the family heritage in hope of passing their Galway Hooker onto the next generation.
There is also a question over the future of the local boatbuilding craft.
“While many of the current crop of boatbuilders came through an Údarás na Gaeltachta initiative in the late 1990s, hardly any have entered the trade since then,” the spokesperson explained.
“This shortage and lack of young boatbuilders now, unfortunately, threatens the very future of the Galway Hooker,” they added.
Ó Lámh an tSaoir airs on TG4 on Monday, April 21 at 8.30pm and will be available to view on TG4 Player after broadcast.
See More: Galway Hooker, Ireland, TG4, Workboat
