New digital map looks at how people used Dublin's Grand Canal 100 years ago

A digital map of Dublin’s Grand Canal lets users follow a 1,100km virtual boat journey along the waterway. The interactive experience, called the Boatman’s Journey, is set on a barge designed for the Grand Canal in 1925. The route runs from Dublin’s docks in the east to Shannon Harbour in the west. Historical documents, old photos, oral histories, animations, and videos are used to represent locations along the journey. The map is built with archives from Waterways Ireland and the Economic and Social Research Institute and uses ArcGIS mapping software. The Grand Canal, completed in 1804, supported trade and passengers. The journey begins at Dublin docklands, passes landmarks such as the Guinness Brewery, and continues through locks, bridges, and aqueducts, then through the Bog of Allen and towns including Edenderry and Tullamore, before ending at Shannon Harbour.

"The interactive map called the Boatman's Journey is set a barge which was designed specifically for the Grand Canal back in 1925. It maps a journey from Dublin's docks in the east to Shannon Harbour in the west using historical documents, old photos, oral histories, animations and videos relating to each location along the journey."

"The map enables people to visualise where events took place in their communities and improves their sense of connection with the local heritage on their doorstep. It immerses citizens in what it was like to work on the canal a hundred years ago and, in particular, it is amazing to see how the story draws young people in and gives them a new appreciation of their local waterways."

"ArcGIS has undoubtedly enabled us to bring Ireland's Grand Canal heritage to a wider audience. People who might not otherwise engage with heritage information are really intrigued by the map and quickly become caught up in the narrative,"

"The barge begins its journey at Dublin's docklands where the boatman travels through landmarks like the Guinness Brewery. He has to navigate through busy streets with a variety of locks, bridges and aqueducts along the way. The map follows the barge past the urban parts of the canal through the Bog of Allen, and through towns like Edenderry and Tullamore, before stopping at Shannon Harbour."

Read at Irish Independent