''Green and Silver'' is the account by

Tom Rolt Lionel Thomas Caswall Rolt (usually abbreviated to Tom Rolt or L. T. C. Rolt) (11 February 1910 – 9 May 1974) was a prolific English writer and the biographer of major civil engineering figures including Isambard Kingdom Brunel and Thomas Tel ...

of a voyage through the inland waterways of

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

just after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, published in 1949. It is notable because it was one of the last trips by any boat around the triangular loop of the River Shannon, Grand Canal, and Royal Canal before the last name was closed to navigation. It was reopened in 2010. :"This voyage of ours over the silver waters and through the green fields of Ireland has brought us both a precious store of memories which will remain with us always; nor will we ever forget the kindliness and the welcome that we found there."(p253)

Background

L. T. C. Rolt's book '' Narrowboat'' (1944) had set in motion a revival of interest in the canals of Britain. In 1946, after reading an account by Samuel Smiles of the origins of the Royal Canal in Ireland, he and his wife Angela decided to explore its waterways. As using his narrow boat in Ireland was impossible (it was too long for the locks on the Grand Canal), he sat about finding a smaller boat, ending up with a cruiser rented in Athlone. The schedule was tight as the locks to the

River Liffey The River Liffey ( Irish: ''An Life'', historically ''An Ruirthe(a)ch'') is a river in eastern Ireland that ultimately flows through the centre of Dublin to its mouth within Dublin Bay. Its major tributaries include the River Dodder, the Riv ...

in Dublin from both Royal and Grand Canals were due to close for maintenance, and the supply of petrol for pleasure boating was uncertain. They overcame the obstacles and managed to complete their journey, which included the length of the Shannon from

Lough Allen Lough Allen () is a lake on the River Shannon in northeastern Connacht, Ireland. Most of the lake is in County Leitrim, with a smaller part in County Roscommon. The lake lies to the south of the River Shannon's source, near the Iron Mountains, ...

in the north to Killaloe and

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

in the south (although they didn't take the boat to the limits). As with all of Tom Rolt's books, there is a deep feeling for the history and techniques of his subject matter and a certain amount of philosophizing, which was expressed most fully in his ''High Horse Riderless,'' published the following year. The itinerary at the back includes a full list of locks and bridges, with distances, on the waterways covered.

#The Journey is planned #Introduction to Ireland: Athlone and

Lough Ree Lough Ree () is a lake in the midlands of Ireland, the second of the three major lakes on the River Shannon. Lough Ree is the second largest lake on the Shannon after Lough Derg. The other two major lakes are Lough Allen to the north, and Lou ...

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a city in the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay, and is the sixth most populous city on ...

and

Connemara Connemara (; )( ga, Conamara ) is a region on the Atlantic coast of western County Galway, in the west of Ireland. The area has a strong association with traditional Irish culture and contains much of the Connacht Irish-speaking Gaeltacht, ...

#The voyage begins: Athlone to

Shannon Harbour Shannon Harbour a small village on the banks of the Grand Canal of Ireland. The village has the () older/regional name ''Cluain Uaine Bheag'' meaning 'Clononey Beg' or 'little Clononey' after the distance and population and low laying land of ...

Clonfert Clonfert () is a small village in east County Galway, Ireland, halfway between Ballinasloe and Portumna. The village gives its name to the Diocese of Clonfert. Clonfert Cathedral is one of the eight cathedral churches of the Church of Ireland, ...

and

Banagher Banagher ( or ''Beannchar na Sionna'') is a town in Ireland, located in the midlands, on the western edge of County Offaly in the province of Leinster, on the banks of the River Shannon. It had a population of 3,000 at the height of its econ ...

#The Grand Canal: Shannon Harbour to

Tullamore Tullamore (; ) is the county town of County Offaly in Ireland. It is on the Grand Canal, in the middle of the county, and is the fourth most populous town in the midlands region with 14,607 inhabitants at the 2016 census. The town retained ...

#The Grand Canal: Tullamore to

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

#Dublin #The Royal Canal:

Spencer Dock Spencer Dock ( ga, Duga Spencer) is a former wharf area, close to where the Royal Canal meets the River Liffey, in the North Wall area of Dublin, Ireland. As of the 21st century, the area has been redeveloped with occupants of the Spencer ...

Mullingar Mullingar ( ; ) is the county town of County Westmeath in Ireland. It is the third most populous town in the Midland Region, with a population of 20,928 in the 2016 census. The Counties of Meath and Westmeath Act 1543 proclaimed Westmeath ...

#The Royal Canal: Mullingar to the Shannon #The Upper Shannon and the

River Boyle The Boyle River is a river in Ireland. Forming part of the Shannon River Basin, it flows from Lough Gara on the Sligo/Roscommon border and thence through the town of Boyle to Lough Key. From there is continues eastwards through the village of ...

#Battlebridge, Lough Allen and a Regatta #An Interlude Ashore: Drumshambo and Sligo #Down River: Jamestown to

Portumna Portumna ( - meaning 'the landing place of the oak') is a market town in the south-east of County Galway, Ireland, on the border with and linked by a bridge to County Tipperary. The town is located to the west of the point where the River Shann ...

# Lough Derg: Portumna to Killaloe #Killaloe and Limerick #Back to Athlone #Farewell to Ireland Itinerary

Reception

"''Green and Silver'' became a classic and was an important element in the campaign launched by the small group who founded the

Inland Waterways Association of Ireland The Inland Waterways Association of Ireland (IWAI; ) is a registered charity and a limited company in the Republic of Ireland and also operates in Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1954 to campaign for the conservation and development of the wa ...

to save the Shannon navigation from strangulation by low bridges. It captures for all time the waterways as they were then and his enchantment at what he experienced shines through strongly." (''Ruth Delany'', author of many books on Irish waterways.) The round trip of the Shannon and two canals has since been dubbed the "Green and Silver Route" and the book continues to be available.

References

* {{citation, last=Rolt, first=L.T.C., authorlink=L. T. C. Rolt, title=Green and Silver, year=1949, publisher=George Allen and Unwin, London 1949 non-fiction books Canals in Ireland Irish non-fiction books

Background

Contents

Reception

References