Archive for August, 2010

The usage of Dublin Bikes has just reached the 1 million mark. It is estimated that about 15,000 tourists have used the bikes.

Dublin Bikes is a scheme which was introduced  last year by Dublin City Council when 450 bikes were made available at 40 stations around Dublin City Centre.

This has proved to be one of the success stories of Dublin with the bikes becoming very popular both with Dubliners and tourists. The bikes are easy to rent and operate, are cheap and they provide a great way to get around Dublin centre.

Fears that the scheme would collapse because of theft and vandalism were unfounded. Only two bikes have been stolen so far and these have already been recovered and are back in service.

There are plans to extend the scheme to other parts of Dublin and possibly to other cities and towns in Ireland.

Check out the bikes at Dublin Bikes Website.

The first Jeanie Johnston was built in the year 1847 on the banks of the St. Lawrence River in Quebec, Canada and was purchased in Liverpool by Donovans from Tralee. The famine was raging in Ireland in those years, driving many of the starving native population to leave Ireland. Donovans operated a lucrative trade between 1847 and 1855 bringing exiles from Tralee to North America and coming back with merchandise for Europe.
The Jeanie Johnston’s maiden voyage took place on 24th April 1848 when she set out from Blennerville near Tralee to Quebec with 193 passengers on board. During the subsequent years the ship made many more journies to North America carrying more than two and a half thousand emigrants. The Jeanie Johnston was one of the better run emigrant ships – many ships carried passengers in appalling conditions. Read the rest of this entry »