Artist's impression of the completed landing craft leaving Arklow, Co. Wicklow, Ireland Construction is now under way of an innovative bespoke 12 metre aluminium landing craft at Arklow Marine Services at Wicklow, Ireland.  The company is run by the Tyrrell brothers who are the fifth generation of their family working in ship building.  At present the main work being carried out is the fabrication of the hull.  This blog will give an insight to the modern process involved in shipbuilding which the Tyrrells carry out at Arklow. Billy Tyrrell, Director Arklow Marine Services, speaks about the landing craft build Before the actual build begins, with 40 years experience, Arklow Marine Services, have the important task of winning the contract.  This starts with submitting a quotation to the client.  According to Billy Tyrrell, Director of the company “The designer/ naval architect would give us a very accurate aluminium weight on which to base our quotation.  This is important as the la

The restored Kilgarvan Ford Model T  The Ford Model T has come to be seen as the first car to be produced on an assembly line and targeted at the person in the street.  That new assembly line concept and process meant the car was offered at a relatively low price.  Positioned as reliable, easily maintained, mass-market transportation, the Model T was a great success.  In a matter of days after the release, 15,000 orders had been placed.   Henry Ford' s ancestral home Cork, Ireland -  the first purpose built by Ford plant in Europe Henry Ford established an assembly plan in 1917 in his ancestral home of Cork, Ireland.  Initially for Fordson tractor manufacturing but from 1921 cars were built there as well.  The Cork factory was the first to be purpose built by Ford in Europe.  17 million Model Ts were built between 1908 and 1928.  Interestingly the final Model Ts where produced at the Cork plant in 1928 yet it did assemble many modern Ford cars up until 1984. In 1926 James Herbert,

 The Irish Air Corps’s Alouette III display was the high point of many events for  four decades One of the great delights of large open air events in Ireland for four decades from the early ‘60s was the arrival of the Irish Air Corps’s Alouette III helicopter.  With the whirring metallic sound of its engine and it’s fish bowl like cockpit it a always raised excitement and cheers.  At these events it dramatically went through a rescue routine and then thunderously departed with great speed and power. The Alouette III was the workhorse of the Irish Air Corps (IAC)  The Alouette III was the workhorse of the Irish Air Corps (IAC) for nearly 44 years.  It carried out the combined roles air ambulance, search and rescue (SAR) and security with the Defence Forces.  This single-engined, light utility helicopter was initially developed by French aircraft company Sud Aviation in the 1950s. Alouette first flew on the 28 February 1959 at Bourget, France  It first flew on the 28 February 1959 at Bou

  Wishing for barn dreams to come true Everyone dreams of a barn find!  The moment when you haul open a creaking door, push aside the cobwebs and dust off a forgotten automotive icon that then goes on to auction, restored or unrestored and sells for millions.  We can but dream!!   Until not long ago it was common for barn-find vehicles to be subjected to a nut and bolt restoration often lasting a number of years and returning them to better than new condition.  The current trend is to subject barn-finds to a sympathetic restoration, as in some cases a full restoration can lower the vehicles value.       1960s Ferrari 330 GTS barn find worth €2 million+  When just two years old, a 1969 Ferrari 330 GTS Spyder suffered an engine fire and was dry-stored in a garage for 44 years. When it sold at auction for €2.1 million, this price was higher than a fully restored example of the same car, sold the previous year.   For over 70 years Jim Foy & Sons – Precision Engineering operated in Trea

Wood canoe built by Foroige Croom UBU Project young people In the autumn of 2020 a lack of opportunities encouraged nine young men to reach out to the local youth project, Foroige Croom UBU Project (FCUBU), Co. Limerick. Through much consideration and researching, FCUBU realised a programme could be developed which allowed young people to meet safely and also learn a new skill. From this the Croom boat or wooden canoe project emerged. Croom young people developing their woodwork skills The project needed funding, outdoor space and storage and materials.  The Local Creative Youth Partnership (LCETB) approved our funding application. In addition FCUBU provided the funding for materials. The project started with these talented young people developing their wood working skills through creating plaques for their friends and families.  Then they created functional tool boxes and eventually they were ready to work on the canoe.  Bad weather, online classes and working commitments did n