canal (section of)

Section of canal, constructed c. 1755. Now disused and partly infilled. Ashlar limestone lock chamber to west end of canal.

This canal forms part of an interesting complex of structures on the Galway end of Banagher Bridge on the River Shannon. It was designed by the engineer Thomas Omer as part of improvement works on the River Shannon, that included the adjoining lock keeper's house. Together with the house, the Martello tower, Cromwell's Castle and Banagher Bridge, it forms an important part of the inland waterways heritage of the Shannon. The canal was originally intended to bypass the rapids at Banagher but went out of use following the construction of a new navigation arch on the east side of the river, as part of the new bridge of the 1840s.