New owner being lined up for council's Athy barge

There is light on the horizon for the ‘Freedom of the Water’ barge in Athy, with a ‘preferred operator’ identified to buy the vessel.

At September’s meeting of Athy Municipal District, cllr Mark Leigh sought an update on the future of the barge and was informed that in Q2 of this year it underwent an engineering assessment to determine its river worthiness.

‘Given the costs associated with putting it back on the river, it was agreed that all parties who previously expressed an interest in operating the vessel back in 2023 were invited to purchase the vessel for a fixed sum,’ a report explained.

Submissions have been evaluated by an independent panel and scored. Factors considered included that the applicant has capacity (or access to finance or eligible for funding) to repair and upgrade the vessel; applicant is active in the tourism industry and likely to operate tourism business in the Athy area; the tourism operator has a marketing plan and awareness of the Shackleton Museum offering; and the operator has a relevant qualification indicating capacity to become a trainer for future boat captains, or is likely to permit the vessel to be used for education/training locally.

‘As agreed by the elected members and following this process, a preferred operator has been identified to purchase the vessel on the basis that it is purchased as seen, will be removed and repaired/upgraded in a reasonable timeframe and most importantly will remain in operation in the Athy area as a tourism offering for the town.’ 

Cllr Leigh said he’s hoping they’re up and running for spring/summer 2025 to coincide with the opening of the Shackleton Museum.