Breffnie O'Kelly and the Friends of the Grand Canal organise a clean-up of the canal bank on the first Saturday of each month. In April a number of HBA members joined them for a clean-up in the Leeson Street area.

This is a great initiative and we hope to support them again in the future.

Report as follows from Mespil Barge Dwellers Association (MBDA) - via Bernie Tiernan:

"Magnet, Aqualegia, Isolde and Trust me Scout are enjoying city life at Mespil Road, Grand Canal, Dublin. This stretch of the canal is very clean thanks to the enthusiasm of Breffnie O’Kelly who has organised a voluntary monthly Saturday clean up.  68M and 4B have recently arrived.

On the day, there were about 20 volunteers at the gathering recently and Micheal Rankin, Luke and friend, Ken and Bernie Tiernan were delighted to participate too. Pickers, plastic bags and gloves were supplied and off we went covering the canal from Baggot St Bridge to Portobello. Despite some of the unsavoury stuff we picked up there were fabulous moments, like finding a moorhen nest with 3 eggs in situ, a mother duck and her 14 ducklings dashing to and fro and a nesting swan being guarded by her mate. Starbucks supplied much welcomed coffee to everyone afterwards and new friends and acquaintances were formed.

The other side of Mespil Road is that it is known for it’s ladies of the night. An unnamed (for now) barge dweller meandering home one night was asked if he was looking for business! More later…"

Photos by Bernie Tiernan