Search
23 Oct 2025
Search
23 Oct 2025
Please allow ads as they help fund our trusted local news content.
Kindly add us to your ad blocker whitelist.
If you want further access to Ireland's best local journalism, consider contributing and/or subscribing to our free daily Newsletter .
Support our mission and join our community now.
To continue reading this article, you can subscribe for as little as €0.50 per week which will also give you access to all of our premium content and archived articles!
Alternatively, you can pay €0.50 per article, capped at €1 per day.
Thank you for supporting Ireland's best local journalism!
Anne Cleary and Denis Connolly on Mayfly Soar Boat
A vibrantly coloured solar-powered boat that's touring Ireland's waterways is set to dock in Laois.
The Eco Showboat Mayfly will be moored in Vicarstown over the first weekend of July. To coincide with the visit there'll be special events on Saturday, July 1 in Vicarstown Community Hall.
Anne Cleary and Denis Connolly will spend the afternoon ecology, art, food, and music with local artist and taxidermist Emily Miller, marine biologist Rachel O'Malley, and Indian-Irish music duo Anna Tanvir and Maninder Singh.
You'll be able to hear about their two-year solar journey on the island’s waterways and the challenges they have faced as the first solar boat to navigate the entire country using sustainable energy.
Emily Miller will speak about her work, recently shown at IMMA's Earth Rising festival, which integrates preserved remains of small creatures who died as a result of human activity.
Fresh water ecologist Rachel O’Malley will be on hand to introduce you to the invertebrates - a host of little creatures that live in our waterways. These fascinating and endearing little creatures—the Caddisfly, the Mayfly Nymph and more—are indispensable for the health of our waterways as well as important indicators of water quality.
An afternoon tea break with delicious Indo-Irish goodies by Maninder, a is a talented chef as well as a musician.
The final feature of the day features folk songs from around the world on harp and guitar from Indian-Irish musical duo Anna Tanvir and Maninder Singh.
Anne Cleary is a founder of the Eco Showboat project says: "We are very grateful to the Vicarstown Community for welcoming us so warmly to County Laois. The Eco Showboat aims to bring people together around ecology in a way that is enjoyable and fun, combining climate science with art to give people engaging moments where we can imagine solutions to the climate crisis together. Vicarstown people have really bent over backwards to help us realise this vision in Co Loais."
The Eco Showboat Journey to the East is a five-month arts expedition from Askeaton to Dublin. The project is supported by the Arts Council, SFI, Creative Ireland, Waterways Ireland, and LAWPRO (full list of partners here).
The event takes place on Saturday, July, 2.30 am - 5.30pm.
Subscribe or register today to discover more from DonegalLive.ie
Buy the e-paper of the Donegal Democrat, Donegal People's Press, Donegal Post and Inish Times here for instant access to Donegal's premier news titles.
Keep up with the latest news from Donegal with our daily newsletter featuring the most important stories of the day delivered to your inbox every evening at 5pm.
This publication supports the work of the Press Council of Ireland and Office of the Press Ombudsman, and our staff operate within the Code of Practice of the Press Council. You can obtain a copy of the Code, or contact the Council, at www.presscouncil.ie, Lo-call 1800 208 080 or email: info@presscouncil.ie.
