History was made on several counts in New Ross, Co Wexford yesterday. A traffic jam was observed at 6.45 a.m. on a Sunday morning, journalists were seen working before the traditional watershed of 10 a.m., and people cheered as a bottle of champagne was smashed.
The launch of the Dunbrody replica Famine ship was the explanation for these historic events. Thousands gathered at the Ross boatyard from 6.30 a.m. onwards to see the 120-foot, three-masted wooden barque leave the dry dock and travel upriver to the port of New Ross.
Time and tide don't normally wait for any man, but the tide waited patiently for the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern. The launch of the Dunbrody was scheduled to start promptly at 8 a.m. but Mr Ahern's late arrival delayed the proceedings. Nevertheless, half an hour later, with the help of the tide and a tow-boat, the ship left the dry dock to cheers from the crowd.
It was at that point that the Taoiseach came under fire, but it was a pleasant type of fire, as the ship gave him a ceremonial cannon salute.
Mr Ahern probably mused on the similarities between his Government and the Dunbrody as he watched the vessel glide away. Both parties came close to being sunk on several occasions, but some nimble manoeuvring allowed them to live another day.
And in common with Fianna Fail, the Dunbrody is still seeking corporate donations to secure its future. But while everyone wanted to be on board the Dunbrody yesterday, it was questionable if the same applied to Fianna Fail.
In the end, Ms Jean Kennedy Smith, former US ambassador to Ireland, was the main guest on the ship as it made its short journey to the port from which her greatgrandparents emigrated over 150 years ago.
The Dunbrody was the brainchild of Mr Sean Reidy, chief executive of the John F. Kennedy Trust, which sponsors projects in the late president's ancestral region.
It is a replica of an emigrant ship built in Quebec, in Canada, for a New Ross merchant family in 1845. The 21st century version was 10 years in gestation and cost £4 million - almost £2 million more than expected.
The original plan was to sail the ship to Boston in March of last year but when fund-raising in the US didn't live up to expectations, it was decided to shelve the seagoing work on the vessel.
The Dunbrody will remain on New Ross quay and from May it will house a permanent exhibition telling the story of Irish emigration.
However, Mr Reidy said he hoped the Dunbrody would eventually become a seagoing vessel. "It would cost about £700,000, which isn't a lot of money, considering the total cost of the project," he said yesterday.
During its construction, the ship attracted over 100,000 visitors to the boatyard and provided employment for about 150 people, with the help of FAS. It was built by a local workforce of young trainees and long-term unemployed, under the guidance of experienced shipwrights. Support also came from the Government, Wexford County Council, the EU and the American Ireland Fund.
Over 100 mature oaks, 100 larches and 23 Douglas firs were used in the Dunbrody's construction and several hundred hours of sleep were lost by Mr Reidy. "I'm very happy. After 10 years of effort and ups and downs along the way, it's very satisfying to see the launch," he said.
