My Life with Alistair Morrish: Why my wife and I swapped renting for life on a barge in Kildare

After soaring rents dashed homeownership hopes, Alistair and his wife found freedom, community and contentment living afloat in Kildare

Alistair and Tracey Morrish with their dog Buzz on the barge they call home near Lucan, Co. Kildare. Picture: Moya Nolan

It was our walks along the canal that inspired my wife and I to abandon our rental in favour of a very different home on board a barge in Kildare.

I think there were about five or six boats moored at the time. One day my wife Tracey turned around to me and asked “why don’t we buy a barge instead of paying rent?” We both agreed it was the right thing to do. Before purchasing the barge and moving in we often stopped and chatted to the liveaboards. This helped us to learn a little bit more about the lifestyle. Tracey and I instantly knew it was something we wanted to pursue.

The cost of rent was putting a major financial strain on us. We had moved from South Africa in 2008 right when the financial crash hit. It was very strange because I came over with the intention of opening an engineering firm. The downturn, however, had scuppered my chances as people were no longer doing any kind of construction or engineering. The banks told us that they weren’t offering many mortgages, so we had no choice but to rent. I carried out maintenance for a string of property groups but it was difficult to think about the future.

As a renter you have little to no security. Once you have a pension you don’t have the income to pay rent. I didn’t want to go on the housing list or be a burden on the State.

My priority was to be independent. I knew that living on a boat would give us the freedom we needed.

Alistair Morrish on the barge he calls home near Lucan, Co. Kildare. Picture: Moya Nolan

We bought a new barge in November, 2019. I spent the months that followed working on it. It was completely empty at that point so I had to fit out the entire interior. Shortly after that, in 2020, the pandemic forced the world into isolation. Luckily, I was still able to work on the boat. We moved in earlier than expected after one of our daughters found a window to come home from Kuala Lumpur. She needed somewhere to isolate so she stayed in our house, while we lived on the boat. We have been living here ever since.

There are, of course, challenges that come with living on a boat. It’s not like you have a driveway you can use to park up and offload the shopping. You have to drive to where you park your car and carry everything from there. Everything we need including our coal, groceries, and water, has to be carried to the boat.

We have what you call an Elsan toilet that is emptied into a sewage line. It’s a bit more rudimentary than all the plumbing and fittings you see in a house. Having said that, we do have a washing machine, which allows us to wash our clothes on board, as well as a very good drying system. Our shower is heated by gas. Luckily, my wife is very easy going. She has had to adapt to different living situations over the years because of the corporate work I once did. Before I moved to Ireland I was transferred 13 times over 14 years. Every year I was sent to a different location.

Whenever I would break the news that we had to pack up and move to another town she always asked me when I was going. Oftentimes I’d tell her that I needed to leave on Monday. In these situations I would send the trucks to come and pick her up once I had found a house in the new location. She would just be sitting at home waiting for the trucks to arrive to move everything.

I’m glad that this time round we can move around as much as we like while still being able to stay in the same home. Our barge is a good size. We can comfortably entertain our friends on board. We don’t have multiple bedrooms but there is a very comfortable living area covering 47 square metres.

Alistair and Tracey Morrish with their dog Buzz on the barge they call home near Lucan, Co. Kildare. Picture: Moya Nolan

It’s quite similar to living in a single bedroom flat or apartment. One of the things that I love most about living here is the wonderful sense of community. All the boaters tend to get together and share their problems. I’m inclined to run around between the boats quite a bit, repairing things for people and doing whatever needs to be done. We have our own WhatsApp group and there is always something going on in the chat.

There might be someone that has broken down who is in need of help. We had a barge that sank the other day in Dublin so we were all trying to rally around and get that family sorted.

Occasionally, the boats break free of their mooring and they need to be rescued. This is just par for the course when you are talking about boating.

Our daughters are very supportive of what we’re doing because it’s a lovely lifestyle. You are sitting out in nature the whole day. It’s a bonus to be able to move your boat so you’re not stuck to the one spot all the time. Neither Tracey or I have a single regret between us.