Restored 200-year-old longboat ready to race

A LONGBOAT washed ashore in west Cork more than 200 years ago is being brought back to life by a project to help young rowers preparing for international competition.

The 38-foot Bantry Bay longboat is set to have its first public outing for the Ocean to City boat race in Cork on the June bank holiday weekend.

But the finishing touches are still being put on the vessel, the hull of which has been almost completed by a team led by Bantry man Diarmaid Murphy. It will soon be moved from the workshop in Waterford to the Meitheal Mara boat-building centre in Cork city for the final construction phase.