Jeanie Johnston repays her dues and now she’s Riverdance on water

BEFORE Denis Reen took over the Jeanie Johnston project the whole thing was virtually dead in the water.

What was projected to cost around £4 million ended up costing around €15 million. Maybe the plug should have been pulled once the project ran over budget, but it would have been sheer lunacy to scupper the whole thing when the ship was finished and ready to sail last year.

It was largely built as a training programme, with young apprentices from the Republic and both sides of the political divide in Northern Ireland being brought together. The young people got on well.