Last of Ireland’s traditional wooden sailing ships docks in Westport

ONE of Ireland’s most important wooden sailing ships has docked at Westport Quay.

The AK Ilen, which plied the waters near the Falkland Islands after she launched back in 1926, is now under the care of an award-winning charity.

Since being restored and re-launched in May 2018, the Ilen has been part of Sailing Into Wellness, a charity which offers programmes for people with mental health and addiction challenges, intellectual and physical disabilities and those engaged with the criminal justice services.

James Lyons, General Manager and Co-founder of Sailing Into Wellness, said that the AK Ilen came to Westport as part of a pilot for a new addiction recovery program which ‘combines, adventure therapy, sailing and psychotherapy’.

“After the week onboard the AK Ilen our participants will spend the weekend on Achill Island in a therapy setting,” Mr Lyons explained.

“After that we are joined by an amazing organisation, Safehaven, who work primarily with young people in direct provision. The young people will join us for a three-day voyage from Achill to Galway City.”

Conor O’Brien designed the AK Ilen after being the first to circumnavigate the globe in 1923-25 aboard another boat he designed, Saoirse - the first boat to enter many of the world’s ports and harbours flying the Irish tricolour. 

His seagoing experiences were put to use in his design of the Ilen, which was built for the Falkland Islands as a service boat and launched in the spring of 1926.

Under Mr O Brien’s command, the Ilen reached the Falklands early in 1927, where she plied the waters doing inter-island trade for many years thereafter.

In 1998, she was brought back to the site where she was first built, on the River Ilen near Baltimore, Co Cork. There, she underwent a full restoration and was re-launched in May 2018.

The boat is due to depart for Galway on Saturday May, 11. 

_{The AK Ilen sailing in Clew Bay with Clare Island in the background (Pic: Joe Corrigan)}