A 100 year old boat, the An Ona 3, is being restored to its former glory by Darragh Ltd of Newbliss, Monaghan’s answer to Harland and Wolff.

The An Ona 3, one of only eight of its kind ever made, has made many historic voyages during its sea-faring days and, in fact, was commandeered during World War Two to bring soldiers from England to Dunkirk.

The restoration project was commissioned by Galway University as the boat is owned by its Irish department and will be used for research and training for marine students.

The team has been lovingly restoring the boat for more than three months to the Department of Marine specifications.

The An Ona is a wooden hull carvel built, oak and teak boat. It features a Canoe stern, a rare shape, which according to Roy McAdoo, enables it to glide through big waves.

The Challenger 1, a new prototype designed and built in-house, had a successful maiden voyage recently and will be available to buy for some E50,000. It was designed during the winter as a general-purpose sports boat for diving, offshore fishing and for Jet Skiing.

Darragh Ltd, has been designing, building and restoring boats since 1965. Founded by Roy McAdoo who was later joined by his son John and daughter Eleanor, it is a valuable industry for the local economy employing almost 30 people.

“We do our own stainless steel work, upholstery, engineering and designing. We are currently working on eight family cruisers; the shortest one is 40 foot long! We build passenger vessels as well; three of ours are on Lough Erne and one at Manor house. We work for private people, the Government and the Navy,” Roy McAdoo said.

John explained that the most memorable boat they made was a Chinese Junk for a Nigerian customer.

“We also spent a year and a half restoring a boat which was used to test the endurance of fighter aeroplane engines.”

Darragh Ltd also makes the heels and toe caps of more than 30,000 Irish dancing shoes each year. The company has come a long way from its first boat, which was made from two oil drums!