The Jeanie Johnston - a 19th century replica of a famine ship - will sail as planned despite a cost overrun of £2 million.
Speaking from Fenit, Co Kerry, yesterday, Mr John Griffin, co-ordinator of the project, said delays at nearby Blennervile, where most of the work was carried out, escalating labour costs and fluctuations in the sterling exchange rate, had combined to cause the overrun. However, Kerry County Council had guaranteed a £2 million loan for the project.
It was originally planned that the ship would sail to America towards the end of the year and be greeted by President Clinton.
The plan now is that it will complete sea trials in August, followed by courtesy calls to Cork, Waterford, Limerick, Galway, Dublin, Derry and Belfast as part of the Millennium celebrations, making the voyage to America early in 2001. The original Jeanie Johnston sailed out of Blennervile in the 1800s, carrying emigrants fleeing the Great Famine.
The replica project has involved young people from North and South joining experienced shipwrights in Kerry. At sea, the reborn Jeanie Johnston will become a sail training ship, while in port it will be a floating museum, depicting what life was like in a famine ship.