THE REPLICA famine ship Jeanie Johnstonmay put to sea again in time for the Tall Ships race Irish stopover in 2012, according to Dublin's Docklands Authority.
The ship will continue to run as a museum in the short-term, under an arrangement renewed by the Docklands Authority with Galway-based company Aiseanna Mara Teo.
However, the authority says its intention is to have the ship in seaworthy condition for the Tall Ships festival in Dublin in 2012.
The Docklands Authority bought the Jeanie Johnston, which had been the subject of controversy over construction costs, in 2005 from Kerry County Council, the Kerry Group and Tralee Town Council. The purchase was part of the authority’s docklands river regeneration strategy for the Liffey. Last year, the authority appointed Aiseanna Mara Teo, which runs the river Liffey ferries and Killary fjord ferries in Co Galway, to maintain the vessel at its berth. Under a new tender secured by the company, it will also operate the vessel as a museum and tourist attraction.
The Tall Ships festival returns to Waterford in 2011