Roscommon boatbuilding legend’s papers donated to county library

The centenary of the birth of County Roscommon boatbuilder Jimmy Furey, of Mount Plunkett, Lecarrow is being marked with the donation by Mr Furey’s estate of all the papers and plans that remained in his cottage and boatshed at the time of his death to Roscommon County Library.

The ultimate aim of the project is the establishment of an easily accessible source of information and inspiration about Jimmy’s life for young boatbuilding talents wishing to follow in his footsteps.

“While my uncle had no desire for a permanent museum or exhibit glorifying his work, he was unfailingly generous in his support of younger boatbuilders who approached him for advice.

“As a result, I believe he would have been quietly delighted to see his papers used to help sustain a tradition that was his lifelong passing,” said Mr Furey’s nephew and chief executor, John Fuery.

Mr Furey ‘clinker built’ more than 20 Shannon One Designs (SOD) dinghies between the early 1970’s and the mid-2000’s. Otherwise known as a ‘lapstrake’, clinker building is a highly skilled process involving the precise overlapping of planks for boatbuilding.

Jimmy began working life as an eel fisherman before later repairing and constructing rowing boats. He was also gifted at crafting detailed scale models of boats and received numerous accolades during his lifetime such as the Duke of Edinburgh’s Gold Medal. His work has also been permanently showcased in the Greenwich Maritime Museum in London.

The son of Charlie and Mary Furey and from a family of two brothers and two sisters, he lived his entire life at Mountplunkett, the former landed estate, on the shores of Lough Ree in South Roscommon, residing in his grandfather’s homeplace, until his passing in 2020.

He was also an active member of the Lough Ree Yacht Club, the country’s second oldest Yacht Club, founded in 1770, taking to sailing at the tender age of 50.

During his lifetime, he was the subject of an acclaimed ‘Hands’ documentary on RTÉ, narrated by acclaimed writer, Benedict Kiely. An obituary highlighting his rich life was printed in The Guardian newspaper in September 2020.

Executive librarian Ruairí Ó hAodha said he was honoured to accept the estate’s generous gift of the boatbuilder’s effects. “The library looks forward to welcoming anyone and everyone interested in learning more about Jimmy Furey, or hopefully even continuing his life’s work.

“While the tranche of papers we have received from the estate has provided this not-for-profit initiative with a very solid foundation, it is our hope that this will be an organic and ever-evolving project.

“To this end, we would be delighted to hear from anyone wishing to further enrich its contents by sharing their memories of meeting, sailing or working with Mr Furey, or loaning/permanently lodging pictures/scans of him or his boats,” said Mr Ó hAodha.

For further details of how you can view or contribute to the Jimmy Furey Centenary Collection call/email John Fuery on 089 200 4349, email fuerycreative@gmail.com, or call/email Roscommon Library on 090 663 7312, or email rohaodha@roscommoncoco.ie/roslib@roscommoncoco.ie.