Dukart's Canal - Dukart's Legacy

Dukart's Legacy

The canal was the only place where inclines were used within Ireland's waterways. Legend has it that only one tub boat ever came down Dukart's Canal, in 1778. This exercise was completed to help save him from the accusation of serious misuse of public funds, but the inclines were a failure and were dismantled by 1787. Dukart died in 1785.

Very little remains of the canal. Some masonry and a bridge over an incline still exist. Dukart's name is still linked with Newmills and the Coalisland Canal. The most prominent canal structure still extant is the ashlar stone aqueduct at Newmills, built around 1768, where the canal was carried over the River Torrent. The remains of two of the inclines (known locally as Dry Hurries) are still visible. One can be found in Drumreagh near the Brackaville Golf Course. The largest is on the Quintinmanus Road near Newmills (although this one is largely overgrown and is hard to see). The town of Newmills was built around Dukart's failed canal.

Dukart was in many ways way ahead of his time. Inclined planes are frequently used today in different parts of the world in many different guises. It was a very ambitious gamble that unfortunately for Davis Dukart did not pay off.