Jeanie Johnston -
First Open Weekend Successful

Members of the crew, including the ship's Captain, Mike Forwood, as well as the staff of the Jeanie Johnston Project and the shipwrights who worked on the project were on hand to enthusiastically greet the visitors and show them around the almost-completed ship.

The very first members of the public to board the ship at 10 o'clock on Saturday morning, 14th July were Carl Brown from Massachusetts and his grand-daughter, Melissa, who lives in New York. "I've been in Ireland a number of times already", Carl said, "and I've visited different parts of the country. My grand-daughter and I are delighted to be here today to see a little bit of history being made and we wish the project every success!". Other visitors who were greeted by the Captain and crew were Karen Breen who travelled from Toronto, and her aunt Mai Carroll from Tralee. They were thrilled to see the ship and Karen was looking forward to being able to greet the Jeanie Johnston during the planned port visit to Toronto in 2002. Visitors were all given personal guided tours of the vessel and had the opportunity of hearing about the history of the original famine ship; how the restoration project has been conducted and how the ship will operate once it is re-launched, according to spokesperson, Ann Martin.

Delighted at making history - Carl Brown from Massachusetts and his grand-daughter, Melissa from New York, who were the very first members of the public to board the Jeanie Johnston

Well-known Radio Kerry presenter, Ted Carroll, who had queued from early on Saturday morning, told TraleeTown.com that he was delighted to have been able to be one of the first members of the public to see the ship at first hand. "It is a remarkable achievement", he said, " and everyone has been waiting for this for so long now that it's almost an anti-climax! Most people are waiting to see the Project completed as soon as possible and will relish the opportunity of seeing the ship in full sail. It's been a long wait but I've no doubt it will be worth it!".

It was George Barry from Bournemouth, England who claimed the honour of being the oldest visitor to the ship, after celebrating his 78th birthday the day before. He admitted that he was sprightly for his age and otherwise might have had difficulty in negotiating the ship with the low ceilings and steep steps. "But I'm very glad to have lived to see this today and be part of history", he said. "I've no doubt that the visit of the Jeanie Johnston to the States and Canada will be the largest celebration of Irish culture ever seen. It will give us an opportunity to commemorate the past and celebrate the success of the Irish in the New World". His hopes were echoed by the steady stream of excited visitors to avail of the unique opportunity to tour the ship over the two day Open Weekend, including visitors from all parts of Ireland, Canada, North America, Germany, Spain, Denmark and England. Meanwhile, Fenit, the new port of Tralee, is gearing itself up for the completion and re-launch of the Jeanie Johnston replica famine ship in the next few weeks.