Hong Kong Island based Stanley Sea School Principal Hon Piu LEE and his teenage students hosted the Claddagh Boatmen Peter Connolly, Coilin Hernon and Joe Joyce for the week 22 to 29 March. The Claddagh Boatmen are the custodians of the Galway Hooker, the iconic fishing vessel of the West of Ireland. For the first time, the Boatmen travelled to Hong Kong and Macau to share their unique skills, experience and passion.
They spent time with the students in the Sea School in Stanley, met with counterparts in Macau and screened a documentary on their work titled Ċroi na Ċladaiġ – From the Woods to the Water, by documentary film-maker Tony Walsh. The students received hands-on training in traditional boat building skills and the school and wider Hong Kong community were able to learn about the working history and recent regatta resurgence of these unique vessels.