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Building the UK's first canal

Most heavy goods today are moved by container lorries along motorways or by train. In the past, people in County Tyrone needed to find a way to move coal to the coast, for transportation by sea to Dublin. Initially, horses pulled coal carts from Coalisland to Newry and could take one ton at a time. When the coal was transported by water, a horse could pull 70 tonnes. The route from Tyrone to the coast was geographically quite level so a canal was built by 'navvies'. A barge from Lough Neagh to Newry could take two days as there were 14 locks to negotiate.

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4 minutes