The Girl from Dunslaney

It's 1776, and England is in the grip of a phenomenon that will become to be known as 'Canal Mania'.

In the next fifty years or so, thousands of miles of these man-made waterways will criss-cross the country, opening up trade on a scale previously unimaginable.

Young Sam Burton leaves the humble family farm to try his luck at 'navvying'.

Meanwhile, over the sea in Co. Wexford, young orphan maid Mary O'Farrell is being cruelly exploited by her rich master, Fintan Regan.

The fates of these three vastly different characters become intertwined in a classic love triangle culminating in a dramatic climax on a Cheshire canal.