Cruising Ireland’s Waterways by Clive Tully

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There’s a bit of a wind blowing, and Lough Derg has a respectable chop on its waters. It’s time for lunch, not to mention a pint of Guinness as reward for my efforts at the helm this morning. As harbours go, Garrykennedy’s is pretty small. The quaint lichen-covered harbour walls - built 170 years ago from stones taken from the nearby Norman castle ruins - gleam in the autumn sunshine, and the surrounding greens look almost iridescent. Stepping ashore from my Emerald Star Magnifique luxury cruiser, I’m smitten with the inescapable feeling that I’ve just walked into a picture postcard. It’s compounded as I wander up the road in search of refreshment.

Larkins pub definitely has a time warp look about it. The thatched roof overhangs whitewashed stone walls with ancient enamelled plaques advertising cigarette brands from a bygone era. But at least the one advertising Guinness has an air of constancy, even if the slogan that it’s “good for you” has long been replaced by slicker forms of marketing. Inside, there are panelled walls, adorned with old prints galore. After a leisurely lunch, it’s time to hit the water once more - heading south for my overnight stop in Killaloe.

Ireland is certainly the place to unwind, where you can find a rather less hectic pace of life. And undeniably one of the best ways to enjoy that is to take off in a cruiser along Ireland’s beautiful waterways. Travelling at not much more than walking speed, you get the opportunity to really take in your surroundings, and you have surroundings aplenty - Ireland has the longest inland waterway system purely for leisure boating in the whole of Europe.

For me, part of the enjoyment is just living aboard a boat - marvelling at the way every cubic inch of space is utilised, with natty little lockers and cubby holes to store your things. In fact, modern hire cruisers are equipped to a very high standard, so you can expect a full gas cooker, refrigerator and hot and cold running water - even heaters to take the early morning chill out of your cabin. Smaller boats are masterpieces of ingenuity, with folding tables and settees which convert into beds. The bathrooms tend to be a miracle of space utilisation, too - in fact, it’s possible to use both toilet and shower at the same time! Yes, before long, the words “sharp end” and “blunt end” will be replaced in your nautical vocabulary by “bow” and “stern”, and you’ll be calling your kitchen the galley.

Where and when

Most hire companies start business for the year round about Easter, finishing some time around Autumn half-term time, when the boats come in for maintenance, and to be laid up for the winter. July and August tend to be the most expensive months, but either side of that is cheaper, with the price dropping quite significantly by the tail end of the season.

Grand Canal

The Grand Canal connects the river Shannon with Dublin and the River Barrow. In fact, it would make a great two-centre holiday - spending a week soaking up the splendid cosmopolitan atmosphere of Dublin with another week on the water. Pick up your hire boat in Lucan, on the outskirts of Dublin, and you have over 80 miles of classic, peaceful canal cruising between you and Shannon Harbour.

River Barrow

Hang a left as you head west along the Grand Canal, roughly halfway along, to head down the Barrow Navigation for the river Barrow, Ireland’s second longest river. The navigation joins the river at Athy, a picturesque town with old warehouses lining the harbour. The river itself meanders south through wooded landscapes to Waterford, home of the famous crystal.

River Shannon

Ireland’s longest river is too much for a single holiday, which perhaps explains why so many people keep going back. The upper reaches of the Shannon flow through a number of wonderfully scenic lakes, from Lough Allen to Lough Ree. In fact, from the cruising capital of the area - Carrick-on-Shannon, there are no fewer than 41 lakes within a 10 kilometre radius.

Further south, and the Shannon takes on a different character as the river widens, and it flows through Lough Derg, its largest lake. Stopping off at various places around the lake such as Portumna, Garrykennedy, Killaloe and Mountshannon could easily consume a week’s gentle cruising. If you wanted to take a more linear route without returning to the same place, you could do Portumna to Carrick-on-Shannon in a week, giving you an average of around three hours a day of cruising.

Shannon Erne Link

The Ballinamore & Ballyconnell Canal briefly linked the rivers Shannon and Erne in the latter half of the 19th Century, during which time the number of craft recorded as having passed through could be counted on the fingers of one pair of hands! In 1994, the link was re-opened after a massive restoration, with 16 modern locks operated by smart cards. These days, the Shannon Erne Waterway isn’t just a scenic stretch of lake, river and canal enjoyed by several thousand boaters a year, it’s a fantastic success story in cross-border co-operation, uniting North and South through their beautiful waterways.

Erne Waterway

The Erne system (also known as the Fermanagh Lakelands of Northern Ireland) is renowned for its magnificent scenery. About a fifth of the surface area of Upper Lough Erne is taken up by numerous small islands, while Lower Lough Erne (actually above Upper Lough Erne) has a different character entirely - a large expanse of open water surrounded by mountains.

Other things to do

Many will find that the boating and gently passing scenery to be all they need from a holiday, but if you’re looking for an extra dimension, there are plenty of diversions to be found, from exploring Ireland’s rich history, to sinking a putt at one of many top class golf courses, or doing a spot of angling.

Heritage

Wherever you look, Ireland’s wonderfully rich heritage abounds. There are prehistoric graves, standing stones, crumbling monasteries and castles, churches, stately homes and more humble dwellings from bygone times, and much of it close to hand. In Carrick-on-Shannon, for example, is the Costello chapel, the smallest chapel in Europe (and second smallest in the world). And it’s almost a certainty that wherever you tie up, you’ll find museums and heritage centres to help make sense of a country with a complex and intriguing history.

Fishing

Ireland is world famous for its angling, and of course, on your own boat travelling through some of the best places for fishing, you’re already at a distinct advantage. In fact, many hire companies provide the tackle for coarse fishing, so it’s very easy to try your hand at catching bream, perch, roach or rudd. Some of the largest pikes in Europe have been caught in Lough Derg, and one, the Portumna Monster - proudly displayed in a local bar - is positively huge.

But if you’re interested in angling as a rather more serious pursuit, you still won’t have to travel far from your moorings. There’s plenty of game fishing to be had, with salmon in the Shannon and Barrow, and trout in Lough Erne, Lough Ree and Lough Derg. Ask locally for advice on the best spots for fly-fishing, and of course, whatever kind of angling you decide to try, make sure you comply with local fishing regulations.

Golf

It’s no co-incidence that Tiger Woods always spends the week before the British Open limbering up at one of Ireland’s 150 links courses. Maybe it’s the stunning scenery, or maybe it’s the comparative lack of formality. But whilst it’s the coastal links courses that Ireland is best known for, there are plenty of others inland, closer to your floating holiday home, particularly the parkland courses in the Midlands and near the eastern canals.

A lot has happened with Irish golfing in the last ten years, with over 150 new courses being built, and older ones refurbished, many of them in consultation with top golfing pros like Seve Ballesteros and Arnold Palmer. So it’s not surprising that Ireland is counting the days with eager anticipation to 2006, when it hosts the Ryder Cup for the very first time, not so far from the Grand Canal, in Straffan, County Kildare.

Cycling

Most cruiser hire companies provide rental bikes, so it could make sense to take advantage of having some wheels. Apart from giving you the means to extend your range for necessary shopping trips, the waterside environment - with towpaths and quiet, flat trails and lanes - is ideal for recreational cycling.

Walking

Undoubtedly there will be times when you’ll feel the need to stretch your legs ashore, and taking a walk is something where you can be as energetic or as unhurried as you like. The canals in the east have towpaths which you can follow, while in the west, there are lots of new signed walking trails along the Shannon Erne Waterway. The Inland Waterways Association of Ireland has a superb website detailing waterway walks, with route descriptions and maps you can download.

The 19th hole

There’s no reason why golfers should get it all. I refer, of course, to Ireland’s splendid pubs. Yes, the Guinness really does taste different in the country of its birth, but no matter what your tipple, the pubs are an experience in their own right. It’s here that you’ll discover that “craic” is not a gap in the wall to be filled with plaster, but the all-embracing term which covers the warm conviviality of a friendly pub.

Practicalities

While your hire boat could well be larger and heavier than a bus, the process of learning to handle it isn’t that daunting once you appreciate that driving a boat isn’t quite the same as driving a car. Apart from anything else, you have to get used to the fact that the road may be moving in a different direction to the way you want to go!

You’ll get a short but thorough briefing by one of your hire company’s experts, along with sitting you down to watch a video to highlight safety aspects. Even if no one else in your party takes the controls, they’ll still need to understand the basics of line handling for when you moor up, or pass through locks.

And once you’ve had the basics, you’ll go for a quick spin with the instructor aboard, after which you’re declared ready to go. Even then you’re not entirely on your own - you have the reassurance that whatever difficulty you may have, no matter how slight, help is only a phone call away. On my boat they even provided a mobile phone for emergency use.