An Irishman's boating diary
We spent most of the 2019 season boating on Lough Dreg, so here’s what we thought of Lough Derg, what we learned from our time there and a few tips we’d like to pass on to you.
Lough Derg is a large lake so it’s worth doing a bit of research before you head out on it in a boat. I hope this short video will be of some help to you and also to help make your holiday a little more enjoyable.
Caught in a Storm on Lough Derg. Boating on the River Shannon is normally a relaxed affair. But today’s boat trip takes us right into the eye of a storm on the river Shannon’s largest lake Lough Derg. Usually, all our boating on the River Shannon is in pretty good weather but today we got caught out.
When people think of the secret lake they don’t normally think of River Shannon boating. But step aboard and join us for an extraordinary River Shannon cruise from a secret lake to Lough Derg, the River Shannon’s largest lake.
Music: Achaidh Cheide – Celtic by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/…) Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-… Artist: http://incompetech.com/
This secret lake just off Lough Derg is probably not visited by many boats. That’s because it’s not on the majority of charts of the River Shannon. Also, it’s well off the navigation channel. On this voyage, we bring you with us as we explore deep into this lesser-known part of Lough Derg.
As I sit here on my boat writing this, outside the rain is chucking it down in buckets full. All around me people are complaining about the rain. “Not a day for boating” I hear someone say. Yet without rain, we would not have this river and all its magnificent lakes. Every plant, every animal, in fact, every single living thing on this planet depends on this life-giving water. Even our own bodies are made up of 60% water. It’s in us as well as all around us, it’s part of us.
Well if you want to go boating in Ireland you should check out this cruise into Scarriff Harbour. Scarriff is a mid-sized town in Co Clare. It has a super harbour a short distance up the Scarriff river that links the town to Lough Derg.
Hope you’ll join us for this cruise in great weather across Lough Derg and into the Scarriff River. Ta
This is our Shannon River cruise across Lough Derg to the beautiful village of Garrykennedy. Any River Shannon cruise will take in at least some lake or wide river portion. Really the River Shannon is a whole bunch of lakes joined together with river stretches!
Garrykennedy is probably one of the most popular moorings on Lough Derg. It’s a small village with two pubs, one of which has a traditional thatched roof and serves excellent food. Surprisingly there is no shop in Garrykennedy, there is however plenty atmosphere all of which lends a good feeling to the place.
When you go boating in Ireland you hope for weather like this. You don’t always get it but when you do everything looks so much better.
We head from Killaloe up onto the sprawling Lugh Derg and we need to dispose of some refuse we have accumulated, so we visit Mountshannon briefly to use the bins.
Then we take a look at Holy Island with the drone before mooring up in Dromaan Harbour.
I want to show you what boating in Ireland is like, the scenery, the waterways, the lakes rivers, and canals. This video shows a little bit of them all. I hope you like it and if you’re new to the channel, please Subscribe to get notification of our weekly videos. (Just click the red subscribe icon in the bottom right-hand corner of your screen. Thanks
I really like the music on this video and the credit for it goes to Kevin MacLeod. see below.
Music:
Achaidh Cheide – Celtic by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100340
Artist: http://incompetech.com/
Master of the Feast by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1400019
Artist: http://incompetech.com/
The wind is up, on Lough Derg. And we have a rough cruise across the lake in choppy water. Mar gets a bit upset but we eventually settle into a nice mooring in Dromaneer. The wind dies down and the local sailing club treats us to a demonstration of their skills.
This is a lovely boat trip on the river Shannon to Mountshannon village, a lovely quiet village on the shores of Lough Derg. Mountshannon can boast a large and well-protected harbour with floating jetties as well as stone jetties.
The village has a cafe, two pubs and one serves good food if you fancy a nice meal out. There’s a basic shop in the local petrol station but Mountshannon’s charm is in buildings and its old world charm, and of course in its people too.
Continue reading “Boat Trip on the River Shannon to Mountshannon”
A great River Shannon boat trip is the run down river from Portumna to Terryglass. It takes in a little bit of river boating as well as a taste of lake boating as well. A day of River boating can sometimes be a bit cold this early in the season, but that in no way deters us and we cruise the River Shannon to Terryglass on the beautiful Lough Derg. Thanks for watching.