River Islands on the Shannon - query

fabbydabby

Apologies if this is the wrong forum, but I had a look and I think it's most suited to this one.

Is there any definitive online source to information on the River Islands on the Shannon? I was on a day trip to a river island on The Corrib last summer and REALLY enjoyed it. The island had a pier and all, and I'd love to do a trip on the shannon where I stop off in different islands along the way.

Could anyone give me info? I spent about the last half hour googling but can't seem to find out the important stuff, like if the islands have piers to get a lake cruiser into or if they are privately owned (and a visit such as mine would constitute trespassing!).

I would appreciate any thoughts on this! Many thanks.

JupiterKid

fabbydabby wrote: »

Apologies if this is the wrong forum, but I had a look and I think it's most suited to this one.

Is there any definitive online source to information on the River Islands on the Shannon? I was on a day trip to a river island on The Corrib last summer and REALLY enjoyed it. The island had a pier and all, and I'd love to do a trip on the shannon where I stop off in different islands along the way.

Could anyone give me info? I spent about the last half hour googling but can't seem to find out the important stuff, like if the islands have piers to get a lake cruiser into or if they are privately owned (and a visit such as mine would constitute trespassing!).

I would appreciate any thoughts on this! Many thanks.

I spent a lot of my childhood holidays on the Shannon back in the 1980s and early 1990s and many of the lake islands (such as Holy Island on Lough Derg and Quaker Island on Lough Ree) are accessible but not by large cruiser. Indeed some of these islands have significant historical ruins and monuments are are interesting to visit.

You have to anchor off these islands and then take a dingy to small landing stages on shore. AFAIK none of the islands have mooring facilites for large boats.

There are also numerous islands on the river sections themselves but most of these are not so easily accessible. Most would be privately owned.

You should inquire through the Inland Waterways Association of Ireland's website:

www.iwai.ie

kevrr

Don't really know about the rest of the shannon but the islands on Lough Ree are really beautiful places and are well worth a visit.

I think most are private property, but as long as you're repectful to the environment you are in whilst there, you'd be very unlikely to have any problems with the owners. Tourists in cruisers stop off at them fairly regularly during the summer, and I've gone camping out there a lot in the past, never any problems.

About finding places to berth, like Jupiter said you need to just anchor up (if you're in a cruiser), and row into shore on a smaller boat or swim if the weather/currents are good! Some of the larger islands with a history of settlement often have the remains of piers/deep channels on the shoreline where boats might have been docked, but really they're not reliable/big enough to chance a modern day cruiser!

IWAI sell pretty good charts that show you where all the islands are, can help you find places to anchor.....and some books for sale on the website can give you more specific info about islands/areas if you're looking for that....

Good luck with it!

Stavro Mueller

The IWAI have online versions of the maps here if you want to take a look. I'm reasonably familiar with the Lough Ree area and know that with quite a few of those islands, you'd not get a larger boat near them. I only know of one island that is inhabited and it's up north of Hodson Bay somewhere.

Dermow

I saw a new guide to the river Shannon and the towns along the way. I got it free at the marina and its really good. Tonnes of information on the history of each area and what to do and where to visit.
Its called "Along the River" and I think its free in all the marinas and boating companies on the river Shannon.
Hope this helps.

Cheers !