Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

Heritage Minister Josepha Madigan has championed plans to upgrade the Barrow Canal towpath as a 46km blueway as a major economic boon for the communities it connects in counties Laois and Kildare. The upgrade scheme between Lowtown and Athy in…

A €2.3 million marina on Lough Derg that was the subject of a planning battle earlier this year is now open for business, Afloat.ie has learned. Derg Marina across from Killaloe is the first Ronautica-built marina in Ireland and was…

The start of cutting season next month could see the reopening of a disused canal in Co Roscommon for paddle sports, as The Irish Times reports. Drummans canal was built in 1719 as one of a number of private canals…

What is the most meandering bit of waterway in all Ireland? Obviously it would be a river. And surely it would have to be a river trying to get across a very large area of flat country where, over the…

The RNLI says it wants to help children Swim Safe with free water safety sessions at the Share Discovery Village on Upper Lough Erne for the first time this September. The fun, hour-long sessions teach young people how to swim…

A south Galway potter is embarking on a 350km row down the Shannon-Erne waterway in a handmade boat in memory of a close friend writes Lorna Siggins Weather permitting, Kinvara artist Joe McCaul (65) set out from Belleek, Co Fermanagh today…

Waterways Ireland is proposing extensive refurbishment works to the weir at Carnroe on the Lower Bann between Lough Neagh and Coleraine. The cross-border body for Ireland’s inland waterways says Carnroe Weir is essential to the retention of water levels and…

Waterways Ireland is proposing a permit system for the Shannon Navigation that could see users of Ireland’s longest river face charges for their boats for the first time, as The Irish Times reports. Users of the Royal and Grand Canals…

Crayfish plague has been confirmed in the River Nore in Co Kilkenny, marking the eighth record in Irish rivers since 2015 — and the third detected this year alone, as TheJournal.ie reports. Outbreaks of crayfish plague pose a significant threat…

RTÉ News reports that a major angling competition set for Athlone yesterday (Friday 16 August) was cancelled over the recent oil spillage in the River Shannon near the town. Westmeath County Council has been investigating the pollution incident on the…

The Irish Times says Westmeath County Council is investigating an oil spill on the River Shannon south of Athlone in which a number of fish and birds have died. Efforts were made to contain the spill on the Al River,…

The chief executives of Fáilte Ireland and Waterways Ireland met last week to discuss their new Strategic Partnership Programme to develop tourism along the latter’s network of inland waterways. The agreement is focused on delivering “a programme of works to…

Waterways Ireland says it is currently preparing drawings and methodologies for a planning submission to Dublin City Council on works to replace the sea lock at Grand Canal Dock. In 2018, the cross-border body for Ireland’s inland waterways commenced a…

RTÉ News reports that a lengthy section of the Grand Canal in Dublin has been drained after the partial collapse of a trunk sewer in the city. The breach of the sewer system at Suir Road in Inchicore has had…

Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) secured a conviction against Mr Bryan O’Neill, a riparian landowner on the Munster Blackwater, for removing spawning gravel during last summer’s drought. On Tuesday 16 July, Judge John King convicted Mr O’Neill at a special sitting…

In 2020 Lough Ree Yacht Club will celebrate its 250th anniversary or it’s Sestercentennial celebration, apparently a recently devised Latin expression for same. Lough Ree Yacht Club is located at Ballyglass, Coosan, Athlone. Organised boating events on Lough Ree have…