In most of my stories I write about my various coach trips, this time by way of a change I am going to take you cruising on The River Shannon. Coming home on holidays to my native Leitrim I always used to admire the beautiful pleasure cruisers based at Irelands largest inland Marina at Carrick on Shannon, passing by and lovingly admiring the beautiful fleet I often wondered what a holiday on one of these magnificent cruisers would be like, I decided after the best part of Thirty Years looking at the fleet it was high time to book up and “Go cruising down the river”.
I made contact with Emerald Star Line based in Carrick, I was greeted by Edel Browne, she went through in great detail the various types of cruisers that were in their fleet, I could not believe the various designs and layouts on offer, starting at the smaller end of fleet was a cruiser named “Town Star”, this is a very compact craft which can sleep Three People in great comfort, then I was shown the top end of the fleet it was aptly named “The Magnifique” this craft is without a shadow of a doubt a “Floating Hotel” ten people can be accommodated in four luxury cabins plus a double bed conversion in the lounge, there are three Bathrooms all fully fitted out to include showers.
I spent well over two hours admiring the ten different cruisers on offer and finally decided to hire a four berth named “Clipper”
Within a few days of making my booking a comprehensive pack arrived in the post, this included a lovely brochure “Discover the beauty of Ireland’s Waterways, also included was “The Captains Handbook” and a detailed river map which detailed the cruising channels, moorings, where to obtain fuel and a host of information on the waterways all the way from Belleek in Fermanagh to Killaloe in County Clare. I studied all this vast array of information in great detail and indeed wondered if I could actually handle a cruiser on the waterways.

On Monday afternoon September 12th Josie and myself arrived at Emerald Star’s Office, we were greeted by a lovely young lady who went through all the formalities with us, we were then escorted to our waiting cruiser by a member of their technical staff, he went through all the equipment on board in great detail, he supplied us with a folder with telephone numbers of Doctors in the various town along the waterways also there was a list of Pubs and Restaurants, we were also issued with a courtesy mobile phone. I was delighted when he offered to take us for a cruise down river, after about twenty minutes he said with a smile it is now over to you Brendan, I took the wheel and it was not very long until I got the feel of this fine craft, we returned back to its berth at the marina and I managed to dock without much problems.
Our helpful technician wished us a pleasant holiday and left, it was now time to take stock of our fine cruiser, the “Galley” was fully equipped with a full set of saucepans, kettle, a four piece crockery set and a full set of kitchen utensils, also on board is a house size fridge and cooker, there were two sets of bed linen including pillows and duvets, after familiarizing ourselves with the craft and everything on board it was time to cut loose from our berth and go cruising down the river, wearing a lifejacket is now compulsory on Irelands Waterways and this is a good idea, so with lifejackets donned we were on our way to Dromod for our overnight stop.
The river and lakes have Red and Black markers to define the safe channel to take your craft, looking at my map I noticed we would have to negotiate Albert Lock, this is one of six locks on the Shannon, I approached with great care and was pleased to find the green light on so I was able to drive straight into the lock, the lock keeper closed the gates behind us, water level regulated and soon we were on our way, we passed a lovely marinas at Jamestown and Drumsna and just under three hours we were at Dromod Marina, we tied up safely and put the kettle on for a well deserved cup of tea. We finally settled down for the night, the bed was very comfortable and with the gentle ripple of the water it was soon off to sleep.
Next morning it was up bright and early and we set off to Tarmonbarry, our first port of call was Rooskey, here we had to tie up and await the lockkeeper to lift the road bridge for us, safely through we then tied up at the lock, gates opened we entered and soon the water levels were sorted and it was off again, we cruised through Lough Forbes and arrived in Tarmonbarry in time for lunch, after a leisurely stop we decided to return to Rooskey for our overnight stop.
Next day we retraced our route back to Carrick and then on to the beautiful Lough Key, we tied up for the night and went to explore the Forest Park, this is an area of outstanding natural beauty nestling a the foot of the Curlew Mountains, the park is well kept and there are various walks well marked for the visitor, there are plans to build a large hotel and leisure facility in the park in the near future.
After a long walk it was back to our cruiser and prepare our evening meal, you know cruising and the great outdoors and of course the fresh air all helps to give you a wonderful appetite. Night time on board is very comfortable, there are several lights and spotlights for reading, there is a very quiet diesel heater which blows hot air through the craft, another excellent idea there is a heat exchanger which heats the water when the cruiser engine is running, the water stays hot for up to twelve hours thanks to a special insulation system.
Thursday morning we decided to explore Lough Key, there are several lovely islands on the lake, we cruised back towards Carrick at a gentle pace, we stopped at the village of Cootehall and had lunch at the marina, we continued on our way back to base where we were going to reluctantly hand back this lovely craft in the morning.
On arrival we decided to refuel and fill the water tank so all we have to do in the morning is hand back the keys.
The gentleman who refueled our craft did a quick check to ensure all was in pristine condition and no damage done, thankfully it got a clean bill of health and we tied up for our last night on board. Friday morning it was time to checkout and hand back the keys.
Finally To sum up, we found the cruising holiday to be so relaxed, the peace and tranquility of the waterways is just out of this world. The comfort and luxury of our craft was as good as any Four Star Hotel and the back up service was second to none. We are most grateful to Edel Browne and her excellent team at Emerald Star in Carrick on Shannon.
If you would like further information their website is www.emeraldstar.ie and Telephone 00 353 71 9620234.
Until the next time its Good Bye and God Bless from The Hills of Sligo.