|The Shannon Estuary|   Kilrush|   Upper Shannon Estuary|    Limerick|    Lower Shannon Estuary|

Heading on upstream in the main Shannon Waterway, you sense the quickening pace approaching the city of Limerick.. This is a city on the move, with a vibrant University and extensive interests in all areas of computer manufacture. But the past is respected, too, and the famous Hunt museum is in the heart of the restored waterfront area, and beside it is the quayside berth for the 56ft ketch Ilen which Conor O'Brien built and sailed to the Falkland Islands in 1926, a tough old boat which worked for 65 years as the service vessel in that stormbound archipelago. A major navigational improvement project is about to get underway (1999) to improve the navigation for small craft through Limerick City to give easier access to the 200 mile long inland waterway system of the River Shannon and the Irish canals.
Heading back down the Estuary from Limerick, to starboard the islands in the mouth of the Fergus river hide a secret anchorage which was once home to an America's Cup Challenger, Captain Henn's Galatea. And nearby is Kiladysart, a delightful little port village where life moves at it's own sweet pace, while a few miles further downstream lies the delightful village of Labasheeda with its drying quay.  Next Page