I have had many great memories and stories from the river as I live in the beautiful town of Graignamanagh, where the river barrow flows through. I have been swimming and kayaking in the river from a very young age, thanks to my dad. My dad, sister and I started kayaking a good few years
In the ‘50’s and early’60’s, our family spent Summer holidays in Tramore. We stayed in a caravan site, which had all amenities. The caravan was in a sheltered area. High winds came in off the sea frequently. They were liable to blow a caravan over, if not located properly. There were a lot of day-trippers
It was the evening before the big adventure, and I needed to pack! Maybe a life jacket, some food for a picnic, a jumper in case I got cold on the water, a mobile phone in case we needed help, an underwater camera too. The next day was going to be a big one. I
My uncle had a well fenced field surrounded on two sides by a road, the other sides lined with elegant Ash and Beech trees. It was known as the “Four Acres” but was actually 7 Statute Acres – the ‘four acres’ being the ancient Irish measure. The field sloped West to East and had a
Occasionally a fish would take a gulp from our juicy worm, before darting away. This was our resourceful attempt to catch one of many small innocent fish in our neighbouring Tay river. If the fish were innocent, well so were we, as we had not a chance of catching a fish no matter how small,
My grandfather was born in the late 1930s. He lived in Athlone Co. Westmeath. His parents (my great grandparents)owned a cinema beside the river Shannon in Athlone town bridge. When he was 4 years old he had the easiest job in the cinema. His job was to check everyone’s ticket. To check tickets, you had
The little Sally stream rises near Djouce, passes my old house, from where it continues, dead straight, under Sally’s bridge and beyond, to the Vartry reservoir. Stuck in the dregs of the reservoir is a tiny shiny-red boot. Sally’s Bridge, Roundwood, Co Wicklow. I said it was dead straight. It was straightened. Farmer Brady’s two
Sunday was always family day and a day when you did something together as a family so everyone looked forward to Sunday especially if the day was good in the summertime. We were lucky as we lived about two miles from the beach. This beach was called Stragill and is part of Lough Swilly one
June 2019,when it all began.6 boats took on the challenge of cruising from Athlone to Baltimore in West Cork.15 locations taken in on the way. Our journey began when we set off from Athlone down to Killaloe and on out through Ard Na Crusha Lock. Our first stop over was in Kilrush. Unfortunatly,due to bad
I’m not so much a member of the boaty community as a casual acquaintance. I can’t tie the nautical knots and I’m about as sure-footed on deck as a new-born giraffe. At one point, I may have thought the star-board was the plank pirates made you walk but I never turn up without a case
Cocooning in my garden, in brilliant sunshine, in thought -why does the Rogerstown Estuary in front of my house not reflect the blue of the sky like in Greece all those years ago?; 1963; memorable for the deaths of J.F. Kennedy and Pope John XXll 1… In my reverie I drift back in time ……
After the sudden heavy rains that August, the little river that meanders through the suburbs from Deansgrange in Dublin out to Killiney Bay swelled to a torrent along the narrow culvert through the railway embankment. Tearing its way across the shingle to the sea, it had carved a deep channel with steep sides at least