It’s still dark. 4am. The Liffey flows gently by. Our van moves so smoothly it is along the empty road it almost seems silent as we pull into the car park of the Wrens Nest. Lifting the punt from the roof we make our way through the bushes to the water’s edge. The sky brightens
I count myself fortunate to live beside a river. But should I call it a river? It is still, cartographically speaking, anonymous just known locally as “The River”. Along its northbound route innumerable little streamlets have joined and barely two miles from where it made its ‘sudden sally’ from the earth a bridge is needed.
My first experience of Smerwick Harbour was as a pupil in the 1960s, a scoláire learning Irish during summer holidays with the Crescent school in Limerick, at the picturesque Gaeltacht village of Baile na nGall (Ballydavid) on the edge of the Dingle Peninsula in West Kerry. We spoke Irish, swam, played Gaelic football, cycled by
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
Late summer 1979, a cool onshore breeze kisses the rugged coast of Mayo as the pale, apricot sun sets over a small picture postcard pub, little changed in over a century; it sits unobtrusively on the banks of Killary Harbour, one of only three fjords in Ireland I am reliably informed by the genial host
Presently I am cocooning, and well into my 70s. I have lovely memories of the Brusna River, on the Caltra Road, close to my home, in Ballina. In my childhood days, mid 1950s as children, we spent our summers playing in the River. Soon after our breakfast, we would go off with our nice clean
In the rural Ireland I grew up in the nineteen fifties/sixties holidays abroad were not common. Indeed, a trip to the seaside was a once a year event. So ‘the river’ was very important in our lives. The river Douglas was our local river. It was easy flowing and as safe as a river could
When I was young a long time ago, we lived on a farm in a place called the Illies. There were nine children in the family and we all had jobs to do every day. Our land at the front of the house sloped down three fields to the river and the field at the
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 1960 something and myself and the Da went for a walk down the Grand Canal At Inchicore. Da had the transistor radio blaring out the All Ireland and passers-by hovered to catch the latest score. I on the other hand was not interested in the match I was fishing. I had a stick
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
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
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