Introduction
Brian's Big Three
In June 2022, I left my job for a year of full-time travel. Before flying away I had three Irish adventures on my mind. A tight schedule saw them barely fit amidst two triathlons, two weddings and an already busy month. This logistical nightmare was the most physically demanding challenge of my life. Just thirty days to complete:
250km, Kayaking Ireland’s Longest River
131km, Hiking Ireland’s Oldest Trail
672km, Cycling Home via Ireland's Most Famous Bike Route
Individually difficult, and when combined in one month they almost broke me. However, it was more spiritually fulfilling than I had anticipated. A personal triathlon, spanning the whole country and stoking memories of all my past adventures. Each phase deeply significant to me and representative of my journey up to now. A closing of chapters, and a fitting farewell to the places and hobbies that were my life. An odyssey both beautiful and terrifying.
This is a writeup of Phase 1: Shannon Source to Sea
The Shannon Pot
On the Northern Irish border is a tiny, unassuming pond named the Shannon Pot. Pagans believed this to be a bottomless portal to the underworld, and used the site for rituals and ceremonies. Legend says it was here that ancient Druids planted the Tree of Knowledge. One day Sionnan, granddaughter of Manannán Mac Lir (the God of the Sea), came to eat its forbidden fruit. The water sprang up, pulled her in and flowed over the land to form a river named on her behalf.
The Shannon Pot is also where the poet Finn Eces found the Salmon of Knowledge after seven years of searching. By the banks he had his young helper, Fionn Mac Cumhaill cook it for him. A spatter of oil burned Fionn’s finger and in soothing it he was inadvertently first to eat the fish. Gaining him all the knowledge of the world, to Finn Eces’ dismay. Fionn would go on to lead the Fianna, Ireland’s ancient warriors, and have a family central in Irish mythology. Fionn is said to have built the Giants Causeway, and it was his son Oisín who travelled to Tír na nÓg.
These days we know that Cavan’s complicated cave network is the explanation for a river that seems to emerge from nowhere. Not bottomless, but divers have reached depths of 14.8m (remarkable for a pond 5m across) and noted strong currents coming from tight, unstable shafts. In high water they’ve proven links to nearby ponds but above ground this remains the source of the Shannon.
The Shannon River
Somehow this trickle of a stream goes on to become the longest river in the country. Carving its way to the Atlantic Ocean via the mountains, lakes and towns of eleven counties. Sustaining life along the way with people living and working on every bit of this water. It holds everything from freshwater fish to bottlenose dolphins in the estuary. When I stood at the source, I was far from home yet connected to places I’ve lived, worked, studied and adventured. Years of memories, all physically linked.
The river forms the border between Connaught & Leinster, with one fifth of the country’s land draining into it. All that rain finding Ardnacrusha, in its day Europe’s largest hydroplant which produced 80% of Irelands electricity. Most of our drinking water is sourced from the Shannon's lakes, and man made canals join the river to Dublin & beyond. These canals were built by the Guinness family to transport kegs more smoothly than by cart, and resulted in a waterway so connected that you can sail across the country.
For me, this water holds the rapids that made me love kayaking, the places I learned to swim, islands I’ve camped on, banks I’ve walked and lakes I’ve explored. In Limerick it meets tidal waters to form Gower: the famous surf wave where I spent my college days (pictured below). Downstream again is the estuary, where busy shipping routes feed Irish industry including my last job. I've explored and worked on several sections of this river which makes me feel connected to it. At times sustained by it.
Preparation & Planning
I chose to start in Dowra, the first floatable section on the river (leave the 10km of bushwhacking to Gavin Sheehan & Mac Skelly). The end point would be Limerick City; my home for the past nine years, and where the river meets tidal sea water. This is the typically documented route and at 250km, I estimated five equal days. I debated continuing further into the estuary, but having paddled the 90km from Limerick to Tarbert before (in one gruelling day), I was happy to end in a more personally significant place for this.
I believe this to be the first solo, fully unsupported (no resupplies) descent of the river. I saw this deemed impossible due to the long portages (boat carries), a statement which really motivated me. Lorcan Keyes was nice enough to loan me a sea kayak, and he also had a set of wheels for it. After a quick trial I could tell these would be the key to making it all possible.
I've paddled most of the river before with friends so had some familiarity. Planning the remainder consisted of avoiding weirs, routing through lakes and identifying possible campspots. I packed food and supplies for the whole trip. Also bringing extra warm clothing and full safety kit given that I'd be remote and alone. Here I am the day before starting:
Day 1 - Dowra to Battlebridge (32km)
After visiting the Shannon Pot, it was already 3:30pm when I unloaded the boat in Dowra. Exceptionally low river levels made it difficult to get on the water and to get going. The first 3km were so low that much had to be walked. It was scrapey, slow and frustrating but eventually eased as I approached Lough Allen. Then came the wind.
Lough Allen was intense. A strong wind from the south west crashed waves into my boat for the entirety. It pushed me to the east bank which added distance and rockier sections. Rounding a central headland was a fight to stay on line, with waves breaking on top of my spray deck. Progress was slow against the wind with more hours than I anticipated on that lake. Finally I could see the end.
Next was a 6km canal which includes three portages. The wind wasn't as much of an issue in here and the rain even stopped. Now the fun of lugging this 40kg weight around could begin. It was definitely not easy, especially one terribly designed set of stairs in particular, but with some patience I made it. Embarrassingly, I almost capsized while climbing back in at one point, and I was desperately afraid of losing the small pins which were critical to the wheels, but all was okay. Halfway through my third and final walk of this canal I saw a perfect grassy spot to camp and decided to park it here. Not as far as I would have liked but it had been six difficult hours and was getting late.
Two other kayakers had been exploring the river below and camped in the same spot. An unplanned evening of stories over dinner was a great surprise. Everything from adventures in the snowy Northwest Territories of Canada, to homemade bows & arrows. I slept well that night, tired but happy that I had persevered through physically and mentally difficult conditions.
Day 2 - Battlebridge to Lough Ree (67km)
This day was stunning. Glassy reflections on the water and the sun beating down. Still windy, especially on straight river sections, but I worked hard for 13hrs straight to make up for yesterdays shorter day. Lots of interesting bridges, fields of donkeys and people in boats passing and talking to me regularly. One guy threw me a Mars bar from 100m away with incredible accuracy. I also learned that Mars bars float!
There was some tough navigation on the oddly shaped lakes but I'd been ready for that. Rooskey town has a fish pass which made a fun slide. The day also brought two more tricky portages and a low weir in Carrick on Shannon. Soon after which I entered Ireland's 5th largest lake; Lough Ree.
Open water crossings are usually minimised on lakes, utilising headlands and islands for shelter and navigation. It's similar to crossing a street where a long diagonal might be the shortest overall distance, but not always the safest. Today the lake was pretty calm, allowing more direct routes that save some time. My body was aching but these great conditions made it worth pushing on.
Finally I saw an island too good to pass up and setup camp there. Definitely the best camp spot of the trip, with an island all to myself and a great sunset. Burritos for dinner and another tired but fulfilled Brian.
Day 3 - Lough Ree to Shannonbridge (49km)
This day was characterised by endless lakes, starting with the rest of Lough Ree which passed without issue. The morning was gloomy and overcast, but relatively still. I was able to make long crossings and exit the lake with a minimum of unnecessary distance. I was feeling the low water levels with no real flow in the river, but I put the head down through the headwinds regardless. I was excited for Athlone weir which is usually a fun slide but today was another annoying portage.
Passing Clonmacnoise I had a mishap where an open hatch filled with water. Luckily the lids are tied on but it was a nuisance to say the least. I had trouble lighting a wet stove that night and some food got wet. Lesson learned to double check they're sealed!
Downstream of Shannonbridge, I passed West Offaly Power Station. After 10hrs of paddling I climbed a muddy bank and setup camp. It was actually very muddy, destroyed my gear and almost stole my shoe. Wouldn't recommend this spot but I slept very well.
Day 4 - Shannonbridge to Lough Derg (54km)
Nice sections of river today brought cool trees, lots of curious cows and the first rapid that required my helmet at Meelick Weir. I even saw a white tailed eagle overhead. All fun things but I was feeling zapped. The long days were taking their toll by now.
Headwinds made this another 10hr day with essentially no breaks. I had a lot of aches and pains, particularly in my lower back, as well as over ten blisters on my hands. The river widened a lot so I was tactical with my cornering. Or at least I was whenever overly aggressive swans didn't force me out wide!
I was filtering water directly from the river but suspect by now I hadn't been drinking enough (getting out to pee was very inconvenient). I did eat plenty, but this day required lots of music and podcasts to grind through. It was a beautiful moment when I reached Portumna and entered Lough Derg; Ireland's 2nd biggest lake. Gloomy and overcast again, but thankfully calm.
I kept crossings short, jumping between the cover of headlands and islands. The longest crossing was an unavoidable 6km stretch. As I approached it there was a strong headwind so I estimated 1hr 20mins. Skies had cleared a little with sun poking through so it looked perfect to tackle it.
You're never more alone than during these long crossings. As I approached halfway across it I thought someone had it out for me. The skies darkened to near pitch black, the wind picked up and torrential rain pelted me. Then a bright flash.
An otherwise flat lake, just me and the two meter conductive paddle in my hands. I counted 21 seconds before the thunder banged. The next only 15 seconds. The third struck just west of the lake. The sky was rumbling and taunting. I kept myself and the paddle as low as possible for the toughest effort of the trip. After several more stressful flashes of lightning, the storm finally moved away.
When I eventually reached the bank it wasn't necessary to get off the water anymore, but my heart was still racing so I chose to camp not long after. A spot I'd camped at before had a nice picnic bench and made for a well deserved, comfortable night.
Day 5 - Lough Derg to Limerick (48km)
I woke to an eerily calm lake. Complete silence and no ripples from any distant boats. It was still overcast so I did the last of my long crossings quickly. It was a slog. Killaloe was waking up as I celebrated ticking off the last lake, and the sun even came out. Parteen Weir in the distance marked the next phase and through the headwinds I eventually got there.
The gate on Parteen Weir was broken. After 30 minutes of ESB staff 'fixing it', I just climbed around. Last time this portage took an hour with multiple people, slings and ropes. I had really hoped to avoid this but put a sling around my shoulder, dragged the boat and got it done in half the time. Around the weir, back into the headrace, over the middle bank and back into the Shannon. With the worst and final portage done I was truly on the home stretch.
The sun was blazing at this stage. I met morning swimmers and kayakers in O'Briensbridge. Passed my old Ironman training ground in Warrell's End. My helmet went on for a low but fun lap of my local rapids in Castleconnell. This in particular was great, the novelty of a sea kayak on the rapids, combined with finally feeling like I was home!
Through the University of Limerick, stressfully past an army of swans at Corbally Bridge, meeting fishermen and boat users on the water. It wasn't long before King John's Castle was on the horizon to welcome me home.
It was high tide so Gower was deep underwater, but I stopped for a while by the castle. A boat covered in Limerick flags was conveniently placed for a celebratory photo. I paddled slowly through the bridges to the end of the city. Lifting the boat up a slipway for the last time, I couldn't wait for my back to get some relief.
A group of women were celebrating a retirement there and gave me a slice of cake on hearing what I had done. It was overwhelming to sit in the sun and think about how much had happened this week. Relive the highs and lows, feeling proud of somehow making it, and knowing I didn't have to paddle tomorrow.
250km in 96hrs
Afterthoughts
A big storm swept over Ireland the day after I finished. I'm so thankful I kept the pace up during the tough times to finish when I did. The blisters faded fast but some aches and pains remained for a long time after.
The Shannon is uniquely suited to trips like this. Lots of towns along the way to resupply, toilets & showers in the most random of places and an abundance of islands to camp on. At times it feels more like France, bringing you through some beautiful countryside. I've done shorter weekend trips before and these are a great option to any paddler.
I was happy with the type and quantity of food I brought. All my usual gear worked great with the MVP being the Katadyn BeFree water filter and my bug net. My most important things were in a Watershed DryBag, but better drybags for the rest of my kit would have been handy. I wore a drysuit for the week which was hot at times but in the event of a swim I didn't want to risk being underprepared.
The prevailing wind in Ireland is up the country from the south west. This is a killer and most days it halved my pace from what I'd planned. Paired with low flow in the river, this felt like a treadmill at times. Source to sea is such an established idea that I wouldn't have changed anything, but if only I had a cycle coming up which could benefit from this hard earned knowledge...
Finally, I'd struggle to list all the memories this trip evoked. In a way I'd expected this, but underestimated just how profound they would be. For the past decade my life has revolved around this river. The whole trip felt spiritually significant and called me for a time. Having just moved out of Limerick it was a fitting goodbye to end the journey there. My path is uncertain so it was a privilege to have this send-off to what's become my home.
Sitting by the bank with my cake I was aware that this is a huge bucket list item for me and many other kayakers. A massive achievement worth celebrating, and I would, but my mind was drawn to the future. Both excited and nervous of my prevailing thought: 'One Down..'
Click here to read Phase 2: The Wicklow Way
That had to be a real adventurous and once in a lifetime trip. Thank for sharing your pictures and log of your trip. Robertchurch2825@gmail.com