Lough Derg Harbours
Portumna Castle
This is the northernmost harbour on the lake. The berths are of the concrete ‘submarine pens’ variety, but it’s a delightful place to stop nonetheless.
The harbour is on the edge of the Portumna Forest Park which has waymarked walks and some fabulous trees.
The harbour is a ten minute walk from the town of Portumna if you walk at a reasonable pace. The small road passes various ruins and is tree lined.
There’s a very good variety of shops, pubs and restaurants in the town.
The castle and its gardens are well worth a visit.
Facilities
Shower and toilet block
Water
Pump Out
Terryglass
This harbour is directly across the lake from Portumna Castle.
A very popular place to stop. The harbour is a good size with plenty of space on the inner walls.
The outer walls are fine for a short visit, but it can get very rocky out there if it’s windy. Not a comfortable way to be woken up in the middle of the night.
Again, the harbour is a ten minute walk from the village where you’ll find two pubs serving good ale and excellent food. You can sit outside if the weather’s fine, though in silage cutting season it can be a bit noisy. But you can still talk in between the tractors and trailers rumbling past.
Facilities
Toilet block (smart card required)
Water
Slip
Holy Well (good for eyes)
Kilgarvan
Heading south, Kilgarvan is round the corner on the Tipperary bank. You can see the roof of the big green shed.
Care is needed to go around the correct markers as there are rocks here – you need to go beyond the turning, then back up again.
There’s no town or village here but there is a very classy restaurant a short walk from the harbour.
Most of this harbour is private but you may be able to tie up by the big green shed if you ask for permission.
The outer wall can be a bit exposed if the wind is coming from the wrong direction. A lovely, quiet place.
Facilities
Toilet block (no smart card required)
Water (accessible from the outer wall
Rossmore
A little further south and on the Clare side and you’ll find Rossmore Harbour.
This is another one where you have to look out for rocks, but there’s no problem as long as you take care to go outside the relevant markers.
There’s nothing much at Rossmore except for peace and quiet. Most of the time. It’s popular with local families in the summer when the weather is fine – there’s good access for swimming.
Also popular with fishermen.
If you’re feeling adventurous the access to the Woodford River is here. There’s an IWAI jetty at the end of the navigable section. A very pretty river.
Facilities
Slip (very steep with poor grip)
Dromaan
Still on the Clare side is Dromaan Harbour. A delightful spot if you like it quiet.
There’s a decent harbour wall plus several ‘submarine pen’ jetties, but not much else. Just down the road is the Shannon Castle Line base in Williamstown Harbour where you can get diesel from Angus Leavy if you need it.
The village of Whitegate is a couple of miles away – within walking distance if you have stout shoes and a strong disposition. It’s very sheltered here – a great place for a barbecue when the weather’s fine.
Dromineer
Dromineer is directly across the lake from Dromaan on the Tipp side. A bit more lively too.
There’s a pub serving food very close to the harbour.
There is a shop but it’s only open sporadically and doesn’t sell much in the way of foodstuffs, so not the place to re-provision.
If you walk along beside the beach you’ll come first to the Nenagh Rowing Club, then (if you follow the road) to Shannon Side Marina Chandlery and Boat Yard.
Facilities
Shower and toilet block (smart card required for showers)
Water
Slip
Pump out
Garrykennedy
This harbour is directly ahead of you as you travel south down the lake, just before turning west towards Mountshannon.
A delightful and popular spot, Garrykennedy has three harbours. The old, high walled stone harbour is very pretty but also very small and can be difficult if you have dogs or small children
unless you can berth beside the steps, there are ladders to climb to get on and off the boat. But there are now new floating jetties which have eased the congestion somewhat.
There is also a council harbour, but this is generally full of local boats.
There are two pubs in Garrykennedy and a few houses. Larkins does good food. There’s also a woodland walk that has wheelchair access.
Facilities
Toilet block (smart card req’d)
Showers (smart card req’d)
Washing/Drying Facilities (smart card req’d)
Electricity (smart card req’d)
Water
Slip
Mountshannon
Another very popular harbour, Mountshannon has new floating jetties to accommodate more boats. The harbour is a decent size with berths against the wall as well as on the jetties.
The village has pubs, restaurants and a shop selling basic groceries. There’s also a petrol station with a small supermarket attached (follow the road around the harbour to the left, turn left along the main road and walk for a couple of hundred metres).
You can take boat trips to Iniscealtra (Holy Island) from here, or anchor of it yourself and dinghy yourself in. A beautiful and tranquil old religious settlement, it’s well worth a visit.
Facilities
Toilet block
Water
Slip
Pump out
Tuamgraney
The trip up the Scarriff River is a delight. A twisty, tree-lined waterway with kingfishers and herons to keep you company. There’s a small harbour at Tuamgraney if you like the peace and quiet.
A good place for a barbecue, or take a ten minute walk into the village for good food in the pub. There’s also a historic church to visit.
Facilities
None
Scarriff
.
A little further up the river from Taumgraney and you come to the end of the navigable part of the river with the harbour in ScarriffThis harbour has been recently extended so has accommodation for plenty of boats. Scarriff has plenty of pubs, restaurants and shops and is a 15 minute walk away.
Go out of the harbour, along the road past the houses, then turn right at the main road. You’ll see the main street going up the hill in front of you.
There’s a bank here too with an ATM.
Facilities
Water,
Electricity,
Pump-out
Killaloe/Ballina
The southernmost harbour on the lake. You can tie up against the wall either above or below the bridge (depending on your headroom as the bridge is quite low).
If you can also go through the bridge then downriver a small way – opposite the slipway on your left there is an opening into the canal and you can tie up there (Mooring Pins req’d).
Below the bridge on the river can get a bit rocky at weekends as it’s a popular spot for water skiing and general water sports.
This is a very pretty place, surrounded by mountains and with villages on either side of the bridge. Killaloe is on the Clare side, Ballina on the Tipperary bank. There are excellent eateries here, lots of pubs and shops and a fair buzz about the place – it’s popular with land-based visitors as well as waterways folk. St Flannan’s Cathedral on the Killaloe side is worth a visit.
Facilities
Water
Slip (this is downriver a bit, below the bridge. Accessed just down from Goosers pub.)
Pump out