Hey, I'm thinking of heading to Ireland in November( from Canada) for about 2 weeks to visit my Brother. Is there any boating that time of year? Also after that I'd like to head to a different country to paddle. Warm spot perferable, any suggestions ona cheap place to go from Ireland.
Thanks

Hey canyaker,

Paddling in Ireland is rain dependant only so November's a good time but as Aidrian said in his review of the Huck'd DVD, Irish white water is very fickle so there are no guarantees (If you can believe that there are no guarantees of rain in [b:a669af272c]Ireland[/b:a669af272c] )

I've seen weeks in December with no rain fall and no rivers up and then, as a mate of mine found ouy last year, you can find this :

[img:a669af272c]www.liveoncemedia.com/photos/ireland%20photos/dave2.jpg[/img:a669af272c]

in the middle of Summer !! - go figure..

Anyway, the main areas of interest for rivers are Wicklow (About 20 miles south of Dublin), Kerry and Cork (About 150 to 200 miles) and West Galway (again about 150 miles). Main playboating is in Dublin ("The Sluice), Limerick ("Curragower") and others.

The rivers tend to be relatively narrow (less than 20 m wide, most less than 10,) rocky and with a drops less than 20 feet.

My advice if you want to go boating is to be as flexible as possible. A car is a must if you want to guarantee some action and you have to be prepaired to go where the water is.

If you can get your hands on a copy, pick up the Irish Whitewater guide by Seamus Gerailt. It's a little out of date and I think the grading's a little inconsistant in parts but it'll give you a good idea.

www.jackson-sports.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=4797

also, closer to the time of your trip, have a look around for some local Irish message boards to get more up to date info..

Cheers

Hey Portage king!
Thanks for the response. Is it hard to rent boats or should I bring my own? I was thinking of bringing my own, but the plane hassle might not be worth it. Thanks

Hi Kanyaker,

I don't live in Ireland anymroe so I'm somewhat out of things there (and here unfortunately but that's a whole other story!!! )

Stick a post up on the message board at www.irishfreestyle.com and you should get what you're looking for.

alternatively, try www.greatoutdoors.ie who I know offer Demo's but I'm not sure about protracted rentals.

Best of luck..

At the moment, Ireland is bone dry, none of the rivers or playspots are up, we've had no proper rain in ages, it's very disappointing! Like the portage king said, a car is necessary. I dunno about renting a boat, but check out www.irishcanoeunion.com , they're more likely to know about places you can ask, and if you've any kind of grading, might even loan you a boat. Probably less hassle to bring your own boat, but could just be a waste of time if there's no water! If you've any more questions, shoot, I'll try and answer...

November is a pretty good time to come over, our autumns (falls!) are generally pretty wet, and it should be handy enough to latch onto a couple of people running a wicklow river, most groups don't mind one extra!

canyaker wrote:

Hey, I'm thinking of heading to Ireland in November( from Canada) for about 2 weeks to visit my Brother.

Hi Canyaker,
As was mention earlier getting on rivers when it raining or immediately after is the key to Irish kayaking. That’s down mainly to luck and your flexibility.

I started a new online whitewater river guide for Ireland, Irish whitewater .com, this should help you chose which river you want to do. It was only launched two weeks ago so it only has a few rivers , but it has all the big names like the Flesk , Clare glens and the Srahnalong . The site also has river maps , photos and even the odd video .

Check out this video of the Srahnalong , it will wet your appetite for some Irish whitewater.


And if you have any questions when you are here or need people to paddle with:
The_Portage_King wrote:

Stick a post up on the message board at www.irishfreestyle.com and you should get what you're looking for.

canyaker wrote:

Is there any boating that time of year? Also after that I'd like to head to a different country to paddle. Warm spot perferable, any suggestions ona cheap place to go from Ireland.
Thanks

Corsica might be an option; I know that s one of the destinations on my list. I have no clue what the water levels are like around November (check that out), but I know its cheap to get to. Flying Aerlingus from either Cork or Dublin, to nice and then getting the ferry to Corsica. Other destinations could be Portugal or Spain. For more info on these post a separate message on this forum asking about them.

Anyway I wish you the best of luck on your quest for whitewater in Europe,
Stay safe, and we’ll see you on the water.

Sean