Fun Along the Shannon

By George Houde

Brid Woods has to leave for mass early in order to get the proper seat, one near the door so that she may leave if her back pain flares. One day her dog followed her to a funeral mass and Brid didn’t realize it until she was in her pew and a neighbor came up, tapped her on the shoulder, and said, "Brid, did you know your dog is outside?" 

"Well, no, I didn’t know that, so I had to go outside and take him home. It was a good thing I was sitting near the door," she recalled in her lilting Irish Midlands brogue. "When I was going to the church, I had the feeling he was behind me, but when I turned and looked, he wasn’t there. So he must have been following me and hiding when I looked, the scamp."

Brid laughed heartily at her story and her lively blue eyes squeeze shut. It is a small tale, but a funny and endearing one the way she tells it. That would be while having pints at Seamus Hayes’ Pub in Portumna on a gray rainy Sunday afternoon. She sat next to her long-time companion, Sean Keane, who laughed along with her at the dog story. We laughed with her, happy to hear her yarn and make friends on a cold day.

Then there is Seamus himself, behind the bar serving up pints and holding forth. He has become what might be known as a card shark, traveling frequently to Las Vegas to play poker. His grandfather bought the place in 1903 for "£200 sterling" and the family has carried it into the 21st century with, as it looks, not a great deal of modernization. This is an important factor, as there are not many distractions from the true business of the pub, which is to serve as a meeting place of the citizenry for purposes of conviviality and socializing. 

We found the listing in our River Shannon guide to be true when it described the place as "a tiny pub, but great atmosphere -- worth the experience!" 

It was one of many unique and charming spots we found on our boat tour of the River Shannon region, a trip which provided our group of journalists a glimpse of small town Ireland and the grace and hospitality of its people. And their humor. 

Weather forced us to harbor in Portumna for several days as rain and gale force winds made navigation on the Shannon and Lough Derg difficult. It was unusually severe weather for Ireland and our trip outfitters advised that it was due to Hurricane Frances spinning swirls of its deteriorating system up the Gulf Stream and across the Atlantic. 

"Sure, Ireland gets some rain and moderate winds, but nothing like the storm we had," said Kathryn Hayes our guide and host from Tourism Ireland, the public agency devoted to promoting Ireland as a vacation destination. 

Our cabin cruisers from the Shannon Castle Line were snug and warm, however, fitted with hot water showers and heaters and we had friendly pubs to watch the All-Ireland hurling championship in September between Kilkenny and Kerry and meet characters such as Brid, Sean and Seamus. Which championship had angered Brid, incidentally. "I had 20 Euro on Kilkenny!" 

But there was a round of attractions in Portumna, which means "landing place of the oak." It is home to Portumna Castle and gardens, an impressive structure, complex which is under reconstruction with the help of the Office of Public Works. The castle was completed in 1617 by Richard Burke, the fourth earl of Clanricarde and served as the seat of the Clanricarde Burkes, for many years the most important landowners in Co. Galway. 

The castle was destroyed by an accidental fire in 1826 and apparently lay in ruins for more than a century, the crumbling stonework attracting graffiti artists and ghosts. The castle’s reconstructed main hall now has an exhibit explaining the history of the family and for those who want to etch their names and thoughts in history, a handy graffiti post. The castle is surrounded by Portumna Forest Park, which provides pleasant hiking under the forest canopy.

Another short walk from the main thoroughfare will take you to the ruins of the Portumna Friary, built by Cistercian monks in the 13th century and dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul. The friary was later transferred to the Dominican order and in the 1540 it was destroyed by the forces of Henry VIII during his split from the Catholic Church. Visitors can explore the ruins and graveyard for a taste of medieval lore and the wrath of Henry.

Shannonbridge -- After advancing across the stone bridge against a cool, blustery wind, we held out at the old fort with a supply of proper reinforcements. 

Those came in the form of fine food, good wine and hospitality, served up by the staff of The Old Fort restaurant, a structure that once was filled with powder and shot intended to hold off Napoleon’s forces if they ever advanced up the River Shannon. Two centuries later, after decades of neglect, it has been turned into a fine dining establishment. There has been a French incursion, but it is in the form of French wines and haute cuisine aimed at the local citizenry and travelers on the Shannon. 

Down the road lies Luker’s Pub, an old store and hotel that began business not long after the bridge over the Shannon was built in the 1700s. After the Napoleonic scare, the town sort of drifted off into peaceful slumber from which it now appears to be rising.

"This town has been asleep," declared John Ryan, owner of Luker’s. The pub still has the grocery and pharmacy shelving and bare light bulbs. In an adjoining room, a musician with an electric guitar is belting out pop and country and western tunes, an unusual counterpoint to the picturesque town and its history. 

Ryan had just opened the pub and is still rehabbing the rest of the building with plans for a bed and breakfast. Ryan seems aiming for some of the tourist traffic that is drawn to Shannonbridge for its historic and visual appeal. 

A short drive away are the extensive ruins of Clonmacnoise, the medieval religious site that dates back to the 6th century. With its cemetery, ruined castle and bell towers, Clonmacnoise is worth a visit. A visitor’s center provides a great depiction of life at the site and explanation of the geology of the Shannon region. 

Then there is Killeen’s Village Tavern just down the street. Killeen’s is a popular stopover for boaters on the river and features hearty Irish fare and traditional music. Locals such as Dicey O’Reilly bring in their instruments on weekends and set up at the bar. 

On the Saturday our group stopped in, O’Reilly and a partner had started playing and imbibing at 9:15. That would be 9:15 in the morning. O’Reilly was in a favorable mood to greet American tourists by the time we arrived. 

"The Yanks have built Ireland," he said, putting his guitar aside for a moment and hoisting his glass. 

We thanked him and left, unsure if Yanks deserved such high praise, but feeling firmly connected to the fabled Emerald Isle.