Lough Derg

What is kayaking Lough Derg like?

Explore the largest lake on the Shannon from the charming twin towns of Killaloe and Ballina. Paddle north along the Clare shoreline towards Holy Island (Inis Cealtra), home to a remarkable collection of early Christian ruins including a round tower. Watch for great crested grebes and cormorants nesting on the wooded islands.

How do I paddle Lough Derg? Put-in, take-out and logistics

Lough Derg sits at the southern end of the navigable Shannon and is the busiest lake on the system for motor cruisers — you will share the water with hire boats from Portumna, Terryglass and Mountshannon all summer. Launching from Killaloe Harbour (Co. Clare side) gives you a sheltered start on the western bank before you cross open water towards Inis Cealtra. Keep to the 10 kph inshore zone marked by yellow buoys, hug the Clare shore on the northbound leg, and listen for approaching engines — sound carries strangely on Derg and cruisers sit deep in the water, so they can be on top of you faster than you'd expect.

When is the best time to paddle Lough Derg?

Inis Cealtra (Holy Island) lies about 6 km north of Killaloe and makes the natural turn-point. There are six surviving church ruins, a 24-metre round tower, and hundreds of early-Christian grave slabs still legible in the grass — pull up on the stony northern beach and allow at least half an hour ashore. The return leg can be tough if a southerly has picked up through the day; many paddlers prefer to cross the lake near Scarriff Bay and return down the Tipperary shore for variety, though this adds roughly 2 km. The lake also supports a large wintering population of tufted duck and goldeneye, and white-tailed eagles nesting at Mountshannon since 2013 are now regularly spotted overhead.