Discover Great Way to Experience Emerald Isle

Seasoned travelers discovered barge cruises through Europe decades ago. But aficionados and novices alike will applaud the newest entrant to the barge cruise market, which plies the rivers and lakes of the Emerald Isle.

Shannon River Floatels Ltd. operates a six-day cruise from Killaloe to Banagher every Sunday from April to October aboard a converted Dutch barge. The 105-foot Shannon Princess goes up the Shannon River past hillsides littered with castles, thatched stone cottages and fields of heather. En route, it stops daily at off-the-beaten-path Irish villages and resorts.

I met my five cruise companions at Shannon Airport for the one-hour drive through the pastoral Irish countryside to Killaloe.

The Shannon Princess’ upper deck was newly constructed and comfortably furnished with soft couches, coffee tables, plants and a well-stocked bar. A photo album testifies to the time and effort owner Ronnie Kearsley and his Philippine wife, Sandra, put into the venture.

Ronnie, doubling as captain and congenial host, operated a fleet of four similar barges on the Shannon in the ‘60s, leaving to return to the airline and then hotel businesses because of a slowdown in the British tourism market to Ireland. Recapturing his dream in the ‘80s, he converted the Shannon Princess from a freighter to a 12-passenger floatel (his phrase for a floating hotel).

Cater to Every Whim

The barge carries four additional crew members, including stewardesses who cater to guests’ every whim and a British chef. All meals, wines with dinner and shore excursions are included in the fare.

Olive, the smiling colleen who was our stewardess, showed us to our cabins. Mine contained all the comforts of home, including a carpeted bathroom with shower and marine toilet, twin berths covered with ruffled douvets, matching wallpaper, night stand, small closet and plenty of shelves and space beneath the beds. We unpacked and took off on a walking tour of Killaloe.

Only a graceful, 13-arched bridge spanning the Shannon River separates Killaloe in County Clare from Ballina, a suburb in County Tipperary. The district, steeped in history and legend, boasts prehistoric megalithic tombs, numerous 12th-Century historic monuments and Irish Romanesque cathedrals.

A soft but persistent drizzle greeted us on our first morning aboard the barge. “Not to worry,” Ronnie assured us. “The weather forecasts all predict clearing skies and sunshine.” But this is Ireland, after all, and his words were to become a popular refrain for most of the week.

We cruised upriver through 25-mile Lough Derg and the rain accentuated the variegated greens in the patchwork landscape that drifted by. Each square of the quilt, stitched with rows of hedges and low stone fences, treated the eye to one of Ireland’s fabled 40 shades of green.

Gentle-eyed sheep and cattle grazed the hillsides that sloped down to the lake, and dozens of swans hugged the shore. Occasionally we passed a dinghy manned by men in bright yellow slickers with matching rain hats.

Over a cold buffet lunch in the lounge we approached the quay at Mountshannon. Like most of the towns where we stopped, Mountshannon takes up minuscule space in the average tourist guide. Here people live, work, walk their dogs, welcome visitors in Irish fashion and frequent the pubs. Vacationers along the quay sail, fish and windsurf, rain or shine.

A young man driving his cattle up through the village’s tree-lined main road tipped his hat and gave me a genuine smile and hearty greeting. The slanted needles of serious rain ceased, leaving the landscape awash with that fresh Irish mist, and all of Ireland smiled back. The sun dazzles the eye, the greens take on brilliant hues, and I discovered anew why this is a country of well-deserved cliches.

Our dinner feast of salmon pate and pork a la orange was followed by an excursion to Limerick for a sound and light show in St. Mary’s Cathedral.

The chilly air, gray skies and delays due to a slow transit through the waterways’ sole set of locks enticed us to nap, read or sip afternoon tea as the shores drifted by. Like lazy cats growing fatter every day, we were lethargic but satisfied.

“This cruise isn’t for everyone,” one of the passengers said, echoing all our sentiments, “but I’m certainly getting well rested.” We’re all veterans of barge travel, pleasantly accustomed to a slow pace.

We settled quickly into a routine: continental or Irish breakfast followed by a morning on the river; lunch; exploring whatever tiny town we docked at; a multi-course gourmet dinner, then a walk or bike ride through town or perhaps a visit to one of the pubs.

Today it’s Banagher, unpretentious and unspectacular, where the acrid but delightful smell of burning turf permeates the air. Nearby Birr Castle boasts a dried-up moat and forbidding, ivy-covered walls. Seat of the Earl of Rosse, the castle still serves as a private residence and opens its 100-acre grounds and botanical gardens to the public.

Wednesday the Shannon Princess heads back downriver, docking at Portumna. County Galway, the second largest in Ireland, stretches from the fertile river banks to the rugged Atlantic coastline of Connemara and the Aran Islands.

An estate-car driver dropped us off at Galway’s Eyre Square, where the recently developed John F. Kennedy Memorial Park was dedicated to our former President, for a before-dinner city tour.

Majestic atop a rocky outcrop overlooking the bay in nearby Kinvara, Dungaire Castle has been restored in authentic 16th-Century detail. “Welcome, me lady,” a sweet-faced colleen in medieval costume greeted me with a mug of mead (an apple cider-like brew that proceeds nonstop to one’s head), while another girl in green velveteen plucked the strings of a harp.

In a candlelit banquet hall we were wined and dined by costumed jesters and songstresses who later entertained us with ballads and skits.

Delights of Dromineer

The next morning I explored the pint-size resort town of Dromineer, stopping to check out the pub, cemetery and dozens of thatched and stone cottages. Nenagh, the principal town of northern Tipperary County, is only six miles away. Its chief claim to fame is Butler Castle, or rather the remains of the larger 13th-Century edifice, with a cylindrical five-story tower.

“Good morning! The sun is shining brightly for you,” Olive announced cheerfully when she presented a steaming cup of coffee at my door early Friday.

That was enough to propel me out of bed and up on deck. Imagine, sunshine in Ireland? Indeed, the sky was a brilliant shade of blue, highlighting the medieval castle ruins that dominate Dromineer’s yacht-filled harbor.

How marvelous Lough Derg looked on our leisurely cruise back to Killaloe, with the water calm and sparkling, the hills awash with shades of lime and avocado, and the golden marigolds in the flower boxes on deck bathed in sunshine.

A wedding party mingled for photographs in Killaloe while an artist sketched from the river bank, and soap-bubble clouds in an otherwise flawless blue sky created jigsaw-puzzle reflections on the placid Shannon.

Unwilling to let it all end, our little group headed for a pub to engage in two favorite Irish pastimes, downing a pint or two of Guinness and trading a bit of the old blarney. An accordionist, pipe player and guitarist alternated impromptu numbers, but as the night drifted by and the stout flowed, the ensuing din drowned them out.

A young couple engaged me in a debate on the morality of divorce (still banned in Ireland). “But what would you do if she fell in love with another man?” I persisted to the young man, who had expounded at great length on how she would simply have to forgive his indiscretions for the sake of the sacrament.

“I’d divorce her, of course!” he declared loudly and without hesitation before trotting back to the bar to order us another round.

Next morning our group exchanged addresses, bade farewell to the crew and headed back to Shannon for the realities of life and travel. But for six days, at least, we rested, made new friends and learned why some of the greatest writers this planet has produced have struggled to capture on paper the essence of Ireland.

Six-night cruises depart Sundays through early October, with per-person fares starting at $1,390 (plus 5% tip to crew).

For more information, see your travel agent or contact Shannon River Floatels’ U.S. representative, Horizon Cruises, 16000 Ventura Blvd., Encino, Calif. 91436.