Day 3. Killaloe to Banagher.

 

Day 3.   Monday Aug 10.

Killaloe (Clare) to Bannagher (Offaly)

Distance (km):  84

Cycling Time: (hrs:min)  3:55

Average Speed (km/hr)   21.4

Total Ascent (m):   393

Average Heart Rate (bpm):   120

Cumulative Distance: 163 km

Cumulative Ascent:   742

Punctures so far:  0

The plan for today was to cycle just as far as Banagher bridge as County Offaly has been placed under Covid lockdown for the next two weeks.

I drove to Killaloe early on Monday morning to take up the circuit where I left off after Day 2. All geared up I pulled out of Killaloe at 6:50am while the roads were still quiet.

Just 1 km north of Killaloe at Ballyvalley Point, after the resedential sector,  is the start of Lough Derg. The lake is just 40 km from bottom to top. The deepest parts are in the centre and the south reaching 30m depth in places.  The northern end and by the edges are quite shallow and underwater rocks and shoals are marked by black and red markers.

Early on my trip it was possible to get near the shore with more pronounced banks that further upstream. Here in the lower sections the Shannon is attempting to break through the shale hillier landscape after meandering over a limestone base which offers little resistance to lateral spread  for the last hundred miles down through the midlands.

I did most of my ascent early on over these hills on the way up  to Ogonnelloe and then down to the lower levels in Tuamgraney. For the rest of the day I remained on lower ground but further back from the lake. Lough Derg and indeed much of the Shannon up through the midlands doesn’t have banks. It is kept on its course in a light-touch way by the spongy constraints of the boggy landscape.

Tuamgraney has the distinction of having the oldest church in continuous use in Ireland. St Cronan’s church as part of a monastery was founded in 6^th century and was repaired by Brian Boru(High king of Ireland 1002-1014). Brian Boru is big here in his homeland even still. The doorway of St Cronan's is regarded as a marvel of early Christian architecture.

Next to the church is a  15^th century towerhouse built by the O’Grady clan (principal clan in this area) in order to protect St Cronans.

On then through Scarriff (a source of good furniture in the 1980's) and I was now turning a corner and heading north with rare glimpses of the lake out to my right.

Lough Derg’s full official name in Irish is Loch Derg Dheirc (the Lake of the Red Eye). According to legend a one-eyed pompous local king foolishly promised a cranky old bard that he’d give him whatever the bard requested in return for poetic words of praise. Good over-the-top gushy poetry delivered and the bard then asked the boastful king for his remaining eye. Wish granted and the sightless king was led to the lake to bathe the sightless cavity resulting in the waters running red with his blood. Good story !

Soon Mountshannon appeared ahead renowned for trout especially in the month of May. From Mountshannon it’s posssible to transfer over to Holy Island (Inis Cealtra) just a little off shore. It’s the second largest island in the lake and St Colum established a monastery here in 520AD complete with 80ft round tower. It remained a busy monastic settlement till 15^th century.

From Mountshannon across to Dromineer (Tipp) is a shallower part of the lake.

After 35 km I was welcomed into Co Galway and rode along low-lying roads with no space for error but plenty of Fireweed/Great Willowherb to brighten my day.

Just short of Portumna, at the top of the lake I took a detour into Portumna Forest Park, a splendid forest park of 500 acres on the formerly Harewood estate. I followed some of the gravel trails here and soon arrived at the harbour.

 Plenty of craft sheltering here from the lake outside. Not much activity about yet on the cruisers or by the many motorhomes overnighting here (Pay and Display….€10 for 24 hours)

Nearby is Portumna Castle, a Jacobean castle built in 1605 for defence but destroyed by fire in 1826. At present it (and the surrounding gardens) are being restored by the Board of Works.

Portumna Bridge (where the Shannon enters Lough Derg) is about a mile east of the town itself, Portumna is well and truly in Galway. Just outside Portumna (near the old workhouse) I had my RBW morning snack by the roadside (roll, banana, water).

 

I’m back now following the Shannon but from a distance. Just 6km further on I turned right at Ballycrissane, or Tiernascragh as the locals apparently prefer. The community hall and other buildings use that title.

Now I am back onto small local roads but a chance to get close to the river. Not surprisingly, I had these roads to myself and could admire the Montbretia (first bred in 1880 and part of the iris family)

This road brought me through beef farms (utilising the lush summer growth on the callows) and into the peaceful hamlet of Meelick and the to Meelick Quay and I renew acquaintance with the river and its traffic. People were beginning to move about on the berthed cruisers and more were powering upstream in this navigable channel. At  this point the Shannon is somewhat of a lake with so many islands dividing the river into three channels. After the quay I remained in contact with the river for some time.

Coming up to 84km the sign for Banagher appeared on my left and my target for today. With the local Covid restrictions I didn’t wish to carry on any further and take a chance. I had expected a Garda checkpoint on the bridge but not a sign.

Bannagher (Beannchar meaning Pointed Rocks) has a six-span bridge and originally a lifting section at the Offaly side for navigation. In 1971 the bridge was widened by adding iron railings and removing the lifting span. A busy marina just upstream from the bridge.

Bannagher was always a major crossing point from Connaught to Leinster and so had its fortifications. Cromwell's Castle right at bridge-end was modified at the start of 19^th century and a Martello Tower also erected in 1814 as a defence against the expected French invasion on the west coast. But a year after that Napoleon was defeated at Waterloo and the threat receded.

As I sat and had my RBW lunch I spotted three cruisers coming upstream. Could these be the three that I’d spotted at Meelick Quay. If so, they would have been doing around 15km/hr along the way against the current.

So, I had reached my target for today’s part of this circuit. 84 km done. Now it was the little matter of making my way back to the car in Killaloe....another 80+ km and that Ogollonnoe climb near the end. Head down and just plough on.

Today a total of 165km in 7:43 at 21.4 and +803m ascent.

 

Thank God for the health and thank God for the energy.