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Illustration: hire cruisers moored along a town quay with colourful houses, a church spire and an arched stone bridge.

The Shannon River Ireland

Upper Shannon: Lanesborough to Carrick

From the head of Lough Ree up to Carrick-on-Shannon: small loughs, harbour villages a short hop apart, three keeper-worked locks and the hire-boat capital of the Shannon.

  • 50 km of navigation
  • 3 locks
  • 14 stops
  • 9 public moorings
  • 4 private marinas
  • 2 hire bases
  • ≈ 1 day end to end

Days and hours are our estimate: 7.5 km/h and 15 minutes a lock, about six hours a day.

Plan your cruise

Start from a ready-made trip, or plan your own day by day: distances, locks and overnight moorings.

Plan your own trip Open on the map

Overview

About 50 km of river link Lanesborough, at the head of Lough Ree, with Carrick-on-Shannon, the county town of Leitrim and home to the hire bases of Le Boat and Carrickcraft; Carrickcraft calls it the busiest part of the whole Shannon. It is a river of small lakes. The channel opens into Lough Forbes, winds through reeds and drumlin farmland to Roosky, then crosses Lough Bofin and Lough Boderg, the lakes of the white cow and the red cow, before a short canal with Albert Lock takes it past the weir at Jamestown. Three locks worked by lock-keepers and two lifting bridges set the pace of the day. Side trips lead into the reed-fringed Kilglass and Grange loughs, and along the Camlin River to Clondra and the Royal Canal. Ashore, the harbour villages of Tarmonbarry, Roosky, Dromod, Drumsna and Jamestown each have a pub or two near the water, and Dromod and Carrick have stations on the Dublin–Sligo railway, which makes crew changes easy.

Stops, in route order

14 stops from Tarmonbarry Lock to Carrick-on-Shannon.

Desk research, not yet checked on site

Lock · Co. Roscommon

Tarmonbarry Lock

The first lock above Lough Ree, worked by a lock-keeper beside the weir and the lifting bridge at Tarmonbarry.

Open now · closes 18:30
The calm, wide Shannon at Tarmonbarry mirrors a blue sky, with reed beds, bare trees and village houses along the far bank and the line of the weir on the right.

Village · Co. Roscommon

Tarmonbarry

A village at the N5 crossing of the Shannon, with a hotel-pub, a restaurant with an art gallery and public moorings along the quay wall near the lock.

Public

Photo: Jonjobaker · CC BY-SA 4.0

The N5 bridge at Tarmonbarry, with its lifting span and red-and-white barrier poles beside a row of stone arches, is reflected in still water under a blue sky.

Bridge · Co. Roscommon

Tarmonbarry Bridge

The N5 road bridge at Tarmonbarry, whose lifting span the lock-keeper raises for taller boats; after the October 2026 closure, check that it lifts again.

See the notice

Photo: Jonjobaker · CC BY-SA 4.0

Junction · Co. Longford

Camlin junction at Corlehan Point

Where the Camlin River leaves the Shannon above Tarmonbarry: the way to Clondra and the Royal Canal, and the route round a closed Tarmonbarry Bridge.

Lock · Co. Leitrim

Roosky Lock

A keeper-worked lock just below Roosky village, joined to the harbour by a short riverside path.

Open now · closes 18:30
Seen from the bridge, the Shannon stretches away past Roosky’s busy village quay, where a cream-and-green cruiser and other boats lie along the stone edge.

Village · Co. Roscommon

Roosky

A border village of Roscommon and Leitrim with a busy harbour beside a lifting bridge, good coarse angling and waymarked bog walks.

Public

Photo: Jonjobaker · CC BY-SA 4.0

Roosky’s long stone bridge crosses the Shannon on a row of arches, with a blue-and-cream boat moored at the quay in the foreground and the lifting span on the far right.

Bridge · Co. Roscommon

Roosky Bridge

Roosky’s 1845 road bridge, whose lifting span the lock-keeper raises for boats too tall for its 3 m clearance.

Open now · closes 18:30

Photo: Colin Park · CC BY-SA 2.0

Village · Co. Leitrim

Dromod

A harbour village between Lough Bofin and Lough Boderg, with a service block, a mainline railway station, pubs and a narrow-gauge railway museum.

Public

Harbour · Co. Roscommon

Kilglass Lough harbour

Floating moorings on Kilglass Lough, one of the quiet reed-fringed lakes reached through the Carnadoe Waters off Lough Boderg.

Public

Harbour · Co. Roscommon

Grange harbour

A small harbour at the western end of Grange Lough in the Carnadoe Waters, as quiet as cruising on this stretch gets.

Public
The long, many-arched stone bridge at Drumsna crosses the Shannon under a bright spring sky, seen from the Roscommon bank.

Village · Co. Leitrim

Drumsna

A historic trading village on the river loop below Jamestown, reached by a short detour from the foot of the Jamestown Canal.

Public

Photo: Laurel Lodged · Public domain

The straight, tree-lined Jamestown Canal above Albert Lock lies still under a pale sky, the trees on both banks mirrored in the water.

Lock · Co. Roscommon

Albert Lock

The only lock on the Jamestown Canal, the 1848 cut that takes boats past the weir at Jamestown and the river loop by Drumsna.

Open now · closes 18:30

Photo: JP · CC BY-SA 2.0

Seen from a cruiser in evening light, a single-arch stone bridge crosses the Jamestown Canal near Jamestown, with a moored boat on the right.

Village · Co. Leitrim

Jamestown

A former walled plantation town with a quay just above the weir, a broken town gate and an award-winning restaurant.

Public

Photo: Jonjobaker · CC BY-SA 4.0

The arched stone bridge at Carrick-on-Shannon spans the wide river under a blue sky with white clouds, with a sailing boat and a barge moored at the quay on the left.

Town · Co. Leitrim

Carrick-on-Shannon

Leitrim’s county town and the hire-boat capital of the Shannon, with town moorings, two hire bases, a riverside boardwalk and plenty of food and music.

Public

Photo: Olliebailie · CC BY-SA 4.0

Show all 14 stops Show fewer stops

Also on this waterway: Leitrim Village (Shannon–Erne Waterway) · Richmond Harbour, Clondra (Royal Canal) · Cloondara Lock (Camlin) (Royal Canal)

Services along the way

5 stops

Pump-out, water, fuel, shore power, showers and laundry where a listing says so, in route order. Tap a stop for who runs it and when.

  1. Tarmonbarry Drinking water Shore power Toilets
  2. Roosky Toilets
  3. Dromod Pump-out Showers Toilets Smart Card
  4. Drumsna Toilets
  5. Carrick-on-Shannon Pump-out Shore power Showers Toilets Smart Card

A stop not listed here may still have them: nobody has checked yet. Know better? Report a change

Practical rules

Mooring limits, locks, speed and hazards, in our own words with links to the sources.

Mooring limits

At public harbours and jetties you may stay up to 5 days in a row, or 7 days in a month, all year unless you have a winter mooring (Waterways Ireland). Winter mooring (1 November–31 March) is booked online: €63.50 for 2026–27, with power and water at public berths switched off (Marine Notice 107/2026).

Locks

Tarmonbarry, Roosky and Albert Lock on the Jamestown Canal are worked by lock-keepers. 2026 hours: 1 April–30 September 09:30–19:30 Monday to Saturday, 09:30–18:00 on Sundays; 14–31 March and October 09:30–18:30 (Sundays 09:30–18:00); 1 November–13 March 09:00–12:00 (Sundays 09:00–11:00). No passages 13:00–14:00. Each lock costs 2 Smart Card units or €1.50. Lifejackets or buoyancy aids are compulsory in locks since 1 April 2026 (Marine Notice 35/2026). Lock-keepers: Tarmonbarry +353 87 922 2020, Roosky +353 71 963 8018, Albert +353 71 963 7715.

Lifting bridges

The same keepers raise the road bridges at Tarmonbarry and Roosky, at no fixed times. Lowered, they leave about 2.35 m and 3.0 m of headroom at ordinary summer level (2019 notice); a 2025 table gives 5.10 m and 3.30 m, the first perhaps with the span raised, so plan with the lower figures. Lough Tap railway bridge (lifting): 4.25 m down (same table). Tarmonbarry Bridge closed on 16 October 2026 (Marine Notice 114/2026, withdrawn on 23 October without a reopening notice): ask the lock-keeper. The way round, the Camlin River and Clondra Canal, passes under the N5 (3.20 m) and L1171 (3.50 m) bridges, so check your air draft and the marine notices first.

Card and registration

The Smart Card also opens the service blocks at Carrick and Dromod. All boats need a free Waterways Ireland registration, open undecked boats under 15 bhp excepted.

Speed and hazards

5 km/h near bridges, jetties, locks, harbours and moored boats (Special Marine Notice 1/2026). Keep clear of the weirs beside the locks, and stay inside the channel markers on Loughs Forbes, Bofin and Boderg.

This is a travel guide, not a navigation aid.

Conditions on the water

Forecast, warnings and water levels

Weather and water

Loading the latest conditions…

Locks & bridges

3 locks on this waterway. The times below are worked out on this device. They change with the season: always read the notice.

  • Tarmonbarry Lock Lock · Worked by a lock-keeper
    Open now · closes 18:30
  • Tarmonbarry Bridge Bridge · Opened by a bridge-keeper · Clearance 2.35 m
    See the notice
  • Roosky Lock Lock · Worked by a lock-keeper
    Open now · closes 18:30
  • Roosky Bridge Bridge · Opened by a bridge-keeper · Clearance 3.02 m
    Open now · closes 18:30
  • Albert Lock Lock · Worked by a lock-keeper
    Open now · closes 18:30

All lock and bridge times Check the Waterways Ireland marine notices

Hire bases

Hire companies with a base on this waterway.

All hire companies

Itineraries

Ready-made trips that start here or pass through.

All itineraries

Events

  • Usually on the first Sunday of August Regatta Carrick-on-Shannon Regatta Rowing regatta on the Shannon just below the town bridge, hosted by Carrick-on-Shannon Rowing Club on the Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend, with crews from all over Ireland. Navigation and mooring near the course are restricted for the day: check the marine notice.

All events Tell us about an event

Marine notices

Current Waterways Ireland marine notices for this waterway. The one-line summaries are ours: read the notice itself.

Show 5 more

Source: Waterways Ireland · All marine notices on Waterways Ireland

Our marketplace buz.ie

Boats for sale: Upper Shannon: Lanesborough to Carrick

See all boats for sale

On buz.ie by county: Co. Roscommon Co. Leitrim Co. Longford

Sell your boat free on buz.ie

More on the map, from OpenStreetMap

Places on the map that are not near one of our stops. Listed on OpenStreetMap, not checked by us. © OpenStreetMap contributors

Harbours & marinas from OpenStreetMap — access not checked (4)
Fuel (1)
Shops (1)
Locks & bridges (2)
Things to do (4)
Services (9)