It is the longest river in both Ireland and Britain, and has influenced the military, social and economic history of Ireland since the beginning of time. Travelling over 200 miles from its source to the sea, it is home to over a dozen lakes and more then a hundred islands. It is joined on its journey by dozens of smaller rivers and streams some of which are also navigable. The River Shannon is now the backbone of a vast network of inland waterways, joined to the Erne via the newly restored Shannon-Erne link, formerly known as the Ballinamore and Ballyconnell Canal. Future developments include the possibility of reopening the Ulster Canal, which connects The Erne to Lough Neagh, Ireland's largest lake.
Navigation is simple with the deep channel being marked to keep sailors on course.
In 300BC the Roman cartographer Ptolemy mapped the river when it was an important trade route from Europe and during the first millennium AD Viking long boats sailed up through mists of the midland bogs to loot the medieval monastery at Clonmacnois and a found a town at Rindoon on Lough Ree. The formidable High King of Ireland Brian Boru, who broke the power of the Vikings at the battle of Clontarf in 1014, deployed a fleet of war galleys on Lough Ree to deal with the Viking threat. In the year 1210 the Normans built a castle at Athlone, which still stands and during the Napoleonic wars their descendants, fearful of a French invasion on the West Coast, fortified the Shannon crossings and some of these constructions still exist. Today the only gunfire is that of hunters and the only foreign invaders hire sleek modern cabin cruisers to explore the ancient waterway, to enjoy its unique peacefulness and to relax in the many hostelries along its banks. Nature has endowed the river with many treasures.