Cloondara is where the Royal Canal runs out of Ireland to cross. After leaving Dublin and tracking west, the canal passes under the horseshoe arch of Richmond Bridge, opens into the cut-stone basin of Richmond Harbour, drops through its final lock and joins the Shannon. That makes this small County Longford village – Irish Cluain Dá Ráth, ‘pasture of two ringforts’ – the full stop at the end of one of the country’s great engineering projects, and the obvious place to start or finish a trip along the water.
Richmond Harbour and the canal
The harbour is the whole point of the village. The buildings around it were put up to service canal trade, and the cut-stone basin still holds a line of barges where the canal meets the Shannon. Work on the Royal Canal began in 1790 and reached the Shannon here in 1817; a spur up to Longford town followed in 1831. For a few decades it was the motorway of its day – there were even cheap night boats carrying passengers between Longford and Dublin – before the railways took the traffic and the canal slid into disuse. It has been steadily restored since, and boats are once again working their way back up it.
Cloondara sits on a knot of waterways: the Camlin and the Keenagh (or Fallan) river join the Shannon around it, and there are three bridges in the village, each crossing a different channel. The place had a distillery and mills in its day too.
Walking and cycling the Greenway
Cloondara is the western trailhead of the Royal Canal Greenway. The Maynooth to Cloondara stretch covers 130 km of towpath, and the greenway now extends east of Maynooth to Leixlip. You don’t need to take on the whole thing. For a local ride, the section between Cloondara and Keenagh is 15 km each way and runs along the quiet canal bank past the locks. Turn back whenever you have done enough. The National Famine Way, which traces the 1847 journey of emigrants from Strokestown to Dublin, also follows the towpath here.
If you need a bike rental or a lift back after a one-way ride, arrange it before travelling.
On the water
The harbour is on a working navigation with locks and moored boats. Before boating, consult Waterways Ireland’s canal information for access arrangements and notices. Check local arrangements before you plan kayaking or paddleboarding on the Shannon Blueway, and take advice on conditions near the bridge and locks.
Practical information
- Getting there: Cloondara is off the N5 west of Longford town. Use the TFI journey planner to check local bus stops and the last part of the journey on foot.
- Parking: use signed parking at the harbour trailhead.
- Facilities: check the Cloondara trailhead guide and confirm food or bike hire arrangements before making a long one-way trip. The Richmond Inn stands right on the harbour; check whether it is serving before you plan a meal there.
- Dogs: welcome on the greenway and around the harbour; keep them on a lead near the water and the cycle path.
Nearby
- Keenagh – south along the greenway, and the village for the Corlea Trackway, an 18-metre stretch of Iron Age bog road laid down in 148 BC and kept in a purpose-built centre.
- Lanesborough – downstream on the Shannon, with a marina and riverside walk.
- Abbeylara – inland to the east, with the ruins of a 12th-century Cistercian abbey.
For a short outing, start at Richmond Harbour, sit on the harbour wall for ten minutes and watch for boats at the last lock, then walk out and back along the canal.