Laois Barrowline cruise company highlight issues detrimental to their business as tourist season gets underway
Barrowline Cruises
"THE ancient motorways of Ireland" was how Barrowline Cruise owner Orla Conroy described the centuries-old, tangled webwork of man-made canals and natural rivers which span the length and breadth of Ireland, a blue map that binds even landlocked counties like Laois to our most famous rivers like the Shannon and the Dodder and, eventually, the sea. itself.
Orla considers the canals a "beautiful" amenity and an especially striking way for tourists to see the countryside, instilled by a different perspective on the rolling hills and coarse woodlands than they would otherwise find screeching down a motorway at 100 kilometres an hour and thus missing out on some of the most emblematic sights in the blink of an eye.
Trips down the canals offer a languid, tranquil passage through the Irish midlands, where you can actually hear the rustle of trees and chirrup of woodland critters and breathe in the perfume of nature.
A romantic image, but one which, tragically, has seen a fall in recent years. Based in Vicarstown, Orla and her husband Philip have been running their successful barge tour business for over 25 years; renting out traditional deep-bellied barges to tourists so that they can either tour south down the canal as far as St Mullins or avail of the northern route, which can take people either onto the Shannon or the Grand Canal, which threads through Dublin city centre.
In decades of operation, they have enjoyed plenty of success, proud of how far people have come from across the globe to rent their barges – customers have come from as far as Australia, New Zealand and South American nations. That being said, the international draw and reputation as a provider of quality tourism has been damaged by what they – and the wider barge tours community – see as a widespread deterioration in the upkeep and maintenance of the canals, an issue which they lay firmly at the door of Waterways Ireland.
"Unfortunately, we have found that the canal conditions have just grown worse over the years. Last year in particular was a particularly bad year for weed growth; when the weeds grow, they get heavy and they get caught round the propellers of the boat and that's a major issue, but also there's the lack of water on parts of the canal, too, and that is another issue," said Orla.
Orla says that Waterways Ireland claim to be working to address these issues or say that they will eventually do something to address the problems with water pumps and canal drainage, but "that’s no good to us when you own a private business. You're depending on customers and your livelihood and you have to come up with a solution. And the problem is Waterways Ireland have done plenty of talking on the issues over the years, but nothing’s been done about them. And they really got so bad the last year."
And these issues are already having an effect on tourism: "We had three Australian customers for just three weeks and they reached a part of the canal just past Tullamore. Their aim was to get on the River Shannon, but they basically just ran out of water. We contacted Waterways Ireland to arrange so that they had just barely enough to get through and they eventually came onto the Shannon, but it wasn't a positive experience for them and we have absolutely no control over that."
Another couple from Switzerland, both of whom had spent years touring the Shannon in the summer months, decided that they wanted to try their hand at the canals in and around Vicarstown, availing of Orla and Philip’s Barrowline service, but in the end word of how difficult navigating the canals had become reached their ears and so they instead decided to take their money to the UK.
"And if you ask Waterways Ireland, we have heard from them that there aren't that many boats on this system. Well, there aren't that many boats on the system because of these problems." Orla identifies that there needs to be more clearing of the waterway feeders that line the banks of the canals – when they become clogged with weeds and bracken, the amount of water available to the main canal falls – more dredging, further purchase of proper equipment that allows them to both cull and harvest the weeds and better maintenance of pumps.
As things stand, the Barrowline company – and other similar enterprises – are being forced to fork out vast sums in the repair of propellers and engines, specialist work which is not quick, easy or cheap to complete.
In conclusion, Orla says: "Things got worse because the issues that were highlighted just weren't addressed basically and that’s' how they got worse over the years." Again, the business owner believes that Waterways Ireland is lacking in its approach and should step up to their responsibilities more.
The reached out to Waterways Ireland for comment and this is what they said:
Canals custodianship: Waterways Ireland takes its statutory management and maintenance responsibilities for the canals very seriously and is committed to working with stakeholders in its role as custodian to protect and improve the amenity potential of the canals and to safeguard recreational opportunities and accessibility for all users of the navigations. The River Barrow is a special area of conservation. Due to evolving environmental case law, certain aspects of routine maintenance work now require planning permission.
Water level management: As man-made waterways, our canals are entirely dependent on water supply from natural sources, such as rivers, lakes and groundwater. The canal sections in Laois are dredged and have good depth. Waterways Ireland has developed a water management strategy for the canals, examining all options to source more water for, direct more water to and retain more water in the navigations. 2025 saw historically low ground water levels in Pollardstown fen, which feeds both the Barrow line and the Grand Canal. This was also the case in Lough Owel, which feeds the Royal Canal. The midlands experienced drought conditions during the summer of 2025. The pressures on canal water supply are not unique to the island of Ireland. Climate change is intensifying these pressures.
Weed management: Lower rainfall, extended periods of sunshine and consistent dry weather spells led to ideal conditions for weed growth from early spring in 2025. Waterways Ireland deployed all available weed-cutting resources to manage this issue and has an updated weed management plan for 2026.
