The Lodges at Shannon Oaks Hotel

Other Places to Visit

Galway City

The town of Portumna offers a wide variety of shops, restaurants, local outdoor and indoor activities for children but if you want to travel around you could drive to Galway City which is less than one hour from Portumna. Galway City offers a wide variety of activities, shops, restaurants, pubs and cinema. It is on the west coast of Ireland, sits on the River Corrib and is small in comparison with other cities. It is a young and vibrant place, yet ancient and historic. Although its population is only about 60,000 it is the fastest growing city in Europe. There is a wide variety of activities that can be enjoyed for all ages in Galway such as angling, cycling, equestrian, golf, walking and mountaineering, watersport, atlantaquaria, bowling, funworld, go karting, leisureland, and leisure world. If you are interested in various events and festival, then why not take a trip to the city of Galway where there is numerous events and festivals throughout the year such as Galway International Festival, Connemara International Marathon Festival, Trad on the Prop which is an electrifying mix of music, song and dance, Celtic Spirit, Galway County Show which is a brilliant show for all those who are interested in show jumping, Galway sessions which include traditional, jazz music sessions, Galway cathedral recitals, round stone regatta, macnas summer parade, Celtic spirit-Irish Cultural holidays, one major festival that is popular all around Ireland is the Galway Races and the Galway Jazz festival which attract many people of all different ages to a different class of music.

Connemara

Connemara is a beautiful part of the country it is one hour drive from Galway city, it is a unique town situated on the western seaboard of Europe and feature breathtaking scenery, a rugged unpolluted coastline, mountains, numerous lakes and rivers, woodlands and parks. A wide variety of outdoor activities include deep sea angling, walking, cycling, canoeing, surfing, sailing and golfing. Many of the inhabitants of Connemara are Gaelic speaking; the Irish language is the everyday spoken language in large areas of Connemara known as the "Gaeltacht". Galway East is the gateway to vibrant Galway city, and is conveniently located for easy day trips to Connemara, the Burren, Cliffs of Moher, Aran Islands and Westport.

Nenagh

Nenagh is also a central town and would be driving distance from the village of Portumna, because of Nenagh's central location it is a good touring base where can visit many sites within an hours drive including, Bunratty castle and folk park, King John's castle in Limerick, Birr Castle and gardens, Castle and Damer House, Roscrea, Holcross Abbey, the Clare Glens, and Silvermines Mountain Drive.

Terryglass

Another lovely town that is well worth a visit is Terryglass, these is a beautiful little village on the shores of Lough Derg. Terryglass has an atmosphere all of its own, and is could be quoted as the definitive holiday village. There is a short walk from the village to the small harbour on Lough Derg, where there are always plenty of boats moored. Terryglass has one the national tidy town's competition on two occasions, and is a great place to relax and unwind, or perhaps take part in some watersports on the lake.

Kilgarvan

Kilgarvan is a popular stopping point for pleasure craft on Lough Derg, a small-unspoilt village of great beauty. About 20 minutes walk from the Kilgarvan Quay is the village of Ballinderry, which has some good pubs and a shop. When commercial traffic sailed on the river Shannon, Kilgarvan was one of the principal barley exporting stations, where barley was shipped to the malting in Banagher. There are some fine nineteenth century houses in this area, including Gurthlougha, which was converted into a country house hotel.

Dromineer

Dromineer is a popular village with anglers and sailing enthusiasts alike, and there's always a good cross section of water sports enthusiasts here in the summer months. It was always an important river port, and the castle quay was built in the early nineteenth century. Dromineer is also home to Lough Derg Yacht Club, one of the oldest yacht clubs in the world. This village is a very popular spot for tourism, and the quay is well equipped with piers and a children's playground.

Killaloe

Killaloe is the largest town on Lough Derg and is recognized as the biggest boating and fishing centre in the three counties of Clare, Tipperary and Limerick. This town is steeped in history beginning with the first settlement in the seventh century, and was once the capital of Clare and Ireland.

Garrykennedy

Garrykennedy is also a beautiful small village within driving distance to Portumna. Garrykennedy serves as an ideal base for the fisherman, sailing enthusiast and windsurfer. The village has two harbours suitable for sailing and fishing boats. A public slipway is available for use by all beside the main harbour. You can arrange weekly rental of fishing boat or sail boat at Garrykennedy Cottage.

Lough Derg

Very few of Ireland's lakes offer easy access to a variety of attractions such as boating, cycling, hiking or motoring. There is a great pleasure of being on the lakes waters, almost everything that floats is available for hire varying from sailboards, canoes, yachts and barges and so on. Lough Derg holds huge stocks of fish, coarse species, pike and breams/