Brief River Description

The run is fairly straightforward, flat stretches with Grade II weirs. Extra care might have to be taken after floods etc.

Directions to the Put-in

There are a few different put ins along this stretch. Most well known is probably at the Sluice or upstream of Lucan Weir. For all directions see the map.

Straffan: This is the Liffey Descent put in. From the R403, take the sign for Straffan at Barberstown Castle.

Temple Mills: There is quite a nice get in point just below Temple Mills and above Vanessa. take the R403 from celbridge towards Clane. About 600m from the centre of the village is a long bend in the road. Just after this take the left turn into Abbey Farm Housing Estate. Take the second or third turn left in the estate (third turn gets you closer to Temple Mills, the second to Vanessa) and these bring you to open ground which you cross to enter/exit the river. Just be careful there are a lot of trees.

Salmon Leap: This is the start for the Junior Liffey Descent. (Throughout the year, this is a private clubhouse, so access may be an issue.) The clubhouse is located in Leixlip Village.

Sluice: As you enter Lucan from the M4, there is a carpark just across the road from Mc Donalds. From here you can park your car and walk to the river.

Lucan: Coming from Lucan, drive through the village and over the Liffey Bridge. Take the immediate left turn after the bridge. Continue on for a few hundred metres or so until you come to a bad bend in the road. There is parking space enough here for a few cars.

NOTE: There has been a good few incidents with cars being broken into around this area. It is a good idea to hide all valuable belongings when leaving your car.

Directions to the Take-out

The main take- out used is Stawberry Hall, along the Strawberry Beds Road. You can park in the car park across the road from the pub. There's a slip going up from the river to carry your boat up.

The Wrens Nest pub can also be used. You can take out just at the Wrens Nest weir and walk along the track to the road. 

For certain races during the year, there are also take outs at the ICU training centre, Wildwater Kayak Club, the Garda Rowing Club and the Trinity Boat Club, however all of these take outs are private and require permission from the club.

River Description

Straffan Weir

 The weir can be inspected from the bridge just beyond the K- Club. The easiest line is normally river right. Take care to avoid the columns of the bridge straight after.

The Jungle

Not really a feature as such. This is where the river narrows due to trees narrow to only allow around two boats through.

Templemills Weir

This is a pretty straightforward weir. Normally taken on the river right.

Vanessa Weir.

This is also pretty straightforward. There's a chute you can take on the rive left.

Castletown Rapids

Just after Celbridge Town. These is just a very slight drop with a few standing waves after.

Leixlip Lake

This begins just after you go under the bridge. Salmon Leap Canoe Club is on your left.

The portage

At the end of Leixlip Lake is an ESB Dam, which has to be portaged. The path to take is pretty easy to follow. Just get out of your boat on the river right, walk along the road until you see a track leading back down to the river. When getting back on, watch to avoid the bridge just in front of you.

The Sluice

There are two routes here. A slightly easier route on river right and then the sluice itself on river left. This is a popular spot for playboating, so be mindful of letting people downstream of you know that you're coming.

Lucan Weir

There are three ways to take Lucan. The Chicken Chute on river right, the fish boxes in the middle, or the high drop on river left. You can see this weir from the bridge, and there is a good viewing spot on the river right bank.

Shackeltons Weir/ Anna Liffey Weir

Shackeltons or Anna Liffey is a straightforward enough weir. The best route to take is along the concrete fish slide.

Wrens Nest

A V- Weir. The easiest way down is by shooting the weir just river left of the V. Stopper gets very nasty with high water. People don't realise how dangerous wrens is. People swimming have drowned in low water at the weir so beware. There are all kinds of sharp rocks, undercuts and metal at the weir . Ask Dublin Firebrigade they pull out the bodies. To the far right before the mill race wall there is a small shoot maybe 7ft tall and 2 meters wide. It often has logs and debris caught in it. A girl drowned 24th of June 2009 in it. She got sucked down it. Keep beginners away from it and from far right. If a beginner was to capsize on far right above the weir they run the risk of being sucked down shoot even at low water. No chance of rescue if someone was to go down it. Make them go river left and have rescue at bottom of river. Also place someone competent at river right to keep beginners away from this spot. Needs to be cleared for Liffey descent.

 

Palmerstown Weir

A large V- Weir just after Wildwater Kayak Club. Paddle straight down the centre for the easiest line.

Chapelizod Weir

This is pretty handy to shoot. More or less anywhere can be shot with relative ease.

More information can be found on the river at any of the clubs that paddle it.

• Wildwater Kayak Club:  www.wwkc.net
• The Irish Canoe Union: www.canoe.ie

Local issues

The Liffey (especially the Sluice) has a reputation for Weils Disease/ Leptospirosis. Also parking at the Sluice and other areas around Dublin have can be risky. Peoples cars have been broken into in the past. People have been known to drink and throw stones and bottles at paddlers around certain features on the route, most notably the Wrens Nest Weir. When using Strawberry Hall to park, ensure that you are not taking up all the customers spaces.

River level gauge

liffeyreleases.com This site is the main indicator of when dam releases are, and how much water is being released.

River Hazards

Like all rivers with weirs on them, flood levels can change a harmless weir into a killer. Also, when trees fall in the jungle, it can block the river completely.

The fallowing are all the hazards and falls on the River Liffey below Golden falls dam in Ballymore Eustace

Athgarvan Weir...in Athgarvan...(straightforward right facing weir two levels around 5ft tall)

Old Connell Weir...near Newbridge (very overgrown with multiple channels and quite broken around 4 foot or maybe more)

Newbridge College Weir...near Newbridge (smallish right facing simple weir around 4 ft tall

Morristown Lattin Weir...near Naas (right facing tree covered weir overgrown but simple around 5 foot tall at most)

Millicent Weir...near Sallins (tiny broken weir around 2 foot tall running right across the river washed out in high water)

Clane Weir...in Clane (small broken 3 foot weir left facing, rocky and broken)

Straffan Weir...outside Straffan (large  left facing 12 foot weir with four fish tanks and chute on river left, large quite rocky and ridged main face and tight near vertical drop on the far right)

Temple Mills Weir...near Celbridge (straightforward 7 to 8 foot tall weir with easy right hand face but stepper left hand side breaking into more highly angled left hand end with chut 25 foot from left)

Vanessa's Weir...near Celbridge (right facing 8-9 foot tall weir with two faces split by two fish tanks in the middle..right hand side is large and stony and runs into trees. Chute into tanks in the middle, and a steeper left hand face easily shot by most craft)

Castletown Rapids...at Castletown near Celbridge (this has several samll lead in rapids and drops Grade 1 leading up to the main fall which is no more than 3 foot high with a decent Grade 2 rapid)

St Wolstans Weir...(only in low lake levels) near Celbridge (height varies up to 5 foot depending on water levels..C shaped and very deceptive and retentive)

Leixlip Rapids...below the Leixlip dam. Small set of grade 1 to 2 rapids complicated by brdige abuttments)

Sluice (or Cromers Weir)...near Lucan (right facing 7 foottall  weir very overgrown with a chute at the extreme right end only in high water into an overgrown pool and narrow overgrown passage out. The main event is on the left where the river is squeezed through an increasingly narrow gap eventually 8 foot wide followed by a large stopper and haystack wave)

Lucan Weir....in Lucan 9-10 foot tall right facing weir in three sections. The "old weir" on the right hand end is a moderately slightly stony slide easily shot. The centre section contains three large fish tanks running parallel to the face of the main weir and they exit onto a slight ramp. The left hand end is occupied by a highly angled 7 foot drop onto a s lightly angled 2 foot ramp at the base. This can only really be shot sideways unless your craft is very small in length) 

Anna Liffey Weir also known as Shacklestown Weir or Devils Mills Weir..near Lucan. This is an 8 foot tall right facing weir of considerable length. Most of it is unshootable due to many trees on the weir and below. At the left hand end the weir opens up near the mill. A large chute runs semi parallel to the weir providing a simple shoot.

Wrens Nest Weir...near the Strawberry beds. 6 to 7 foot tall V weir. Water conditions create a lot of changes here. The left hand side is easily shot but the stopper is rententive in very high water. The main shoot is through the centre of the V down a tongue. The right hand side is shootable but has a highly retentive stopper and a small broken rocky fish chute exists around 1/3 of the way from the V, and is generally not shootable

Palmerstown Weir...Strawberry beds this is a big 11 foot V Weir with a steep upper section on either side flattening to ramps. Shooting down these faces is generally tricky, and the best route is down the centre into a series of nice haystacks below the weir

Glenaulin Weir also known as Broken Weir (Chapelizod). This is a right facing and aroudn 3 foot high and broken, simple but in high water has a good flow below)

Chapelizod Weir...in Chapelizod. (6 to 7 foot tall right facing weir shootable down a fish chute or potentially on the stony face of the weir towards the right hand end. Below the wier is overgrown and has many trees)

Islandbridge Weir.... in Islandbridge. This is the last weir on the liffey and faces left is 10 foot tall and is unshootable along much of its left hand end due to walkways and board barriers. Fish tanks exist (four or five at the centre left but gain are unapproachable). The weir can be shot on the right hand end down a large easy face.

Author(s)

Original Author: John B
Latest Author: gringottsgoblin
(Full History)

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Note: Comments have been disabled. Please use the forum for banter or questions.
Please add river details by adding to/editing the guide.

Comments:

St Wolstans Weir by:Basil Bailey	12:29 September 23, 2008.
One weir that is not mentioned here is located below Castletown rapids about 600m up from SLCC. This weir only appears as the lake is drained. It can get up to 5' high or can be smaller depending on water levels. It is a gentle C shape facing slightly right and is below St Wolstans House. It is also known as the "Weir that never was". Always treat this with caution. It looks like nothiing but it's stopper is very retentive.
Temple Mills and Vanessa by:Basil Bailey	12:24 September 23, 2008.
Templpe Mills has fish chute about 25' out from the left which is easy. You can shoot left of this also but in high water the stopper is to be avoided. Vanessa can be shoot into the chute which goes into the first tank and then into the second or staright out in high water or you can shoot down the face into the second tank and out (K2s be careful as the tank walls can impede you or break the nose). Alternatively to the left as suggested above but this is stony, and K2's take this sideways at an angle. Only shoot right in large water and be aware the exit is challenging due to trees.
Notes on the Liffey by:Basil Bailey	12:18 September 23, 2008.
Starffan can be shot in many places. On the left there is a good challenging shoot through the four fish tanks. Alternatively there is a shoot immediately to the right of the tanks which is like a large tongue of water between the weir and the tanks. You can shoot over the centre (K boats beware) but it is stony and a small ridge can cause issues in anything but really high water and then the stopper gets really nasty. Finally on the extreme right by the sluice gate there is a near vertical drop which make an easy shoot but not for K2s and is dodgy for K1's, and probably too much for Canadian's.
River Rye by:Basil Bailey	12:13 September 23, 2008.
Hi Joe The river in Maynooth is the river rye and it joins the liffey at leixlip below the dam.It is dammed in the Carton estate to make some large lakes now presumably in the golf courses. At Lousia Bridge it goes under the canal through a long navigable tunnel. It joins the liffey at Leixlip but you can get out in the park in Leilip just beofre it joins the liffey. At one stage there was a race called the Maynooth to Leixlip that went along the canal to Louisa bridge did a portage down the slope at Lousia Bridge under the tunnel and ended in Leixlip. Pretty crap race actually.
maynooth by:joe glen	12:56 September 18, 2008.
There is a river going through Maynooth that joins up with the Liffey at leixlip, is this navigable? I can't find it on any maps except Yahoo (http://maps.yahoo.com/#mvt=h&lat=53.370136&lon=-6.496853&zoom=16&q1=maynooth%2C%20Ireland) and even then the name is omitted. What is this little river called please?

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