ThePADDLER 132
He relayed this experience to several people. Soon enough, he had Robert Carroll of Borris-in-Ossory, myself and my 14-year-old son Eoin enchanted enough with his stories and pictures to agree on meeting up at the Castletown weir on July 28th. Not having a double kayak of my own, Michael Gee Phelan in Ballacolla very generously offered Eoin and me one of his kayaks. Together with the more experienced Padraig and Robert, we pushed off from the grassy banks. Very quickly we realised we had happened upon a hidden gem here in Laois. I’m sure others have known about it for years, but it just hadn’t reached our ears.
A NORE DUNKING While the plan was definitely to stay afloat for the full 24-kilometre stretch, Eoin and I had different interpretations of me shouting, “Paddle left” or “paddle right,” so needless to say we took a Nore dunking a few times. However, with helmets and buoyancy aids, we stayed safe and righted ourselves quickly again. Other than the noise of my ‘helpful’ parental instruction and oars gliding through the water, the peace and tranquillity were everything Padraig had promised.The river brings you through areas and landscapes you never see from the roads or bridges we had driven on for years.The birdlife was a real surprise and quite
