Our Club
This is the website for the West Clare Currach Club. We are an umbrella group for 7 local clubs and regatta committees on the Clare Coast.

With the help of Leader RRD funded training programme in 2004 we built 6 local fishing currachs of the West Clare design over a two year period involving upto 35 men and women on the Loophead peninsula. We help share the boats, cover insurance costs and get more people rowing wherever we can.

All boats are now made available to local regatta goups in Carrigaholt, Kilkee, Kilrush, Kilbaha, Doonbeg Quilty and Coonagh.

We are now starting a new training programme in 2009 building 8 currachs around Co Clare spreading the building skills and getting more interested people out on the water rowing and learning about the rich maritime traditions of West Clare. Starting in Carrigaholt and moving onto Kilkee, Kilrush, Ennis, Shannon and Scariff.

These boats are unique to the west of Ireland
We work cooperatively to promote our own local fishing canoes in the area and we also travel to other regattas and races such as the Great River Race in London and the Ocean to City Race in Cork.

We are interested in linking with other boat building projects where people are keeping their local boats on the water and all that that involves.

We are currently working on another project Saol Sionna to promote wooden sailing boats on the Shannon Estuary. In the past there were hundreds of wooden sailing boats carrying turf and other goods all around the Shannon and up to Limerick. We would like to bring this tradition alive again and get people back on the water to enjoy the beautiful natural environment we have in abundance.
We have the skills to build, beautiful piers and lots of interest; we are currently seeking funding to make it possible. We hope to build a 24ft gaff rigged wooden sailing boat to grace the horizon of West Clare. Any help welcome!

If you are interested in getting a currach built along the Clare design you can contact James Madigan on 00 353 087 6523728.