The EU Just Transition Fund - Shannon Drift (Project Boatyard) Investment Grant is co-funded by the Government of Ireland and the European Union through the EU Just Transition Fund.
Co-funded project
EU Just Transition Fund - Shannon Drift (Project Boatyard) Investment Grant
Shannon Drift is building a sustainable visitor experience on the River Shannon at Shannonbridge, County Offaly: a fleet of quiet, self-drive electric boats that gives visitors a simple, low-carbon way to explore Ireland's Hidden Heartlands by water.
The project
A new reason to come to Shannonbridge
Shannonbridge sits on the Offaly bank of the Shannon, in the heart of the region the EU Just Transition Fund Programme 2021-2027 exists for: the Midlands communities most affected by the end of peat harvesting and peat-fired electricity. The first priority of the fund is to generate employment by diversifying the local economy, and tourism is one of the ways it does that.
The project puts a fleet of quiet, self-drive electric boats on the water at the quay in Shannonbridge, bookable online, with no licence and no boating experience needed. It is supported under the EU Just Transition Fund Investment Grant-Aid Scheme for Private & Community SMEs, part of the EU Just Transition Fund Regenerative Tourism and Placemaking Scheme for Ireland's Midlands 2023-2026 administered by Fáilte Ireland.
What it sets out to do
- Give visitors a bookable reason to come to Shannonbridge and stay longer in the Midlands, alongside Clonmacnoise, the Shannon Callows and the village itself.
- Support the diversification of the local economy with a seasonal tourism business and the work that comes with it.
- Run a leisure fleet on the Shannon Callows, north-west Europe's largest unregulated floodplain, with no engine noise and no exhaust.
- Keep visitor spend in the village by working with local hospitality, starting with Lukers Bar & Restaurant at the quay.
Results
The project is in delivery. This is what it is set up to deliver.
- A fleet of self-drive electric boats for hire from the quay at Shannonbridge, April to October.
- Online booking, so a visit to the Hidden Heartlands can be planned around a morning or an afternoon on the river.
- A low-carbon activity at the centre of Shannonbridge's development as a visitor destination.
- Programme
- EU Just Transition Fund Programme 2021-2027
- Scheme
- EU Just Transition Fund Investment Grant-Aid Scheme for Private & Community SMEs
- Beneficiary
- Jhest Ltd trading as Shannon Drift
- Managing Authority
- Eastern and Midland Regional Assembly
- Intermediate Body
- Fáilte Ireland
- Location
- Shannonbridge, Co. Offaly
Find out more
The programme behind the project
The EU Just Transition Fund is a €169 million investment programme, co-funded by the European Union and the Government of Ireland, for the communities most affected by the move away from peat.
Tá an EU Just Transition Fund - Shannon Drift (Project Boatyard) Investment Grant arna chomhchistiú ag Rialtas na hÉireann agus an Aontas Eorpach trí Ciste an Aontais Eorpaigh um Aistriú Cóir 2021-2027.