The inner lakes at the south east corner of Lough Ree on the Shannon is a haven of nooks and cranies, amenities and wonderful places to go. One of the first people to see the potential of this area back in 1958 was Eyre Chatterton of Portaneena. Eyre Chatterton was born in Enniskerry, while his wife Betty hailed from Scotland, where their children were born.View attachment 145741
When Eyre, Betty and their children moved to the area, they viewed it as somewhere to retire. They had hoped that they would use the land for a private home and a mooring facility for their own boat and those of their friends. Boating is in the blood in the Chatterton family. Eyre had an old wooden barge, with three outboard motors mounted on the back. Eyre then bought an aluminium boat called Michele in 1952, still to be seen in Portaneena to this day, albeit up on the hard.
They had bought 12 acres of land on what was known as Moran's Shore, and another 12 acres on Temple Island. They soon saw the potential which existed along the waterways, and a slipway was built in 1960. Eyre made 140 dives himself to lay the foundations for the rails for the slipway.
They laid down some mooring between the shore and the island, and boat owners started to use the facility. In those days people used to keep their boats on mooring, not tied up at jetties, as they tend to do now.
A far cry from today, as Portaneena now boasts jetty space for over 120 boats. And some of the those spots have been occupied by the same loyal customers for over 40 years. The site has been sensitively developed over the years by the family, and the forest of trees has meant that there has been no intrusion onto the landscape. They have run a boat brokerage since the '70s.
What does the future hold for Portaneena Marina? Third generation Chatterton, Blair, is following in his father's and grandfather's footsteps. He has been working on improving and expanding harbours and jetties at the facility over the last eight years, rebuilding the concrete slipway in 2006.
When Eyre, Betty and their children moved to the area, they viewed it as somewhere to retire. They had hoped that they would use the land for a private home and a mooring facility for their own boat and those of their friends. Boating is in the blood in the Chatterton family. Eyre had an old wooden barge, with three outboard motors mounted on the back. Eyre then bought an aluminium boat called Michele in 1952, still to be seen in Portaneena to this day, albeit up on the hard.
They had bought 12 acres of land on what was known as Moran's Shore, and another 12 acres on Temple Island. They soon saw the potential which existed along the waterways, and a slipway was built in 1960. Eyre made 140 dives himself to lay the foundations for the rails for the slipway.
They laid down some mooring between the shore and the island, and boat owners started to use the facility. In those days people used to keep their boats on mooring, not tied up at jetties, as they tend to do now.
A far cry from today, as Portaneena now boasts jetty space for over 120 boats. And some of the those spots have been occupied by the same loyal customers for over 40 years. The site has been sensitively developed over the years by the family, and the forest of trees has meant that there has been no intrusion onto the landscape. They have run a boat brokerage since the '70s.
What does the future hold for Portaneena Marina? Third generation Chatterton, Blair, is following in his father's and grandfather's footsteps. He has been working on improving and expanding harbours and jetties at the facility over the last eight years, rebuilding the concrete slipway in 2006.