Before the Ardnacrusha power station was built in the 1920s, the waterway route from Lough Derg to Limerick went through five stages: three stretches of canal with two river stretches in between. The first canal was at KIllaloe, with three locks. Boats then re-entered the Shannon and stayed on the river to O'Briensbridge. From there they could either go downriver to Castleconnell (below which rapids, the Falls of Doonass, made boating impossible) or turn right into the Plassey-Errina Canal. The canal rejoined the Shannon at Plassey, where the University of Limerick is now. Horses had to cross the river, originally by boat but later by the Black Bridge; boats were then towed downriver to the junction with the Park Canal (where the Guinness footbridge is now), which brought them through one lock to the canal harbour in Limerick. A second lock provided access to the Abbey River and thence to the Shannon Estuary.

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