A Little History Of Cullaun Sailing Club (by Chris Davis in 2000) (Former Commodore and founding member)
In the year 2000 we celebrated our 21st anniversary. That is 21 years since the formation of Cullaun Sailing Club but the origins of the club go back a few years more to the late 1960’s In the beginning a few enthusiasts in Shannon took up building wooden Mirror dinghies to sail in the Shannon estuary. The Shannon Sailing Club was then formed with the support and enthusiasm from Kevin Naughton a member of Foynes SC.
Any one who does not know the estuary round Shannon and the airport can be forgiven for getting the impression that it is all mud most of the time. Sailing anywhere near low tide was impossible and an alternative launch site was found on the Fergus estuary on the north side of the airport not far from the Honk pub. A slipway was built from the shore to a narrow channel so that open water could be reached at low tide. But very quickly this slipway was covered and lost in mud and the club searched for alternative sailing waters again. The club re-sited its activities on Ballyalla just north of Ennis off the Gort road and had several successful years with over seven Mirrors at any one time. Their annual regatta was held at the same time as the Ennis Harvest Festival and was by all accounts a very successful event which promoted activity in the club.
Click here to read more on the history of Cullaun Sailing Club
