River Festival fringe event to take place this Saturday

An Athlone River Festival fringe event, in conjunction with the Croí na hÉireann St Patrick’s Day committee, will take place this Saturday, March 15.

This event will see Athlone Boat Club members race between the new cycleway bridge and the railway bridge from 12 noon to 1.30pm.

It will then see local water safety groups demonstrate their skills, expertise, and equipment at the back of Athlone Castle, along with the Athlone Defibrillator Group, from 1.30pm to 2.30pm.

The main sponsor of this event will be the Spice India restaurant, which will have a gazebo opened on the day (from 12:30 to 2:30pm) serving their food at the back of Athlone Castle.

Spice India is a leading chain of Indian restaurants, with a total of six highly-rated locations around the Irish Midlands and West. Spice India's Athlone branch opened in October 2019, and is located on Connaught Street.

John Henson, chair of Athlone's Croí na hÉireann St Patrick’s Day festival committee thanked the water groups for their involvement in the schedule of events for the festival weekend.

"This collaboration is running three years now - this will be year number four - and we are delighted that the people of Athlone will experience these life-saving demonstrations," he said.

"Coordinated by Padraig Hegarty, chairman of the River Festival, the event will showcase the incredible volunteers of all our life-saving groups here on the waterways of the River Shannon and Lough Ree.

"It is fantastic also that Athlone Boat Club will be holding mini races in town, and that their new state-of-the-art clubhouse will also be open to the public on the day."