Splashes of fun, screams of excitement, peals of laughter, and gasps of pure wonder and amazement – that's the riotous sound of an action-packed and fun-filled family break on Ireland's Lakelands, Inland Waterways and Canals.

ONE great former sporting captain watched as another opened a new €2 million tourism infrastructure project in the lakeside town of Killaloe yesterday.

SLOWLY, but ever so surely, moves are being put together to develop the 368km River Shannon as one of the country’s greatest natural amenities.