Life on the Shannon: Meet the Irish liveaboards choosing houseboats over rising rents

From rising costs to freedom and simplicity, Ireland’s liveaboards explain the realities of making homes on waterways

Finian Coughlan (right)  and his neighbour Trevor Whitaker at Athlone Marina. Picture: Paul Molloy

It’s been almost 20 years since Finian Coughlan abandoned his traditional apartment share for a life less ordinary, residing on a houseboat in Athlone.

“I said at the time that if I’m still doing this when I’m 60 it will be a fair trick,” he told the Irish Examiner. 

“My birthday is on July 16 so it looks like I’m going to make it.” The journalist is one of hundreds of people in Ireland who call the water home. However, while the rental crisis has forced some to explore alternative accommodation options, others regard it as a lifestyle choice.

Named after his favourite novel by Joseph Conrad, Mr Coughlan’s beloved narrowboat Lord Jim, is one of few residential vessels situated on the River Shannon near Athlone town.

Apart from holidaymakers, Finian’s only neighbour is a Yorkshire man named Trevor Whitaker who fell in love with Ireland while on a fishing trip here two decades ago.

Both have adapted well to life on the Shannon since joining the growing numbers of liveaboards in recent decades.

Attractive

Finian spoke about what attracted him to the lifestyle all those years ago.

“I was sharing an apartment with a friend in Mullingar before I moved into the boat 18 years ago. A couple of friends who I used to work with bought a boat and Robertstown and were living on it. One of them accidentally kicked a can of diesel over a freshly laundered bag of laundry. The smell of it alone was enough to make them want to return to bricks and mortar. They bailed, but the seed had already been plated for me. I really enjoyed being on their boat so I started looking around for one of my own. An Australian musician who was living on the canal in Sallins sold me his and I bought it for €48k. it took me 61 days to sail it from Sallins down the Grand Canal and up to Athlone.” The 59-year-old’s cost of living expenses are relatively low.

“I'm on the town marina, and I pay my mooring fees to the Westmeath County Council but that’s the height of my expenses. I have a laptop, a fridge, a microwave, and television. Everything is functional and workable. The pot belly stove is my saving grace. €3k a year is all it costs me which, overall, isn’t really that much.” Weather conditions can make sleeping difficult.

“On a stormy night, the thought of bricks and mortar is quite nice. Particularly with the way I am berthed , if there is a southern or South-westerly wind, It's like trying to sleep in a tumble dryer However, you get used to the rocking. Your fortitude is tested on a boat. People who can’t manage normally return to bricks and mortar fairly quicky. It’s funny because when I have a landlubber staying over, the motion will subconsciously affect their inner ear and methodology of balancing. Literally, as soon as they walk off the jetty and put a food on solid dry land they are trying to regain their balance.” Finian, who works with the Kildare Nationalist, continues to lead an active social life.

“It’s not exactly what you would call a busy winter here. I think there were five people living on the marina during the last season but there have been quite a number of Winters when I was the only one. Fortunately, it never really gets lonely, especially since I’m only a 90 second walk from my favourite high stool. My best friends live less than a minute away.” Finding storage can be challenging.

“If there are three people here it’s crowded. I have to be very disciplined. I hoard an awful lot less now because there are only so many places you can store things. Once it’s full up then that’s it. Everything I have is needed and used. I use the boot of my car as my shed, particularly over the Winter. I have bags and bags of timber then I have to bring in one at a time.” Finian’s friends and family are rarely surprised by his way of life.

“I’m the eldest of four and was always considered a bit of a maverick. When everyone went to the US in the 80s, I went to South Africa, and while they all worked in construction in Boston, I was working in a casino in North Pretoria. That was quite an eye-opener. I always say to people that I went when I was 22 and I came back when I was 24, but really I was 16 and came back 46. I did an awful lot of growing up there. I don’t think people were too surprised when they heard I was living on a boat.” The liveaboard enjoys his home comforts.

“As soon as the fire goes out, the 13 and a half tonnes of steel quickly becomes the same temperature as the body of water it’s immersed in. If you do forget to keep the fire going overnight then you definitely feel it in the morning. The one advantage of being sent to boarding school for me was that it taught me how to dress really fast on a cold morning. You can get used to anything. I usually just wear a woolly hat and I’m grand until the fire gets going.” Lord Jim is proudly bedecked with the Westmeath colours.

“My friend Deirdre across the road refers to it as the pink boat. I’m trying to tell her that it’s painted maroon and white which are the Westmeath colours. However, it’s a little bit sun bleached so it does look a bit pink from the other side of the river.” 

Floating neighbour

Finian’s neighbour Trevor Whitaker enjoys the best of both worlds, opting to spend half the year in Athlone and the remaining six months in his native Sheffield. He first took the plunge to become a liveaboard 20 years ago after falling in love with Ireland during a fishing trip.

“I had a stroke a year ago. I have a home in Sheffield but I’m not prepared to give up on the life I have here. Having a stroke was frightening but I didn’t want to change my life completely. I want my life back and the only way I can get it back is by living it. A lot of people have very serious strokes where they can no longer talk so I suppose I had a lucky escape. I don’t feel any different to how I was before really. I’m just determined to live life the way I always have. Generally speaking, my life on a boat is preferable. It gives me total freedom. A lot of people wouldn’t be able to do it but it works for me. Being here gets you away from the trials and tribulations of life because you don’t have the same kind of hassles. You get one or two lunatics coming into the boatyard now and again but that’s everywhere. On the whole, I don’t really have any problems.” He listed the benefits of his lifestyle adding:

Finian Coughlan at Athlone Marina by his beloved narrowboat Lord Jim. Picture: Paul Molloy

“You are practically outdoors all the time. You also meet some lovely people on boats. You meet holidaymakers and people who come with their families and are always really friendly. I’m well known in this town because I’ve been here such a long time. There are 50 boats here but people don’t live on them with the exception of Finian and I. The boat is my sanctuary. When you're on a boat, you're away from everything. I still go out every day. I go for walks and into town in Athlone. I can walk around and talk to people and I don’t have that in England. In many ways I don’t feel like I live here but rather that I am a part of this place. When I’m back in England and walking through the village they might nod their heads, but people in Ireland talk to me. They may not know me personally but they still know me because of the unusual way in which I live.” The former building contractor finds creative ways to solve everyday problems.

“The hardest part is probably all the cleaning up. I’ve got everything on this boat that you would have in a traditional house, except a washing machine. That’s okay with me because all I have to do is make a phone call and a guy called Jimmy comes and picks up a bag of washing from me. He brings it back and I pay him and it makes life so much easier. I don’t eat a lot on the boat but I do go out for lunch every Sunday.” Trevor enjoys returning to Sheffield to see his family.

“I called the boat after my wife but her name is translated into Irish so it’s Eileen O’Donnocha. She’s Irish but lives back in our house in Sheffield because she doesn’t like boats. I have a big family, three children, six grandchildren and nine grandchildren. Of course, my children and grandchildren have their own lives now. Even though it’s impossible to get everybody together at once I see them all as much as I can.” The 81-year-old lamented the struggles for those unable to source accommodation.

“It’s so expensive to live in the real world. In that respect I’m fortunate because this is my choice. For people who are not fortunate enough to be able to afford a house it’s a cheap way of living. Mine is a big boat, 50 ft long. It’s like a floating bungalow so I really don’t see much of a difference between living here or in a house.”