TheLiffey Descent Canoe Race is an annual down rivercanoe and kayak race, of some 18 miles in length, that has been held on theRiver Liffey inDublin,Ireland since 1960.[1] It starts bythe K Club aboveStraffan weir inCounty Kildare, and historically finished by theDublin University Boat Club adjacent to theIrish National War Memorial Gardens atIslandbridge in Dublin city centre.[1] It is organised by theIrish Canoe Union[2] and is normally timed to coincide withThe Liffey Swim.[3][4] 2009 saw the 50th anniversary of the event.[5]
In 2012, the event was added to the Classic Marathon Series of theInternational Canoe Federation.[6] The race is aided by volunteer rescue divers from the Irish Underwater Council (principally from Aquatec Sub Aqua Club) who swim into the turbulent waters below several of the tougher weirs on the route to rescue struggling or overturned canoeists.
In the late 1950s, the first canoe clubs in Ireland began, in Dublin,Kilcullen andBelfast, made possible by the advent of soft-skinned kayaks (which arrived in kit form).[7] Eventually more durablehulls made of plywood, fibreglass and glass-fibre replaced these and made the navigation ofweirs a possibility.[7]
Busáras, the central bus station in Dublin (opened in 1953), hosted the first 'Irish Boat Show' during Easter week, 18–23 April 1960. Although the show's main focus was sailing, it featured other water sports such as diving, water skiing and canoeing.[8] Coca-Cola presented a cup for the winner of a canoe race held on 23 April, which ran betweenGrattan andButt Bridge in the city centre, and was won by Roger Greene.[8] This sprint, of a mere 800m metres, became the forerunner to the much longer marathon canoe race of the Liffey Descent, which has been held annually on the river ever since.[8]
A year later, in 1961, Roger Greene and Ernest Lawrence offered to arrange a more adventurous two-day Liffey race in the month of September.[8] This race would start at Straffan and finish at theGarda boat club in Islandbridge, with an overnight camp immediately below the New Bridge onLeixlip Lake.[9] Newspapers such as theIrish Times assisted in advertising the event:
According to post-race reports, the first day had finished in rain "when camp was made before the paddlers retired to theCelbridgehostelries while the girls who had come along to cook went home for the night".[10] Greene won the race again, with a cumulative time of 3 hours 28 minutes.[10]
At a meeting in the Cliff Castle Hotel, Dalkey, in November 1961, theIrish Canoe Union was formed.[10] The organisation was set up with across-border ethos, and at the inaugural meeting, 33 delegates attended, representing canoe clubs from Dún Laoghaire, Kilcullen,Trinity College Dublin,Clongowes Wood College, Stranmillis Training College (nowStranmillis University College) (Belfast), Stewart's (Belfast), Park Parade School (Belfast), and the general Belfast canoe club.[10]
The 1962 race was the first held under the auspices of the nascentIrish Canoe Union.[10] The national press failed to report on the event, no times are recorded for competitors completing the race, and (as of 2019) "none of the paddlers involved [had] a clear memory of the event".[11]
Between 1963 and 1969, the event grew from a local race held in soft-skin boats on low water, to a full international event on a flooded river (courtesy of theESB who controlled waterflow at dams along the river) in state-of-the-art boats.[12] The race was still not known as theLiffey Descent at this stage, and the wordsIrish International Canoe Racing Long Distance Championship were engraved on trophies awarded in 1964 and 1965.[12] The inspiration to name the raceThe Liffey Descent is thought to derive from theDescenso del Sella race along theRiver Sella in northern Spain, at which Irish competitors competed in 1964.[13]
In 1965 came the first truly "International Liffey Descent" with the race set on a par with the other national marathon races, such as the aforementionedDescenso del Sella, and theBritish Open, held inBradford-on-Avon that year.[13] Since the 1967 race, divers have been present at each event to assist participants who get into difficulty.[14]
In August 2022, the race (set to take place the month after) was cancelled due to "extremely low levels" of water in the reservoir that supplies the river.[15] The alternative option to host the race in April was proposed, to alleviate "the annual issue with water levels, which have become more problematic in recent years".[15]
As of 2023, the two major sponsorships of the race thus far have been theDublin Bottlers of Coca-Cola (1960-1971) andIrish Distillers, through itsJameson whiskey brand (1988-2003).[16]
