Twenty years ago, Irish Whitewater started with a simple idea: Ireland has brilliant rivers, and paddlers deserve a proper place to find and share information about them. Back in 2006, a lot of that knowledge lived in people's heads or was only known locally. IWW set out to change that.
Two decades and 354 river guides later, I'm delighted to say the site has been completely rebuilt from the ground up to mark the occasion.
What's New
The relaunch isn't just a fresh coat of paint. The entire platform has been rewritten to make sure IWW is solid for the next 20 years.
Here's what's changed:
- Interactive Maps - Every river now has a full interactive map, with put-in and take-out markers, so you can plan your trip before you even leave the house.
- Rebuilt Photo & Video Galleries - Over 1,120 photos and 215 videos.
- Better Search - Full-text search with filtering by county, province, and grade. Finding your next run has never been easier.
- Community Editing - River guides are still community-driven, now with a cleaner multi-step submission flow and a proper versioning system so nothing gets lost.
- Favourite Rivers - Log in and save your go-to runs for quick access.
- Mobile Friendly - The whole site is responsive and works properly on your phone — handy for checking guides from the riverbank.
IWW has always been a community effort. Every river guide written, every photo uploaded, every bit of local knowledge shared, that's what makes this site what it is.
Thanks to every paddler who has contributed over the past 20 years. The site is nothing without ye.
Here's to the next 20. See you on the water.
Seanie