Directions for a foreigner?

[npolley]

Hello IWW,

I'm not Irish; however, I will be visiting Ireland in June. I live in the southeastern United States and boat all the classics down here, from the Green River Narrows to the Nantahala. Unfortunately, I don't know a darn thing about the rivers on your island (classic American ignorance of the world) and I was hoping for some beta.

I'm traveling with my girlfriend (also a paddler) and the purpose of our trip isn't exclusively whitewater, we plan to do a lot of hiking and sampling of the local pubs, but I would be extremely excited to get out on the river while I am there. What are the Ireland classics I should be looking at? where is a good place to rent gear (Do you guys call it "kit" over there?)? I don't plan on swimming, but if I do, do I have to drink a Guinness out of my astral?

All suggestions are welcome! Thanks for the help!

[Seanie]

Unfortunately not much will be running in June. Most rivers are rain dependent. Also, because of liability/insurance quirks whitewater gear isn't widely available to rent (I think).

you can check out river levels here:
http://riverspy.net/map.html