Editing River Shannon (section)

===1820s to Independence===
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[[File:Boats on shannon rally.JPG|thumb|left|2012 Shannon Boat Rally]]
In the latter part of the 1820s, trade increased dramatically with the arrival of paddle-wheeled [[steamboat|steamers]] on the river which carried passengers and goods. By 1831 14,600 passengers and {{convert|36000|LT|t|abbr=off}} of freight were being carried. This put new pressure on the navigation and a commission was set up resulting in the [[Shannon Navigation Improvement Act 1835]] ([[5 & 6 Will. 4]]. c. 67) appointing five commissioners for the improvement of navigation and drainage who took possession of the whole navigation. Over the next 15 years, many improvements were made but in 1849 a railway was opened from Dublin to Limerick and the number of passengers fell dramatically. Freight, which had risen to over {{convert|100000|LT|t|abbr=off}} per year, was also halved.

But the work the commissioners carried out failed to solve the problems of flooding and there were disastrous floods in the early 1860s. Given the flat nature of most of the riverbank, this was not easily addressed and nothing much was done till the twentieth century.