title: Inland Waterways Association of Ireland
text: # Inland Waterways Association of Ireland
  
  The Inland Waterways Association of Ireland (IWAI; Irish: Cumann Uiscebhealaigh Intíre na hÉireann) is a registered charity and a limited company in the Republic of Ireland and also operates in Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1954 to campaign for the conservation and development of the waterways and their preservation as working navigations. As of 2008, the association had approximately 4,400 members which were organised in twenty branches.
  
  IWAI has links with the Scottish Inland Waterways Association (SIWA), with an annual exchange. In 2008, SIWA visited Lough Erne.
  
  ## Publications
  
  The group publishes a quarterly magazine called Inland Waterway News (IWN). It contains news about the Irish waterways along with articles from the various branches/ subgroups that make up the organisation.
  
  ## Activities
  
  The IWAI and its subgroups host rallies over the Summer months annually. These rallies include the Shannon rally, Lough Derg rally and Lough Erne rally. The Shannon rally is the biggest of these rallies. In the bigger rallies, participants may pay a fee to take part. The rallies may include tests of boating skills, rescue exercises, a table quiz, fancy dress competitions, with awards ceremonies at the end. Some of the smaller branches hold small boat rallies with dingies. Branches that hold these are Boyne Navigation IWAI, Newry and Portadown IWAI and Lagan IWAI.
  
  ## Branches
  
  * Athlone
  * Barrow
  * Belturbet
  * Boyle River
  * Boyne Navigation
  * Carrick-on-Shannon
  * Coalisland
  * Corrib
  * Cruising Club
  * Dublin
  * Lough Derg
  * Lough Erne
  * Kildare
  * Lagan
  * Newry and Portadown
  * North Barrow
  * Offaly
  * Powerboat Branch
  * Shannon Harbour
  * Slaney
  * River Bann and Lough Neagh
  