Illaunmore Shoot

For excellent pheasant shooting in Ireland, the Illaunmore Shoot is a truly unique driven shooting experience. As the name suggest, the shoot is set on a large island on Tipperary's Lough Derg.

Shooting is a mix of mainly pheasants with a few partridges to spice things up. Days are run for 8 to 10 guns with bags of circa 220 birds per day and are made up of 4 to 5 drives a day.
The day begins with guns meeting at Coolbawn Quay, where they are met by their first mode of transport for the day; a  landing craft. Everyone is loaded on for the short trip across to Illaunmore, where land transport awaits the guns.

The first drive is usually in the center of the island and is followed by two further drives in the morning, one of which will be on the Lough's shore, before the guns retire to the shoot lodge for a splendid three course lunch.

The afternoon holds a further one or two drives, depending on how the bag is going. These include one of the famous shore drives, with the chance for some very testing long crossing birds out over the water, for the pegs on the Lough's shore. After the final drive, it is back to the landing craft for the short journey to the mainland.

Days are very well run with an informal feel and great hospitality to put everyone at ease to enjoy the day's sport.

Based on Illaunmore (which means big island) on the river Shannon in County Tipperary, the Island is a truly unique driven game shoot in the west of Ireland.
The day starts as beaters, picker-up, keepers, dogs and Guns pile on the flat-bottomed launch to be transported across to the Island. Illaunmore is shaped like an extinct volcano, with a plateau atop a gentle slope. This gives a natural gradient for the birds to swoop down to the Guns placed along the shore. Whereas most shoots offer birds on a 180 degree angle in front of the Guns, the unique topography of  Illaunmore allows a range of shots to test any team’s abilities.

The island is situated where Lough Derg meets the strong currents of the Shannon, so it is needs the steady hands of the launch’s skipper to guide the launch between the piers.
Once on the Island, the beaters are sent to their starting positions before the Guns are handed their shoot cards, which inform them of their pegs throughout the day.
The birds are pushed from cover crops on the plateau above the Guns and they stream down the hill towards the water.

Pheasant shooting over the water

On the game shoots over the river Shannon, the birds are driven towards the water and a smaller neighbouring island presents the pheasants and partridges a target to aim for. As the birds gain elevation, they present the Guns with a tricky and challenging target. Based on Illaunmore (which means big island) on the river Shannon in County Tipperary, the Island is a truly unique driven game shoot in the west of Ireland.

The day starts as beaters, picker-up, keepers, dogs and Guns pile on the flat-bottomed launch to be transported across to the Island. Illaunmore is shaped like an extinct volcano, with a plateau atop a gentle slope. This gives a natural gradient for the birds to swoop down to the Guns placed along the shore. Whereas most shoots offer birds on a 180 degree angle in front of the Guns, the unique topography of  Illaunmore allows a range of shots to test any team’s abilities.