Lough Derg (Shannon)

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Lough Derg
Lough derg.jpg
Location map Ireland County Clare.png
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Lough Derg
Lough Derg (County Clare)
Location map Ireland County Galway.png
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Lough Derg
Lough Derg (County Galway)
Lough Derg (Munster).png
Location in Ireland
Coordinates 52°59′N8°19′W / 52.983°N 8.317°W / 52.983; -8.317
Type Freshwater lake
Native nameLoch Deirgeirt
Primary inflows River Shannon
Primary outflows River Shannon
Basin  countries Ireland
Max. length38.6 km (24.0 mi)
Max. width12.9 km (8.0 mi)
Surface area130 km2 (50 sq mi)
Average depth7.6 m (25 ft)
Max. depth36 m (118 ft)
Water volume0.887 km3 (0.213 cu mi)
Residence time 0.15 years
Shore length1179,000 m (587,000 ft)
Surface elevation33.5 m (110 ft)
Settlements Garrykennedy, Portumna, Killaloe & Ballina, Dromineer, Terryglass
1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure.

Lough Derg, historically Lough Dergart (Irish : Loch Deirgeirt), [1] is a freshwater lake in the Shannon River Basin, Ireland. It is the third-biggest on the island of Ireland (after Lough Neagh and Lough Corrib) and the second largest lake in the Republic of Ireland.

Contents

It is a long, narrow lake, with shores in counties Clare (south-west), Galway (north-west), and Tipperary (to the east). It is the southernmost of three large lakes on the River Shannon; the others being Lough Ree and Lough Allen. Towns and villages on Lough Derg include Portumna, Killaloe & Ballina, Dromineer, Terryglass, Mountshannon and Garrykennedy.

The lake's name evolved from the Irish Loch Deirgdheirc. [1] This was one of the names of The Dagda, the father of gods and men in Irish mythology, and literally means "red eye". [2]

Lough Derg has many islands including Inis Cealtra or Holy Island.

Geography

At its deepest, the lake is 36 m (118 ft) deep and covers an area of 130 km2 (50 sq mi). [3] Close downstream from where Lough Derg empties into the Shannon are the falls of Doonass, the largest fall on the otherwise gently sloping river. Nearby is the location of the hydroelectric power plant at Ardnacrusha, which, when built in 1927 was the world's largest.

Usage

In the nineteenth century, Lough Derg was an important artery from the port at Limerick to Dublin through the canals in the midlands of Ireland. Navigable over its full 38.6 km (24.0 mi) length, Lough Derg is today popular with cruisers and other pleasure craft, as well as sailing and fishing. The University of Limerick have an activity centre by the lake, just north of Killaloe, where there are canoes, kayaks, windsurfing, sailing dingies, and other recreations.

Lough Derg is home to an RNLI Lifeboat which is based at Dromineer, the first inland station in Ireland. [4] In June 2013, 35 people were brought to safety when a major rescue effort was undertaken after an international rowing event was hit by severe weather. [5]

Dublin City Council published a plan in 2011 for a pipeline to supply up to 350 million litres of water a day from Lough Derg to Dublin city and region. In 2016 the Parteen Basin at the south of lough was chosen as the proposed site of extraction. Water would be pumped to a break pressure tank at Knockanacree near Cloughjordan in County Tipperary and gravity fed from there to Dublin. [6] [7] [8] [9]

Ecology

A breeding pair of white-tailed eagles first nested on an island in Lough Derg in 2012. This marked a great success for the Irish reintroduction programme started in the summer of 2007. [10] [11] [12]

Nitellopsis obtusa , an invasive alga in the family Characeae (stoneworts), was first recorded in Ireland in this lough in 2016. [13] In 2021, invasive quagga mussels were discovered in the lake and in Lough Ree by a research team from UCD. [14]

The North-East Shore is listed as a Special Area of Conservation. [15]

Towns/villages

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">County Clare</span> County in Ireland

County Clare is a county in the province of Munster in the Southern part of the republic of Ireland, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council is the local authority. The county had a population of 127,938 at the 2022 census. The county seat and largest settlement is Ennis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">River Shannon</span> Longest river in the British Isles

The River Shannon is the major river on the island of Ireland, and at 360.5 km in length, is the longest river in the British Isles. It drains the Shannon River Basin, which has an area of 16,865 km2 (6,512 sq mi), – approximately one fifth of the area of Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dromineer</span> Village in Munster, Ireland

Dromineer is a small village and townland in County Tipperary, Ireland. It is situated on the shores of Lough Derg on the River Shannon. The village is located 10 km north of Nenagh on the R495 road. It is a civil parish in the historical barony of Ormond Lower. Historic documents describe the places as "Dromynnyre"; the earliest form of the name dating from 1302 was Dromynwyr.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shannon hydroelectric scheme</span> Electricity generation project in County Clare, Ireland

The Shannon hydroelectric Scheme was a major development by the Irish Free State in the 1920s to harness the power of the River Shannon. Its product, the Ardnacrusha power plant, is a hydroelectric power station which is still producing power today and is located near Ardnacrusha within County Clare approximately 2.4 kilometres (1.5 mi) from the Limerick border. It is Ireland's largest river hydroelectric scheme and is operated on a purpose built headrace connected to the River Shannon. The plant includes fish ladders so that returning fish, such as salmon, can climb the river safely past the power station.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Killaloe, County Clare</span> Town in County Clare, Ireland

Killaloe is a small town in east County Clare, Ireland. It lies on the River Shannon on the western bank of Lough Derg and is connected by Killaloe Bridge to the "twin town" of Ballina on the eastern bank of the lake.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mountshannon</span> Village in County Clare, Ireland

Mountshannon is a village in east County Clare, Ireland. It is part of the Catholic parish Mountshannon-Whitegate. The village is on the western shore of Lough Derg, north of Killaloe. Mountshannon won the Irish Tidy Towns Competition in 1981.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Puckane</span> Village in Munster, Ireland

Puckane, officially Puckaun, is a village in County Tipperary, Ireland. It is also a parish in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Killaloe. The village is located 10 km north of Nenagh along the R493 and close to Lough Derg and Dromineer. It had a population of 250 people as of the 2016 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terryglass</span> Village in Munster, Ireland

Terryglass is a village in County Tipperary, Ireland. The small town is located on the R493 regional road on the north-eastern shore of Lough Derg near where the River Shannon enters the Lough. It is a civil parish in the historical barony of Ormond Lower. It is also an Ecclesiastical parish in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Killaloe,. Terryglass won the Irish Tidy Towns Competition in 1983 and 1997.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ballina, County Tipperary</span> Town in County Tipperary, Ireland

Ballina, from Irish: Béal an Átha, meaning 'mouth of the ford', is a census town that lies on the River Shannon in County Tipperary, Ireland. It is situated on the eastern shore of Lough Derg across from its 'twin-town' of Killaloe on the west bank of the lake. The towns are joined by Killaloe Bridge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">R494 road (Ireland)</span> Road in Ireland

The R494 road is a regional road in Ireland which runs southwest-northeast from Junction 27 of the M7 at Birdhill, County Tipperary to the N52 at Nenagh - all in County Tipperary. It leaves the M7 and loops around the Arra Mountains between the hills and Lough Derg returning to what was the N7 in Nenagh.

Lorrha is a small village at the northern tip of County Tipperary, Ireland. It is located on a minor road between the R489 Birr to Portumna road and the N65 Nenagh to Portumna road about five kilometres east of the point where the River Shannon enters Lough Derg.

Donald Attig is an inventor, boat designer, entrepreneur, yachtsman and adventurer.

The Lough Derg Way is a long-distance trail in Ireland. It is 68 kilometres long, beginning in Limerick City and ending in Dromineer, County Tipperary. It is typically completed in three days.

Lough Derg Yacht Club is a boat club based in the lakeside village of Dromineer in County Tipperary, Ireland. Founded in 1835, it is one of the world's oldest yacht clubs. The club is based in a modern clubhouse on the east shore of Lough Derg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tulla Lower</span> Place in Munster, Ireland

Tulla Lower is a barony in County Clare, Ireland. This ancient geographical division of land is in turn divided into eight civil parishes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Inishcaltra</span> Civil parish in County Clare, Ireland

Inishcaltra is a civil parish in the barony of Leitrim in County Clare, Ireland. The main settlement in the parish is the village of Mountshannon. It is noted for the eponymous island of Inis Cealtra, which is an ancient Christian monastic site. In the Catholic Church, the parish is part of the ecclesiastical parish of Mountshannon (Clonrush).

Clonrush or Clonmulsk is a civil parish in the barony of Leitrim, now in County Clare, Ireland. The largest settlement in the parish is Whitegate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shannon River Basin</span> River in Ireland

The Shannon River Basin consists of the area containing Ireland's longest river, the River Shannon, and all of its tributaries and lakes. The official Ordnance Survey Ireland length of the Shannon from its Shannon Pot source is 224 miles (360 km) made up of 63.5 miles (102.2 km) tidal water flow and 160.5 miles (258.3 km) freshwater flow.

<i>Green and Silver</i>

Green and Silver is the account by Tom Rolt of a voyage through the inland waterways of Ireland just after the Second World War, published in 1949. It is notable because it was one of the last trips by any boat around the triangular loop of the River Shannon, Grand Canal and Royal Canal before the last named was closed to navigation. It was reopened in 2010.

Dublin City Council published a plan in 2011 to supply up to 350 million litres of water a day from Lough Derg to Dublin city and region. In January 2014, Irish Water took over management of the project which is currently in the Planning Stage. In 2016 it was proposed that over two million people will benefit from the water supplying not only Dublin but also an area including Arklow, Athlone, Athy, Carlow, Drogheda, Mullingar, Navan, Portaloise and Tullamore. In 2018 Irish Water announced plans to seek planning permission for the project.

References

  1. 1 2 "Placenames Database of Ireland". Archived from the original on 14 June 2018. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  2. ↑ MacKillop, James. Myths and Legends of the Celts. Penguin, 2006. p.137
  3. ↑ "Lough Derg (Lake Derg)". Archived from the original on 8 January 2000. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
  4. ↑ "loughderglifeboat.com". Archived from the original on 8 February 2004. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
  5. ↑ Hilliard, Mark. "Lough Derg rescue operation brings 35 ashore after rowing event". The Irish Times . Dublin. ISSN   0791-5144. Archived from the original on 22 June 2013. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
  6. ↑ "Water Supply Project – Eastern and Midlands Region" (PDF). Irish Water . Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 November 2016.
  7. ↑ "Warning over Shannon water extraction". RTÉ. 31 July 2008. Archived from the original on 3 January 2020. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
  8. ↑ "Shannon water extraction a concern for Limerick councillors - Limerick Leader". Archived from the original on 18 July 2016. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  9. ↑ River Shannon Protection Alliance (26 October 2011). "Why we say the Dublin Region Water Supply Project is a bad scheme" (PDF). Oireachtas . Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 May 2013. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  10. ↑ "Sea eagles return to Irish nest". The Irish Times. 30 April 2012. Archived from the original on 3 May 2012. Retrieved 30 April 2012.
  11. ↑ RTÉ: Rare eagle reintroduced to Ireland Archived 14 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  12. ↑ "White-tailed Eagle". Archived from the original on 1 May 2012. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
  13. ↑ Minchin, D., Boelens, R. and Roden, C. 2017. The first record of Nitellopsis obtusa (N.A.Desvaux) J.Groves (Charophyceae, Characeae) in Ireland (H9,H10). Irish Naturalists' Journal35(2) p.105-109
  14. ↑ Mainnín, Tomás O. (26 July 2021). "Invasive species flexing its 'mussels' on the Shannon". RTÉ. Archived from the original on 26 July 2021. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  15. ↑ "Conservation objectives for Lough Derg (Shannon) SPA [004058]" (PDF). National Parks and Wildlife Service . Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 July 2015.
  16. ↑ Waterways Ireland ePortal Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine
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