List of rivers of Ireland explained

This is an alphabetical list of the main rivers on the island of Ireland. It includes rivers that flow through the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Rivers that flow through Northern Ireland are marked with an asterisk (*). There are over 70,000 km of waterways in the Republic of Ireland contained in 3,192 river water bodies including rivers, streams, and tributaries.[1] The major rivers have their length (in miles and kilometres) given. Also shown are two tables. Table 1 shows the longest rivers in Ireland with their lengths (in miles and kilometres), the counties they flow through, and their catchment areas (in km2). Table 2 shows the largest rivers in Ireland (by mean flow) in cubic meters per second.

Longest Irish Rivers (with Basin areas)

Lengths obtained from the Ordnance Survey of Ireland: Rivers and their Catchment Basins 1958 (Table of Reference), and for the rivers Bann and Erne – Notes on River Basins by Robert A. Williams

RiverCountiesLengthBasin Area
1River Shannon (including estuary and flow through lakes)aCavan, Leitrim, Roscommon, Longford, Westmeath, Galway, Offaly,Tipperary, Clare, Limerick, Kerry360 km (224 mi)16,800 km2
2River BarrowbLaois, Kildare, Kilkenny, Carlow,Wexford, Waterford192 km (119 mi)3,067 km2
3River SuirbTipperary, Waterford, Kilkenny, Wexford184 km (114.5 mi)3,610 km2
4River Blackwater (Munster)Kerry, Cork, Waterford168 km (104.5 mi)3,324 km2
5River Bann (including flow through L. Neagh)cDown, Armagh, Antrim, Londonderry159 km (99 mi)5,808 km2[2]
6River NorebTipperary, Laois, Kilkenny140 km (87 mi)2,530 km2
7River Suck (Shannon)Roscommon, Galway133 km (83 mi)1,600 km2[3]
8River LiffeyWicklow, Kildare, Dublin132 km (82 mi)1,256 km2
9River ErneCavan, Fermanagh, Donegal129 km (80 mi)4,372 km2
10River Foyle (including Rivers Mourne, Strule & Camowen)Tyrone, Londonderry, Donegal129 km (80 mi)2,925 km2
11River SlaneyWicklow, Carlow, Wexford117 km (73 mi)1,762 km2
12River BoyneKildare, Offaly, Meath, Louth113 km (70 mi)2,695 km2
13River MoySligo, Mayo101 km (62.5 mi)2,086 km2
14River Clare (Corrib)dMayo, Roscommon, Galway93 km (58 mi)1,108 km2[4]
15River Blackwater (Ulster) (Bann) cTyrone, Monaghan, Armagh92 km (57 mi)1,507 km2
16tRiver Inny (Shannon)Cavan, Longford, Westmeath89 km (55.5 mi)1,254 km2
16tRiver LeeCork89 km (55.5 mi)1,253 km2
18River LaganDown, Antrim86 km (53.5 mi)565 km2
19River Brosna (Shannon)Westmeath, Offaly79 km (49 mi)1,248 km2
20River Laune (includes Lough Leane and River Flesk)Kerry76 km (47.25 mi)829 km2
21River Feale (Shannon)Cork, Limerick, Kerry74 km (46 mi)1,170 km2[5]
22River BandonCork72 km (45 mi)608 km2
23River Blackwater (Boyne)Cavan, Meath68 km (42.5 mi)733 km2
24River Annalee (Erne)Monaghan, Cavan66.8 km (41.75 mi)522 km2
25River Bride (M. Blackwater)Cork, Waterford64 km (40 mi)419 km2
26Boyle River (including Lung River) (Shannon)Mayo, Sligo, Roscommon64 km (40 mi)725 km2
27River Deel (Shannon)Cork, Limerick63.2 km (39.5 mi)481 km2
28River Robe (Corrib)dMayo62.8 km (39.25 mi)320 km2
29River Finn (County Donegal) (Foyle)Donegal, Tyrone62.8 km (39.25 mi)505 km2
30River Maigue (Shannon)Cork, Limerick62 km (38.75 mi)1,000 km2
31Fane RiverMonaghan, Armagh, Louth61.2 km (38.25 mi)350 km2
32Ballisodare RiverSligo60.8 km (38 mi)650 km2
33River Dee (Louth)Cavan, Meath, Louth60.4 km (37.75 mi)392 km2
34River Fergus (Shannon)Clare58.4 km (36.5 mi)1,043 km2
35Little Brosna River (Shannon)Offaly, Tipperary57.6 km (36 mi)662 km2
36Mulkear River (including Bilboa River) (Shannon)Tipperary, Limerick55.9 km (34.75 mi)650 km2
37River Glyde (Co. Louth)Cavan, Meath, Louth55.9 km (34.75 mi)348 km2
TABLE 1a

b

c

d

Largest Irish Rivers (by flow)

River(River Basin)Mean Discharge (m3/s)
1River Shannona209 (300)
2River Corrib105.5
3River Bann[12] b92 (102.5)
4River Foyle[13] 90
5River Blackwater (Munster)87.5
6River Erne85
7River Suirc76
8River Moy63
9River Barrowc46.5
10River Laune43
11River Norec42
12River Lee40
13River Slaney39
14River Boyne38.5
15River Cong[14] (Corrib)37.6
16River Feale[15] (Shannon)34.6
17River Fergus (Shannon)25.7
18River Clare[16] (Corrib)22.9
19River Suck (Shannon)22.2
20River Avoca22
21River Bandon21.5
22River Mourne (Foyle)21.1
23River Blackwater (Ulster) (Bann)19.7
24River Ballisodare18.25
25River Inny (Shannon)18.4
26River Liffey17
27River Derg (Foyle)16.2
28River Maigue (Shannon)15.6
29River Main (Bann)15.4
30River Blackwater (Boyne) (Boyne)15.08
31Aille River (Connacht)[17] (Corrib)15.0
32Owenmore River (County Mayo)14.7
33Boyle River (Shannon)13.57
34River Deel (Shannon)12.56
35Mulkear River (Shannon)12.55
TABLE 2

a The River Shannon's 209 m3/s is to Limerick City (Catchment area: 11,700 km2). If the discharges from all of the rivers and streams into the Shannon Estuary (including the rivers Feale 34.6m3/s, Maigue 15.6m3/s, Fergus 25.7m3/s, and Deel 7.4m3/s)[15] [18] are added to the discharge at Limerick giving a total catchment of 16,865 km2, the total discharge of the River Shannon at its mouth at Loop Head reaches 300 m3/s

b The River Bann's 92 m3/s is to Movanagher Gauging station (Basin area 5209.8 km2).[19] The 102.5 m3/s is based on the total basin area of 5808 km2[2] .

c The Three Sisters (Barrow, Nore & Suir) total flow into Waterford Harbour is 154 m3/s and the combined flow of the Barrow and Nore rivers is 86 m3/s before joining the river Suir near Waterford City.

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See also

External sources

Notes and References

  1. https://www.epa.ie/pubs/reports/water/waterqua/Water%20Quality%20in%20Ireland%202010-2015.pdf EPA Water Quality in Ireland 2010–2015
  2. Ordnance Survey of Ireland: Rivers and their Catchment Basins 1958 (Table of Reference)
  3. Dublin Marine Institute 1998: Studies of Irish Rivers and Lakes: Moriarty, Christopher
  4. http://www.westcframstudy.ie/media/601/2011s5232_western_cfram_uom30_inception_report_v3.0.pdf Western CFRAM Units of Management
  5. http://europeaneel.files.wordpress.com/2014/02/chapter-2-study-area.pdf Biology and Management of European Eel p.29
  6. Shannon River Basin: Furthest sourceShannon River Basin#Furthest sources
  7. [Boyle River (Ireland)]
  8. http://www.askaboutireland.ie Ask about Ireland
  9. Ulster BlackwaterRiver Blackwater, Northern Ireland
  10. http://ccm.jrc.ec.europa.eu/documents/ccm2mainrivers_map_100dpi.pdf European Commission Rivers Map
  11. [River Robe]
  12. Web site: 203040 – Lower Bann at Movanagher . National River Flow Archive (NRFA).
  13. Web site: SMILE – Sustainable Mariculture in northern Irish Lough Ecosystems . 2014-10-19 . 2013-11-12 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131112090534/http://www.ecowin.org/smile/loughfoyle.htm . dead .
  14. Web site: Irish Hydro Power Association . 2014-11-09 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141105171607/http://irishhydro.com/rivers.htm . 2014-11-05 . dead .
  15. Long-term effects of hydropower installations and associated river regulation on River Shannon eel populations: mitigation and management http://www.nuigalway.ie/faculties_departments/zoology/mccarthy/documents/mccarthy_et_al_2008.pdf
  16. Royal Irish Academy, Atlas of Ireland (Royal Irish Academy, Dublin, 1979) Hydrology P. 23 – Rivers: Mean Discharge
  17. Web site: OPW . 2015-06-19 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150924061249/http://www.opw.ie/hydro/index.asp?mpg=main.asp . 2015-09-24 . dead .
  18. Web site: SFPC Maintenance Dredging Application: Table 3-7 . 2014-10-31 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141208233846/http://www.environ.ie/en/Publications/DevelopmentandHousing/Foreshore/FileDownLoad,30279,en.pdf . 2014-12-08 . dead .
  19. Web site: Search Data.
  20. https://archive.org/details/notesonriverbas00willgoog Notes on River Basins: Page 69
  21. https://archive.org/details/notesonriverbas00willgoog Notes on River Basins: Page 64
  22. https://archive.org/details/notesonriverbas00willgoog Notes on River Basins: Page 67
  23. https://archive.org/details/notesonriverbas00willgoog Notes on River Basins: Page 68
  24. http://www.osi.ie/Education/Secondary-Schools/Teacher-Resources/Facts-%281%29.aspx Ordnance Survey (Ireland) Educational Facts

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