Lough Rea should not be confused with Lough Ree.
| Lough Rea | |
| Pushpin Map: | Ireland |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in Ireland |
| Location: | County Galway, Ireland |
| Coords: | 53.1897°N -8.5763°W |
| Lake Type: | natural freshwater lough |
| Outflow: | Loughrea RiverTown Moat |
| Basin Countries: | Ireland |
| Length: | 2.61km (01.62miles) |
| Width: | 1.68km (01.04miles) |
| Area: | 3.01km2 |
| Elevation: | 81m (266feet) |
| Islands: | Ash Island, Shore Island, Blake's Island, Barrack Island, Middle Island, Long Island, Switch Island, Stone Island North, Stone Islands South, Island McCoo |
| Cities: | Loughrea |
| Reference: | [1] |
Lough Rea,[2] also Loughrea Lake, is a lake in Ireland, located south of Loughrea, County Galway.[3]
Lough Rea is stocked with three-spined stickleback, ninespine stickleback, eel, perch, brown trout, rudd and pike.[4]
In the tradition of other Dindsenchas myths, according to Irish tradition, Lough Rea was formed after a battle fought between pre-Christian deities, who took the form of deer. The force of their battle causing a well to burst and the lake to form.[5]
Another popular piece of folklore says that there was once a town where the lake is today, but the town was submerged underneath the water.