Lough Derg (Shannon)
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Lough Derg, historically Lough Dergart (Template:Langx),<ref name=pdi>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.
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.<ref name=pdi/> This was one of the names of The Dagda, the father of gods and men in Irish mythology, and literally means "red eye".<ref>MacKillop, James. Myths and Legends of the Celts. Penguin, 2006. p.137</ref>
Lough Derg has many islands including Inis Cealtra or Holy Island.
Geography
At its deepest, the lake is Template:Convert deep and covers an area of Template:Convert.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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 Template:Convert length, Lough Derg is today popular with cruisers and other pleasure craft, as well as sailing and fishing. The University of Limerick has 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>RTÉ: Rare eagle reintroduced to Ireland Template:Webarchive</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Nitellopsis obtusa, an invasive alga in the family Characeae (stoneworts), was first recorded in Ireland in this lough in 2016.<ref>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' Journal 35(2) p.105-109</ref> In 2021, invasive quagga mussels were discovered in the lake and in Lough Ree by a research team from UCD.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
The North-East Shore is listed as a Special Area of Conservation.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Towns/villages
- Ballina
- Dromineer
- Garrykennedy
- Kilgarvan
- Killaloe
- Mountshannon
- Portroe
- Portumna
- Scarriff (location of regional Waterways Ireland office)<ref>Waterways Ireland ePortal Template:Webarchive</ref>
- Terryglass
- Whitegate
See also
References
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- aerial view of Lough Derg's northern shores, featuring Terryglass Drominagh and Kilgarvan Quay
- Alien species threatening ecology of Lough Derg Irish Examiner, 18 February 2011
- Asian clams threaten Lough Derg fish stock Dan Danaher, The Clare Champion, 21 June 2012.