The River Shannon

1
The River Shannon

• Irelands longest river
• 386 km or 240 miles long.

2
Did you know how the river got its name?

• The Shannon is named after Sionnan, who was the
  granddaughter of Manannan Mac Lir, or God of the
  Sea.
• She came to this spot the Shannon pot, where the
  river begins in the Cuilcagh Mountains, Co Cavan
  to eat the fruit of the forbidden, or the Tree of
  Knowledge, which was planted by the Druids.
• As she began to eat it, the waters of the pool
  sprang up and overwhelmed her, drawing her down
  into it to flow out later across the land, thus
  the River Shannon sprung up.

3
Course of the River Shannon

• The Shannons source is in the Cuilcagh
  Mountains, in Co Cavan.
• It is a small lake called the Shannon Pot, which
  is 14.6m deep at its deepest point.

4
Counties that the Shannon runs through

• Cavan
• Fermanagh
• Leitrim
• Longford
• Roscommon
• Offaly
• Tipperary
• Clare
• Limerick
• Galway
• Kerry it touches off the coast of Kerry when it
  flows into the sea.
• Westmeath

5
Tributaries of the River Shannon

• A tributary is a stream or a river that flows
  into another river.
• The River Shannon has many tributaries. Can you
  find these on the map?
• The River Suck
• The Inny River
• The River Brosna
• The Nenagh River
• The Mulcair River

6

• Rivers of Ireland
• Can you see the Shannon?

7
Lakes on the River Shannon

• There are three main lakes on the River Shannon.
  Find these on your map
• Lough Allen
• Lough Ree
• Lough Derg

8

• Map of the towns and villages on the Shannon Erne
  Waterway

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The Shannon-Erne Waterway How do we link up
with the River Shannon?

• The Shannon-Erne Waterway is a canal linking the
  River Shannon in the Republic of Ireland with the
  River Erne in Northern Ireland.
• It is managed by Waterways Ireland.
• The canal is 63 km (39 mi) in length, has sixteen
  locks and runs from Leitrim village in County
  Leitrim to Upper Lough Erne in County Fermanagh.
• If we wanted to hire a boat on the Shannon-Erne
  waterway, what town would we go to ? Hint It is
  not too far from Ballyshannon
• L E L E K B
• http//www.waterwaysireland.org/erne/ Lets
  examine a map of the Shannon Erne waterway.

10
How is the Shannon connected with Dublin?

• The Shannon River is connected with Dublin
  through two canals, the Royal Canal and the Grand
  Canal.

• Statue of the Irish poet, Patrick Kavanagh, on
  the banks of the Grand Canal, Dublin.

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Where does the Shannon enter the sea?

• The Shannon River flows into the Atlantic Ocean
  at its mouth, the Shannon Estuary.
• The estuary has Limerick at its head and its
  seaward limits are marked by Loop Head to the
  north and Kerry Head to the south.
• The estuary defines the main boundary between
  County Kerry/County Limerick to the south and
  County Clare to the north.

• Map of the Shannon Estuary

12
Town Challenge

• In your Geography copy, and using your atlas/map
  of Ireland, list five towns that the Shannon
  River flows through.
• Hint Check these websites for some help
• http//www.iwai.ie/maps/shannonerne/index.html
• http//www.cruiseireland.com/ireland/images/map.jp
  g

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Weblinks

• http//www.discoverloughderg.ie/Introduction/River
  Shannon/RiverShannonTributaries/ find out more
  about Lough Derg.
• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lough_ree Find out
  more about Lough Ree
• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lough_allen Find
  out more about Lough Allen