Lough Erne

Infobox_lake
lake_name = Lough Erne
image_lake = Lough Erne.jpg
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location = County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland
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basin_countries = United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland
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islands = see below
cities = Enniskillen

Lough Erne (derive|Irish|Loch Éirne|Lake of Ernai, one of the ancient Fir Bolg tribes.) refers to two lakes in Northern Ireland, situated along the River Erne. The waterway is mostly situated in County Fermanagh. The river begins by flowing north, and then curves west into the Atlantic. The southern-most lake is further "up" the river and so is named Upper Lough Erne. The northern lake is Lower Lough Erne. The town of Enniskillen is situated between the lakes.

A canal, the Shannon-Erne Waterway, exists between the upper end of the River Shannon and the River Erne, allowing boat movements from the Shannon estuary in southwest Ireland, through the western midlands of the country, across to the northwest and out to the Atlantic again (although the final section to the Atlantic side of Belleek is not navigable).

Lough Erne is a particularly scenic waterway in Ireland, it is renowned for the beautiful setting. The area is also popular for angling and watersports, with waterskiing and wakeboarding being amongst the most popular; the stretch of water alongside the Broadmeadow, Enniskillen, has hosted stages of the World Waterski Championships annually since 2005, and in 2007, a pro-wakeboard competition, 'Wakejam' was hosted by the Erne Wakeboard Club (EWC) after successful national wakeboard competitions in the previous years. Canoeing is also a popular recreational sport on the Erne.

Waterways Ireland, a cross-border organisation, established under the Belfast Agreement 1999, is responsible for navigation on the Erne System, as well the Island of Ireland's other navigable waterways. Rivers Agency, an executive agency within Northern Ireland's Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs retains ownership of the bed and foreshore and manages water levels within the ranges specified in the Erne Drainage and Development Act (1950).

The Annals of Ulster were written in the late 15th century on Belle Isle on Lough Erne.

Interestingly, Fermanagh escaped the Irish Potato Famine better than any other county. As the county had so many islands, the potato blight had difficulty travelling over water, compared to the easier transmission across green hills and fields of most the rest of Ireland. Those Erne islands produced surprising amounts of potatoes (the staple diet on the over-populated island, from 1845-1849), whilst the mainland was largely starving in comparison. Fact|date=September 2007

Islands

The lakes contain many small islands and peninsulas also called "islands" because of the highly convoluted shoreline and also because many of them were also islands prior to two extensive drainage schemes in the 1880s which dropped the water level by 1.5 metres. Islands in the lower lake include Boa Island, Cleenishmeen Island, Crevinishaughy Island, Cruninish Island, Devenish Island, Ely Island, Goat Island, Horse Island, Inish Doney, Inish Fovar, Inish Lougher, Inish More, Inishmacsaint, Inishmakill, Lusty Beg Island, Lusty More Island and White Island.

Those in the upper lake include Bleanish Island, Dernish Island, Inishcorkish, Inishcrevan, Inishfendra, Inishleague, Inishlught, Inishturk, Killygowan Island, Naan Island and Trannish. Several of the islands are privately owned, and occasionally come on to the open market. In 2007 Inishturk went on the market at the price of £695,000. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/7057790.stm BBC News] ]

ee also

* List of RNLI stations
* List of lakes in Northern Ireland

References

External links

* [http://www.hgstump.de/whiteisland.htm White Island figures (H.G. Stump)]
* [http://www.chrono.qub.ac.uk/local/fermanagh/WhiteIsland/ White Island figures]
* [http://www.chrono.qub.ac.uk/local/fermanagh/Boa/ Boa Island figures]