River Swilly

River Swilly
River Swilly
An tSúileach

On the banks of the Swilly
Origin Glendore Mountain, County Donegal
Mouth Atlantic ocean at Lough Swilly
Basin countries Ireland
Length ~41.8 km (26 miles)
Source elevation ~15.2 m (50 ft)
Avg. discharge N/A
Basin area N/A

The River Swilly (Irish: An tSúileach) is a river in the Republic of Ireland, which flows in an eastern direction through Letterkenny, County Donegal. Letterkenny, the largest town in County Donegal, is built on the river and became the first crossing point on the river in the 17th century.

Contents

History

The river takes its name Súileach from a man-eating water monster that was chopped in half by Saint Columba, who was born in Gartan.[1] Letterkenny DJ and Producer Diarmuid O'Doherty produced a song, A Monster in the River Swilly, about this legend. [2] [3]

Course

The River Swilly rises near Glendore, a mountain in County Donegal, and flows for around 41.8 km (26.0 mi) through Letterkenny before flowing into the Atlantic Ocean at Lough Swilly.

Navigation and use

The river is nearly 26 miles (42 km) long. A shipping industry once operated on the Swilly in Letterkenny. The river was extremely hard for larger ships to navigate, as it was narrow and has many bends near Letterkenny. The port was closed to commercial shipping in the 1960s and its warehouses were demolished in 2001. The coal yard still remains on the old site opposite the Mount Errigal Hotel. Newmills Corn and Flax Mills is powered by the waters of the river.

Fishing

The Swilly traditionally produced approximately 300-400 salmon per year. The heaviest salmon recorded is of 24lbs as well as a sea trout of 12lbs. [4] The river is considered one of the best fishing rivers in the north west of Ireland.[citation needed]

Crossings

The Swilly is spanned by numerous bridges mostly open to road traffic. In Letterkenny there are four bridges across the river:

Bridge Image
Oldtown Bridge Oldtown Bridge Letterkenny Donegal.jpg
Port Bridge Port Bridge Letterkenny.jpg
Rail Bridge LKBRIDGE.jpg
Devlin Way Devlin100.jpg

Devlin Way

Devlin Way at night

Devlin Way was the first pedestrian bridge built over the River Swilly. The bridge was installed on October 25, 2006 in Letterkenny. The bridge connects the suburban Oldtown area with the town centre. It was designed by TS McLaughlin Structural Engineers and the ironwork was constructed by Bonnar Engineering. The bridge cost €100,000 to construct. A maroon-coloured cambered steel structure which measures 28 metres long and 2.2 metres wide, the new bridge proves a major impact on the safety of pedestrians, especially OAPs and school-going children. It is lit by lamp cast from iron and it also contains a commemorative stone seat with a plaque. The bridge is neighbour to the much older and well known Oldtown Bridge.

The bridge was officially opened on November 14, 2006 by local councillor Ciaran Brogan. The bridge is named in honour of the Devlin family who live beside the bridge.[5]

References

External links

Coordinates: 54°58′N 7°41′W / 54.967°N 7.683°W / 54.967; -7.683



Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • River Swilly — Bild des Swilly River im Juni 2007 Der River Swilly (irisch: An tSúileach) ist ein ca. 35 km langer Fluss im irischen County Donegal. Er fließt durch den Ort Letterkenny. Der River Swilly gilt als fischreicher und sauberer Fluss. Er mündet in den …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Swilly — bezeichnet: einen Fluss in Irland, siehe River Swilly eine Meeresmündung, siehe Lough Swilly einen Bezirk von Plymouth, Devon, England, siehe Swilly (Bezirk) Diese Seite ist eine …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Swilly (rivière) — 54°58′N 7°41′W / 54.967, 7.683 …   Wikipédia en Français

  • River Dodder — An Dothra Dodder through Rathgar Origin Kippure Mountain, County Dublin Mouth …   Wikipedia

  • River Corrib — Looking north from the Salmon Weir Bridge in Galway Origin Lough Corrib, County Galway Mouth Claddagh, Galw …   Wikipedia

  • River Derry — An Dioríoch The Derry flows under Clonegal Bridge Origin Hacketstown, County Carlow Mouth Iri …   Wikipedia

  • River Maigue — The River Maigue, (Irish: An Mháigh, meaning river of the plain [1]) rises in the Milford area of North County Cork, Ireland. It is joined by the small River Glen and the larger River Loobagh in south County Limerick. It then flows north through… …   Wikipedia

  • River Cladagh (Swanlinbar) — Cladagh River (An Chlaideach) Swanlinbar River River Countries …   Wikipedia

  • River Avoca — For the river in Australia, see Avoca River. For the rivers in New Zealand, see Avoca River, New Zealand. River Avoca Abhainn Abhóca Avonmore left; Avonbeg right; Avoca ahead at the Meeting of the Waters …   Wikipedia

  • Naniken River — The Naniken River (Irish: An Nainicín) is a minor river on the north side of Dublin city, Ireland, one of more than forty watercourses monitored by Dublin City Council. It is culverted for much of its upper course, and visible for its entire… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”