River Shannon

Shannon in Limerick City. In the background is King John's Castle

The Shannon ( Irish: An tSionainn, An tSionna ) is about 370 kilometers, the longest and largest river in Ireland. Its catchment area covers approximately 15,700 square kilometers. Nearly 250 kilometers of the river are navigable.

Its origin and his name shall go back to the female legendary figure Sionan by Celtic mythology.

Course description

Its source lies 76 meters above sea level, in the Cuilcagh Mountains in Ireland Cavan in the north west of the country. From here it flows first through an underground cave system and comes as Shannon Pot in County Cavan to the surface again. He drained the marshy center of Ireland, which flows through fish-filled lakes and forms north of Limerick rapids. To the west of Limerick, by a narrow 100 km long estuary, the river flows into the Atlantic Ocean. The estuary below Limerick is strongly influenced by the tides. The Shannon flows through the Lough Allen, Lough Ree and Lough Derg, the largest lake in the Shannon. In Ardnacrusha is a hydroelectric power plant.

Buildings and use

Today, tourists take the opportunity to take a vacation with a houseboat on the River Shannon. The boat station is connected through the channel Shannon - Erne Waterway to the lakes area of Lough Erne ( Northern Ireland). A further connection is made ​​possible by the Grand Canal with its capital Dublin and the River Barrow. Boaters are over 800 km of contiguous water routes.

Places on the river

• Carrick -on-Shannon
• Clonmacnoise (famous monastery ruins )
• Athlone
• Banagher
• Portumna
• Killaloe
• Limerick
• Tarbert ( ferry)