Clady River, Gweedore
The Clady River is a little river five miles long in County Donegal. Its name is from the Irish An Chláidigh, meaning 'the One Who Washes' or 'the Strong-Flowing One'[1])
The river flows through Gweedore, a district in the north-west of County Donegal,[2]and entirely within the Parish of Tullaghobegly.
Course
The Clady River flows out of the western end of Lower Lough Nacung in Gweedore:[1] this lake is immediately north-west of Upper Lough Nacung. The Clady River mainly flows in a west-north-westerly direction for its entire course, flowing into the Crolly River, also known as the Gweedore River, on the south-western outskirts of Bunbeg.
The river enters the Crolly River beside Bunbeg Quay, very near the Crolly River's mouth. This part of the Crolly River is known as An Gaoth ('The Inlet' or 'The Estuary'), and is effectively an inlet of the North Atlantic.
The N56 crosses the Clady River near its source, crossing it very near the western end of Lower Lough Nacung. The R257 crosses the river at Clady Bridge in Bunbeg. Almost all of the R258 runs alongside the Clady River, this road running along the river's right bank, from near the river's source to its mouth at Bunbeg Quay.
Hydroelectric scheme
In the second half of the 1950s, the Electricity Supply Board built a hydroelectric power station in Gweedore. The power station, officially called Clady Power Station, is located in the townland of Dore, and is just under two miles south-west of where the Clady River leaves Lower Lough Nacung, and is powered by water diverted from the Clady River by way of a canal built for the purpose from the river's emergence from Lower Lough Nacung to the power station, branching off from the Clady River at the Gweedore Weir. The spent water from Clady Power Station flows directly into the Crolly River. This power station, which was built between 1954 and 1959, remains in use today.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 McKay, Patrick: 'A Dictionary of Ulster Place-Names' p. 41 (The Institute of Irish Studies, The Queen's University of Belfast, 1999)
- ↑ Angling Ireland: The Rivers Clady & Crolly (Gweedore)
- Gaoth Dobhair / Gweedore: Placenames Database of Ireland
