Lough Marrave
Lough Marrave is a small, freshwater lake of 25 acres in County Leitrim.
The name of the lake is from the Irish Loch Marbh, which means 'Dead lake', or 'Lake of death'.[1] It is plausible Lough Marrave served a pagan sacrificial purpose, and the Keshcarrigan Bowl was deposited there as a ritual offering. There is a reference in the "Book of Fenagh" to an unidentified and Inbher or 'cursed estuary, pool, or lake on the 'road to Fenagh', with a marginal note attributed to Tadhg O'Roddy (fl. 1700) adding: 'no fish was afterwards caught in it; for they (the fishes) cannot even live in that lake'. Nevertheless, the origin of the "Dead lake" etymology remains speculative and unknown.
Geography
- Streetmap: H047086
- Location map: 54°1’35"N, 7°55’42"W
Lough Marrave lies half a mile north-east of Keshcarrigan village, and 600 yards east of Lough Scur. The lake is very small and shallow, 25 acres, and might be considered a continuation of Lough Scur, as they share the same level and connected by a half-mile channel. Lough Marrave is connected to St John's Lough and Lough Scur by the Shannon–Erne Waterway.
Fish
The presence and type of fish found in Lough Marrave is not recorded. The ecology of County Leitrim waterways, such as Lough Marrave, is threatened by zebra mussel and other invasive species.[2]
The primary villages at Lough Marrave are Keshcarrigan and Fenagh villages. Lough Marrave is bounded by the townlands of Gubroe to the south and east, Killmacsherwell to the north, and Rossy to the west.
The Keshcarrigan Bowl was discovered in the canal between Lough Scur and Lough Marrave in the 19th century, and is today preserved at the National Museum of Ireland.[3]
Outside links
- townlands.ie. "Rossy Townland, Co. Leitrim". https://www.townlands.ie/leitrim/leitrim/kiltubbrid/kiltubbrid/rossy/.
References
- ↑ Loch Marbh/Lough Marrave: Placenames Database of Ireland
- ↑ Pedreschi et al. 2014.
- ↑ Mulvany et al. 1852, pp. lix.
- Haug, Per Ivar (2013). Gazetteer of Ireland. Til Opplysning, A series of papers from the University Library in Trondheim, Nummer 16 (Third ed.). Hommelvik: UBiT, Universitetsbiblioteket i Trondheim. http://www.slideshare.net/peivhau/gazetteer-of-ireland-3rd.
Secondary references
- Ó Donnabháin, Sean (1828). Book of Fenagh, Translation and Copious Notes. Fenagh, Leitrim, Ireland: Maolmhordha Mac Dubhghoill Uí Raghailligh. http://www.askaboutireland.ie/aai-files/assets/ebooks/49_Book-of-Fenagh/49%20Book%20of%20Fenagh.pdf#page=197. Retrieved 20 August 2016.
- Pedreschi, D.; Kelly-Quinn, M.; Caffrey, J; O'Grady, M.; Mariani, S.; Phillimore, A. (2014), "Genetic structure of pike (Esox lucius) reveals a complex and previously unrecognized colonization history of Ireland", Journal of Biogeography (Journal of Biogeography, 41(3), 548–560.) 41 (3): 548–560, doi:10.1111/jbi.12220, PMID 25435649