River Cladagh (Swanlinbar)
The Cladagh River or Swanlinbar River is a fair sized river which forms from a number of small streams rising in County Cavan on the south-eastern slopes of Cuilcagh Mountain, joing above Tullydermot. It flows down off Cuilcagh to form a wooded valley north-eastward to the village of Swanlinbar, a mile downstream it crosses the border into Fermanagh. Continuing north-eastwards in wild meanders, the Swanlinbar River meets no further villages, passing east of Kinawley, and eventually discahrges its waters into Upper Lough Erne.
The name 'Cladagh is from the Irish language An Chlaideach or "washing river"[1] Fermanagh has another river of the same name and with the nsame meaning. The name 'Swanlinbar River' (the names are interchangeable) is from the one village on the river's course.
Conservation
The river is a designated Special Area of Conservation,[2] containing one of the largest surviving populations in Ulster of the freshwater pearl mussel. The mussels, estimated to be a minimum of 10,000 in number, are confined to a 4-mile stretch of undisturbed river in the middle section.[2]
The river is classed as 'ultra-oligotrophic' upstream before gradually becoming 'oligotrophic' and 'oligo-mesotrophic' through its middle and lower reaches.[2]
References
- ↑ "Illustrations of Townlands in Maps". Ulster Placenames – Celebrating Ulster's Townlands. http://www.ulsterplacenames.org/illustrations_of_townlands_in_maps.htm. Retrieved 2009-05-05.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Cladagh (Swanlinbar) River. Joint Nature Conservation Committee. http://www.jncc.gov.uk/protectedsites/SACselection/sac.asp?EUCode=UK0030116. Retrieved 2008-08-02.