This is an alphabetical list of loughs (lakes) on the island of

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. It also shows a table of the largest loughs. The word ''

lough ''Loch'' () is the Scottish Gaelic, Scots and Irish word for a lake or sea inlet. It is cognate with the Manx lough, Cornish logh, and one of the Welsh words for lake, llwch. In English English and Hiberno-English, the anglicised spel ...

'' is pronounced like ''loch'' () and comes from the

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

''loch'', meaning ''lake''. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, there are an estimated 12,000 lakes in the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern ...

, covering an area of more than 1,200 square kilometres. The largest lough, by area, in

is Lough Neagh. Lough Corrib is the second largest, and is the largest in the Republic. The largest lough, by water volume, is Lough Neagh, with

Lough Mask Lough Mask () is a limestone lake of about in Counties Mayo and Galway, Ireland, north of Lough Corrib. Lough Mask is the middle of the three lakes, which empty into the Corrib River, through Galway, into Galway Bay. Lough Carra flows into ...

being the largest in the Republic. The list below contains only those loughs that are of geographic, geological, or historical importance and almost all of them are over a square kilometre in area. It includes loughs that are in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

and the

. Those partly or wholly within Northern Ireland are marked with an asterisk (*).

Largest Irish lakes

The largest freshwater loughs in Ireland are:

Muckross Lake Muckross Lake (), also called Middle Lake or The Torc, is a lake in Killarney National Park, County Kerry, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is one of the three famous Lakes of Killarney, along with Lough Leane and Upper Lake, Killarney, Upper La ...

(the middle lake of the Killarney lakes) is the deepest Irish lake, with a maximum depth of 75 metres.Glen Fia: Lakes of Killarney
/ref> (Volume = Area * Mean Depth)

Freshwater lakes

Lough Bunny, to the northern side of Mullach Mor - geograph

Fishing Boats on Inchiquin, Lough Corrib

DooLough Pass Road - BenCreggan - Delphi Pass

Loch an Ghleanna Bhig (Glenbeg Lough) - geograph

View north west across Lough Inagh towards the Twelve Bens - geograph

Inishee Island, Lough Macnean Lower - geograph

Maumeen Lough and the Twelve Bens - geograph

Lakes with the county/counties where they are situated and their area in square kilometres. Most of the Republic of Ireland lake areas are taken from the Environmental Protection Agency's ''A Reference based Typology and Ecological Assessment System for Irish Lakes'' (pp. 10–13)

Brackish loughs

An example of a

brackish Brackish water, sometimes termed brack water, is water occurring in a natural environment that has more salinity than freshwater, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing seawater (salt water) and fresh water together, as in estu ...

lagoon is Lady's Island Lake, County Wexford

Turloughs

* Loughareema, County Antrim* *

Glenamaddy Turlough The Glenamaddy Turlough is located east of the town of Glenamaddy, County Galway in Ireland. A turlough is a seasonal lake which usually dries up in summer. Glenamaddy Turlough lies alongside the R362 regional road in the outskirts of the tow ...

, County Galway * Rahasane Turlough, County Galway *

Shannon Pot Shannon Pot () is a pool in the karst landscape in the townland of Derrylahan near Cuilcagh Mountain in County Cavan, Ireland. An aquifer-fed naturally fluctuating pool, it is the traditional source of the River Shannon. The pool itself is about ...

, County Cavan

Reservoirs

Poulaphouca Reservoir Poulaphouca Reservoir, officially Pollaphuca (), is an active reservoir (for both water supply and electricity generation) and area of wild bird conservation in west County Wicklow, Ireland named after the Poulaphouca waterfall on its south-west ...

, County Wicklow *

Silent Valley Reservoir The Silent Valley Reservoir is a reservoir located in the Mourne Mountains near Kilkeel, County Down in Northern Ireland. It supplies most of the water for County Down, surrounding counties and most of Belfast. It is owned and maintained by Northe ...

, County Down* *

Spelga Reservoir Spelga Reservoir is a reservoir in the townland of Spelga () in the Mourne Mountains of County Down, Northern Ireland. It was formed by the Spelga Dam and sits at over above sea level. It has a volume of 2,700,000 cubic metres and a catchment a ...

, County Down* *

Vartry Reservoir Vartry Reservoir ( ga, Taiscumar Fheartraí) is a reservoir at Roundwood in County Wicklow, Ireland. The water is piped from Vartry to a large open service reservoir in Stillorgan in the southern suburbs of Dublin. The reservoir is operated b ...

, County Wicklow

Sea loughs

Belfast Lough Belfast Lough is a large, intertidal sea inlet on the east coast of Northern Ireland. At its head is the city and port of Belfast, which sits at the mouth of the River Lagan. The lough opens into the North Channel and connects Belfast to ...

, between County Antrim and County Down* *

Strangford Lough Strangford Lough (from Old Norse ''Strangr Fjörðr'', meaning "strong sea-inlet"PlaceNames N ...

, County Down* * Lough Foyle, between County Donegal and County Londonderry* *

Galway Bay Galway Bay ( Irish: ''Loch Lurgain'' or ''Cuan na Gaillimhe'') is a bay on the west coast of Ireland, between County Galway in the province of Connacht to the north and the Burren in County Clare in the province of Munster to the south; Galw ...

, County Galway * Lough Hyne, County Cork *

Larne Lough Larne Lough, historically Lough Larne (), is a sea loch or inlet in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It lies between the Islandmagee peninsula and the mainland. At its mouth is the town of Larne. It is designated as an area of special scientif ...

, County Antrim* * Lough Mahon, County Cork * Shannon Estuary, Munster *

Tralee Bay Tralee Bay ( gle, Loch Foirdhreamhain / Cuan Thrá Lí) is located in on the west coast of County Kerry, Ireland. It is situated between Kerry Head on the north side and the Maharees on the west and extends eastwards as far as the bridge at ...

, County Kerry *

Waterford Harbour Waterford Harbour ( gle, Loch Dá Chaoch / Cuan Phort Láirge) is a natural harbour at the mouth of the Three Sisters; the River Nore, the River Suir and the River Barrow in Ireland. It is navigable for shipping to both Waterford and New Ross ...

, County Waterford *

Wexford Harbour Wexford Harbour ( gle, Loch Garman) in County Wexford, Ireland is the natural harbour at the mouth of the River Slaney. In earlier times, the area occupied by the harbour was considerably larger than it is today, up to ten miles (16 km) wi ...

, County Wexford

Fjords

* Carlingford Lough, between County Louth and County Down* *

Lough Swilly Lough Swilly () in Ireland is a glacial fjord or sea inlet lying between the western side of the Inishowen Peninsula and the Fanad Peninsula, in County Donegal. Along with Carlingford Lough and Killary Harbour it is one of three glacial fjords ...

, County Donegal *

Killary Harbour Killary Harbour or Killary Fjord () is a fjord or fjard on the west coast of Ireland, in northern Connemara. To its north is County Mayo and the mountains of Mweelrea and Ben Gorm; to its south is County Galway and the Maumturk Mountains. ...

, between County Mayo & County Galway

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Loughs In Ireland *List

Northern Ireland geography-related lists

Loughs ''Loch'' () is the Scottish Gaelic, Scots and Irish word for a lake or sea inlet. It is cognate with the Manx lough, Cornish logh, and one of the Welsh words for lake, llwch. In English English and Hiberno-English, the anglicised spel ...