The River Eske (Irish: ''Abhainn na hIascaigh''; also ''Eask'') is a river in

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ga, Contae Dhún na nGall) is a county of Ireland in the province of Ulster and in the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Donegal in the south of the county. It has also been known as County Tyrconn ...

, Ireland. It begins at

Lough Eske Lough Eske or Lough Eask () is a small lake in County Donegal in the west of Ulster in Ireland. The lake lies to the northeast of Donegal Town, to which it is connected by the River Eske. The lake is about in size and is surrounded to the nor ...

in the southeast of the county before flowing mainly westwards to the town of Donegal and into the Atlantic Ocean via

Donegal Bay Donegal Bay (''Bá Dhún na nGall'' in Irish) is an inlet (or bay) in the northwest of Ireland. Three counties – Donegal to the north and west, Leitrim and Sligo to the south – have shorelines on the bay, which is bounded on the w ...

. Donegal Town is the only major settlement through which it flows. Despite its size, the river is well known for fishing, especially for spring salmon, sea trout and char, with the season running from 1 March to 30 September. The River Eske - geograph

The river flows in the

Bluestack Mountains The Blue Stack Mountains or Bluestack Mountains, also called the Croaghgorms (), are the major mountain range in the south of County Donegal, Ireland. They provide a barrier between the south of the county, such as Donegal Town and Ballyshannon, a ...

, which are to the north of Donegal Town. On the north-eastern edge of Donegal Town, the

Drumenny Burn The Drumenny Burn, also known as the Drumonny Burn, the Drumenny River, the Drummenny River or the Drimminy River, is a burn in the south of County Donegal in Ulster, the northern province in Ireland. The lower stretch of the burn flows around t ...

flows into the River Eske beside the Community Hospital. In the town, the Eske passes several tourist attractions, one of which is

Donegal Castle Donegal Castle ( ga, Caisleán Dhún na nGall) is a castle situated in the centre of Donegal Town in County Donegal in Ulster, Ireland. For most of the last two centuries, the majority of the buildings lay in ruins but the castle was almost ful ...

, the former seat of the

O'Donnell The O'Donnell dynasty ( ga, Ó Dónaill or ''Ó Domhnaill,'' ''Ó Doṁnaill'' ''or Ua Domaill;'' meaning "descendant of Dónal") were the dominant Irish clan of the kingdom of Tyrconnell, Ulster, in medieval Ireland. Naming conventions Or ...

Clan, the ancient rulers of the Lordship of

Tyrconnell Tyrconnell (), also spelled Tirconnell, was a kingdom of Gaelic Ireland, associated geographically with present-day County Donegal, which has sometimes been called ''County Tyrconnell''. At times it also included parts of County Fermanagh, Cou ...

(roughly similar to modern day

). The mouth of the river is directly opposite a former

Franciscan , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

Abbey which was built by the O'Donnells but was destroyed by the English following the

Flight of the Earls The Flight of the Earls ( ir, Imeacht na nIarlaí)In Irish, the neutral term ''Imeacht'' is usually used i.e. the ''Departure of the Earls''. The term 'Flight' is translated 'Teitheadh na nIarlaí' and is sometimes seen. took place in Se ...

1607 Events January–June * January 13 – The Bank of Genoa fails, after the announcement of national bankruptcy in Spain. * January 19 – San Agustin Church, Manila, is officially completed; by the 21st century it will be th ...

Bridges

Almost as soon as the river parts from

, it is crossed by Lough Eske Bridge; the river then flows in a southwest direction towards Donegal Town with the next crossing some down stream at what is called Thrushbank Bridge; it continues southwestwards and is crossed by the N56 section of the Donegal Town By-pass by a new concrete bridge. From this new bridge it heads southwards, were the smaller

joins it at a spot between the Community Hospital and The Northern Garage. After this, the Eske heads westwards into the town, flowing past the Community Hospital. The river also flows through three bridges in the actual town: the first and newest of the bridges is at Water Street; there have been several bridges at this site since at least the 1830s which included wooden and concrete structures. The current bridge at this site is called Kennedy Bridge and was erected in 2004. From Water Street the Eske flows westwards and is bridged at Tyrconnell Street; this bridge is known as the 'Iron Bridge' for self-explanatory reasons and was originally constructed in 1895, although drawings show a bridge at the site from earlier in the century. This bridge is called Tyrconnell Bridge, and was largely rebuilt in late 2018 and very early 2019. The river finally flows southwards to Bridge Street; this is a three arched bridge originally constructed in between 1835 and 1840 and is now on the Record of Protected Structures as of 2003. This bridge is close to the site of the original crossing of the river. After this final bridge, the river meets with the sea, flowing into Donegal Harbour, an inlet of

.Malachy Sweeney, ''The Sands of Time: A History of Donegal Town and its Environs''. Old bridge over the River Eske - geograph

References

{{coord, 54, 39, N, 8, 07, W, display=title, region:IE_type:river_source:GNS-enwiki Eske

Bridges

See also

References