The River Greese (also spelled Griese; ) is a small, fast-flowing river in south-east, Ireland, and a tributary of the

River Barrow The Barrow ( ga, An Bhearú) is a river in Ireland. It is one of The Three Sisters; the other two being the River Suir and the River Nore. The Barrow is the longest of the three rivers, and at 192 km (120 mi), the second-longest ri ...

Name

The river takes its name from Killeen Cormac, which bears the name ''capella de Gris'' ("Gris Chapel") in ''Crede Mihi'', a c. 1280 ancient register of the Archbishops of Dublin, with the name also spelled ''Grys''/''Gryse'' in later accounts, and the ''rivulus de Grys'' appearing in

John Alen John Alen (1476 – 28 July 1534) was an English priest and canon lawyer, whose later years were spent in Ireland. He held office as Archbishop of Dublin and Lord Chancellor of Ireland, and was a member of the Privy Council of Ireland. In the lat ...

's 1533 ''Reportorium Viride''. Jacob Nevill's 1760 map shows the ''River Greeces'', while ''Greese'' is the spelling generally used in the modern day, although ''Griese'' is also used.

Course

The river rises near

Dunlavin Dunlavin () is a village in County Wicklow, Ireland, situated about south-west of Dublin. It is centred on the junction of the R412 and R756 regional roads. It was founded around the end of the 17th century and became a prominent town in ...

County Wicklow County Wicklow ( ; ga, Contae Chill Mhantáin ) is a county in Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is bordered by ...

in the townland of Tober. It then runs south-west and forms part of the

/Kildare border. The Greese continues west past Killeen Cormac (formerly ''capella de Gris'', from which the river takes its name). It is bridged by the

R448 road The R448 road is a regional road in Ireland. It is the designation given to the former N9 national primary road when it was bypassed by the M9 motorway. Route The official description of the R448 from the ''Roads Act 1993 (Classification ...

at Moyleabbey, County Kildare. It meets a tributary in Crookstown and passes under the R415, then flows southward through

Ballitore Ballitore () is a village in County Kildare, Ireland, sometimes spelt as Ballytore. It is noted for its historical Quaker associations. It was the first planned Quaker village in either England or Ireland - and remains the only one in Europe. ...

. The Greese flows south-southwest, crossing under the M9, through Kilkea Golf Club and past

Kilkea Castle Kilkea Castle is located northwest of Castledermot, County Kildare, Ireland near the village of Kilkea on the R418 regional road from Athy to Tullow. It was a medieval stronghold, for over 700 years, of the Fitzgeralds, earls of Kildare. ...

, passing under the

Dublin–Waterford railway line The Kildare-Waterford line is a railway line in Ireland connecting Dublin with the major port of Waterford City in County Waterford. The line is part of the significant network of InterCity routes connected to the Dublin-Cork Main Line from . T ...

at Newtownpilsworth/Dunmanoge and draining into the

in the Jerusalem townland, Painestown downstream of Maganey Lock (this last stretch forms part of the

County Carlow County Carlow ( ; ga, Contae Cheatharlach) is a Counties of Ireland, county located in the South-East Region, Ireland, South-East Region of Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Carlow is the List of Irish counties by ...

/Kildare border).

Wildlife

Fish include

brown trout The brown trout (''Salmo trutta'') is a European species of salmonid fish that has been widely introduced into suitable environments globally. It includes purely freshwater populations, referred to as the riverine ecotype, ''Salmo trutta'' morp ...

stone loach The stone loach (''Barbatula barbatula'') is a European species of fresh water ray-finned fish in the family Nemacheilidae. It is one of nineteen species in the genus ''Barbatula''. Stone loaches live amongst the gravel and stones of fast flowin ...

Atlantic salmon The Atlantic salmon (''Salmo salar'') is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Salmonidae. It is the third largest of the Salmonidae, behind Siberian taimen and Pacific Chinook salmon, growing up to a meter in length. Atlantic salmon are ...

European eel The European eel (''Anguilla anguilla'') is a species of eel, a snake-like, catadromous fish. They are normally around and rarely reach more than , but can reach a length of up to in exceptional cases. Eels have been important sources of ...

three-spined stickleback The three-spined stickleback (''Gasterosteus aculeatus'') is a fish native to most inland and coastal waters north of 30°N. It has long been a subject of scientific study for many reasons. It shows great morphological variation throughout its ra ...

and

European river lamprey The European river lamprey (''Lampetra fluviatilis''), also known as the river lamprey or lampern, is a species of freshwater lamprey. Description Adult river lampreys measure from for the sea-going forms and up to for the lake forms. The very ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Greese Rivers of County Carlow Rivers of County Kildare Rivers of County Offaly Rivers of County Wicklow