Dowra () is a village and

townland A townland (; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a traditional small land division used in Ireland and in the Western Isles of Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of medieval Gaelic origin, predating the Norman invasion, and mo ...

in northwest

County Cavan County Cavan ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is part of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Cavan and is based on the hi ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. Located in a valley on

Lough Allen Lough Allen () is a lake on the River Shannon in northeastern Connacht, Ireland. Most of the lake is in County Leitrim, with a smaller part in County Roscommon. The lake lies to the south of the River Shannon's source, near the Iron Mountains ...

, it is the first village on, and marks the uppermost navigable point of, the

River Shannon The River Shannon ( or archaic ') is the major river on the island of Ireland, and at in length, is the longest river in the British Isles. It drains the Shannon River Basin, which has an area of , – approximately one fifth of the area of I ...

. On one side of its bridge is

; on the other is

County Leitrim County Leitrim ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht and is part of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the village of Leitrim, County Leitr ...

. The nucleus of the village is situated on the Cavan side. It is located on the junction of the

R200 The R200 is the second generation of GPUs used in Radeon graphics cards and developed by ATI Technologies. This GPU features 3D acceleration based upon Microsoft Direct3D 8.1 and OpenGL 1.3, a major improvement in features and performance ...

and R207 regional roads.

Transport

Bus Éireann Bus Éireann (; "Irish Bus") is a state-owned bus and coach operator providing services throughout Republic of Ireland, Ireland, with the exception of Dublin, where bus services are provided by sister company Dublin Bus. It is a subsidiary of C ...

route 462 serves Dowra on Saturdays only linking it to

Drumkeeran Drumkeeran (), also Drumkeerin, is a village and townland in County Leitrim, Ireland, located at the junction of the R280 and R200 roads. It is situated in drumlin hills at the foot of Corry Mountain, just north of Lough Allen. History Thr ...

Dromahair Dromahair () is a village in County Leitrim, Ireland. Dromahair is 10 km (6 mi) from Manorhamilton and 17 km (10 mi) from Sligo town. Geography Dromahair lies in the hilly north west of County Leitrim amid some stunning uns ...

and

Sligo Sligo ( ; , meaning 'abounding in shells') is a coastal seaport and the county town of County Sligo, Ireland, within the western province of Connacht. With a population of 20,608 in 2022, it is the county's largest urban centre (constituting 2 ...

History

The village was formed in the late 19th century after another village close by, Tober, was washed away by landslides in the summer of 1863. Back in 1925, Dowra village comprised 18 houses, with 10 being licensed to sell

alcohol Alcohol may refer to: Common uses * Alcohol (chemistry), a class of compounds * Ethanol, one of several alcohols, commonly known as alcohol in everyday life ** Alcohol (drug), intoxicant found in alcoholic beverages ** Alcoholic beverage, an alco ...

. The remains of the

Black Pig's Dyke The Black Pig's Dyke () or Worm's Ditch () is a series of discontinuous linear earthworks in southwest Ulster and northeast Connacht, Ireland. Remnants can be found in north County Leitrim, north County Longford, County Cavan, County Monaghan an ...

can be seen outside the village. It is noted on the Ordnance Survey's Edition of 1911 Six-inch to One-mile map, 1/2 mile west of Dowra alongside the River Shannon (forming part of the Leitrim / Cavan border) - see Leitrim Sheet 5. It is again noted 3/4 mile downstream just below where the Owennayla River joins the Shannon on the east side of Canbeg Township, County Leitrim - see Leitrim Sheet 18.

Places of interest

The source of the

, known as the

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. It has connections, ...

is located about 12 km (7 miles) to the north. The Cavan Way hiking trail starts in the village and the Leitrim Way passes through it. The Miners' Way is nearby. Restoration of Dowra Courthouse was completed in 2014 with the new building opening as a Community Creative Arts Space.

Economy

The main industries in the locality are agriculture, forestry and construction. There is a livestock market held every Saturday.

Education

The local national school is in

, just across the bridge from the village centre.

Religion

The village church is located approximately 5 km north and is called the Church of the Immaculate Conception, Doobally. Image:An Damhshraith.jpg, Dowra - An Damhshraith Image:Dowra Bridge.jpg, Dowra Bridge - first town on the Shannon Image:The Shannon.jpg, The River Shannon immediately upstream of Dowra Bridge Image:Dowra - east.jpg, Looking across the bridge towards Leitrim Image:Dowra.jpg, Directions to everywhere Image:Dowra - in its entirety!.jpg, Dowra from above the old Garda barracks

References

{{River Shannon Towns and villages in County Cavan Townlands of County Cavan Populated places on the River Shannon