Lough Inagh () is a

freshwater Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. The term excludes seawater and brackish water, but it does include non-salty mi ...

lake in the Inagh Valley, in

Connemara Connemara ( ; ) is a region on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of western County Galway, in the west of Ireland. The area has a strong association with traditional Irish culture and contains much of the Connacht Irish-speaking Gaeltacht, ...

County Galway County Galway ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Northern and Western Region, taking up the south of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht. The county population was 276,451 at the 20 ...

, in the west of

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 ...

Geography

Lough Inagh is located about east of

Clifden Clifden () is a coastal town in County Galway, Ireland, in the region of Connemara, located on the Owenglin River where it flows into Clifden Bay. As the largest town in the region, it is often referred to as "the Capital of Connemara". Frequen ...

on the R344 road in the Inagh Valley. The

Twelve Bens The Twelve Bens or Twelve Pins, also called the Benna Beola (), is a mountain range of mostly sharp-peaked quartzite summits and ridges in the Connemara National Park in County Galway, in the west of Ireland. The widest definition of the rang ...

range lies to the west of the lake, with

Derryclare Derryclare or Derryclare Mountain () is a mountain at the southern edge of Twelve Bens range in Connemara National Park in County Galway, Ireland. At , it is the 119th–highest peak in Ireland on the Arderin list, and the 145th–highest peak o ...

and Bencorr directly overlooking the lake. The bulk of the Maumturks range and its long central spine lies to the east of the lake, with two highest peaks of

Letterbreckaun Letterbreckaun () is one of the Maumturk Mountains of Connemara in County Galway, Ireland. At , it is the second-tallest of the Maumturks, the 129th–highest peak in Ireland on the Lists of mountains in Ireland#Arderins, Arderin list, and 159th ...

and Binn idir an Dá Log , also overlooking the Lough. Lough Inagh is fed from several mountain streams in the area, but most importantly from the ''Gleninagh River'' that starts high up in the ''Gleninagh Valley'' on the slopes of

Benbaun Benbaun () is a mountain in County Galway, Ireland. With a height of , it is the 72nd highest peak in Ireland on the Arderin scale, and the 88th highest peak on the Vandeleur-Lynam scale.Mountainviews, (September 2013), "A Guide to Ireland's M ...

and

Bencollaghduff Bencollaghduff () at , is the 93rd–highest peak in Ireland on the Lists of mountains in Ireland#Arderins, Arderin scale, and the 115th–highest peak on the Lists of mountains in Ireland#Vandeleur-Lynams, Vandeleur-Lynam scale.Mountainviews, ...

, and the ''Tooreennacoona River''. After flowing into Lough Inagh, the river flows into

Derryclare Lough Derryclare Lough () is a freshwater lake at the entrance of the Inagh Valley, in Connemara, County Galway, in the west of Ireland. Geography Derryclare Lough is located about east of Clifden on the N59 road. The Twelve Bens mountain range lies ...

, and then into Ballynahinch Lake, where it eventually joins the Owenmore River where is flows into Bertraghboy Bay.

Fishing

Lough Inagh is noted for its lake and river fishing with spring salmon,

grilse Salmon (; : salmon) are any of several commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the genera ''Salmo'' and ''Oncorhynchus'' of the family Salmonidae, native to tributaries of the North Atlantic (''Salmo'') and North Pa ...

and

sea trout Sea trout is the common name usually applied to anadromous (sea-run) forms of brown trout (''Salmo trutta''), and is often referred to as ''Salmo trutta'' morpha ''trutta''. Other names for anadromous brown trout are bull trout, sewin (Wales ...

(depending on season), and the fishing is mostly done from boats, however, the lake is too big for rowing and an outboard motor is recommended (there are a couple of submerged rocks so caution should be taken). The Lough and its fishing rights are privately owned and controlled by local fishing lodges in the Inagh Valley. Irish fishing author, Peter O'Reilly, said about Lough Inagh that "This lough will take more than one day to explore adequately, for it can be one of the best".

Scenic location

The lake is a popular scenic location and to the west, gives views directly into the large deep southerly corrie between Derryclare and Bencorr (, meaning "wood of the big corrie"), as well as the smaller corrie between Bencorr and Bencorr North Top (, meaning "wood of the small corrie"). It also looks into the Derryclare Wood and Derryclare Nature Reserve, which lie at the base of the two corries as they meet the Lough. The northernmost end of the Lough, just beside Bencorrbeg , has views into the Gleninagh Valley (, meaning "Valley of Ivy"), from which the Lough derives its name; the south wall of the valley is the impressive Carrot Ridge rock-climbing location, while at the head of the valley are

, and the highest peak in the

range,

at .

Gallery

File:Derryclare, Bencorr & Benbaun from lower south ridge of Letterbreckaun.jpg, Lough Inagh from slopes of

, with

(l), Bencorr (c), and

(r) File:Twelve Bens across Lough Inagh.jpg,

(l), Bencorr (c), Bencorr North Top (r), and two ''Log an Choire'' corries File:Lough Inagh, Inagh Valley from Letterbreckaun.jpg, Lough Inagh and the

, viewed from the Maumturks File:Lough Inagh, Connemara, Ireland.jpg , Lough Inagh and

Lissoughter Lissoughter or Lissoughter Hill () is a prominent hill between the Twelve Bens and Maumturks mountain ranges, at the southern entrance to the Inagh Valley, in the Connemara National Park of County Galway, Ireland. With a height of , it does n ...

(back, right), viewed from Knockpasheemore File:Twelve Bens from Lough Inagh.jpg, Looking west over Lough Inagh to

and Bencorr– Bencorr North Top, and the two ''Log an Choire'' corries

Bibliography

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References

{{IrishTrails