Lough Sheelin (), in standard Irish ''Loch Síleann'', is a limestone freshwater lough (

lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...

) in central

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 ...

. The lake is a part of the River Inny course, and ultimately of the Shannon system.

Geography and geology

Lough Sheelin lies at a meeting point of Counties

Westmeath County Westmeath (; or simply ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It formed part of the historic Kingdom of ...

, Meath and

Cavan Cavan ( ; ) is the county town of County Cavan in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town lies in Ulster, near the border with County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland. The town is bypassed by the main N3 road (Ireland), N3 road that links Dublin ( ...

, near the villages of Finnea (often spelled Finea) and

Mountnugent Mountnugent, or Mount Nugent, historically known as Dalysbridge (), is a village and townland in southern County Cavan, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The village is on the R154 road (Ireland), R154 Regional road (Ireland), regional road, at a ri ...

, and the town of Granard, in a fourth county, (

Longford Longford () is the county town of County Longford in Ireland. It had a population of 10,952 at the 2022 census. It is the biggest town in the county and about one third of the county's population lives there. Longford lies at the meeting of ...

). More than half its area is in County Cavan, and it takes in parts of multiple civil parishes and baronies. The lake lies on the early course of the River Inny, a major tributary of the Shannon, a little upstream of Lough Kinale. The inflow is sometimes known as the Upper Inny or the Ross River, and the outflow as the Lower Inny. It is also fed by smaller watercourses, including the Mountnugent (Mount Nugent) River and the Bellsgrove (or Belsgrove, also known as Ballyheelan) and Crover Streams, as well as the Mauraghboy, Carrick, Rusheen, Moneybeg and Schoolhouse Streams. The lake is long, and has a surface area of between . It is underlain by

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

, as is the Upper Inny, while some tributaries are underlain by

quartzite Quartzite is a hard, non- foliated metamorphic rock that was originally pure quartz sandstone.Essentials of Geology, 3rd Edition, Stephen Marshak, p 182 Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tecton ...

Fauna and flora

The lake is naturally populated by

brown trout The brown trout (''Salmo trutta'') is a species of salmonid ray-finned fish and the most widely distributed species of the genus ''Salmo'', endemic to most of Europe, West Asia and parts of North Africa, and has been widely introduced globally ...

whose native stocks became depleted in the latter half of the 20th century; at peak, there were 100,000 to 120,000 brown trout in the lake. Nutrient loading, notably of phosphorus, originating from intensive agricultural developments upstream caused a progressive enrichment of the Lough's waters which led to a substantial decrease in the number of trout from the 1970s to the early 2000s.

Zebra mussels The zebra mussel (''Dreissena polymorpha'') is a small freshwater mussel, an Aquatic animal, aquatic bivalve mollusk in the family Dreissenidae. The species originates from the lakes of southern Russia and Ukraine, but has been accidentally Intro ...

, an invasive species, were first seen in the lake in 2000 and there followed a huge increase in their population. A state agency,

Inland Fisheries Ireland Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI; ) is a state agency in Ireland responsible for fisheries management of freshwater fish and coastal fish within 12 nautical miles of the shore. A separate agency, Bord Iascaigh Mhara, is responsible for sea fisheri ...

, monitors the water quality, including the level of phosphorus, and in conjunction with local organisations, primarily the Lough Sheelin Trout Preservation Association, it and a predecessor body, the Inland Fisheries Trust, has stocked the lake with farm-reared trout. There is also an abundance of common roach in the lake, and other species present include 3- and 9-spined stickleback, pike, perch, and eels.

Status

The lake is a Special Protection Area (SPA) under the EU Birds Directive (EC/79/409), as an important site for wintering waterfowl, supporting nationally important populations of

great crested grebe The great crested grebe (''Podiceps cristatus'') is a member of the grebe family of water birds. The bird is characterised by its distinctive appearance, featuring striking black, orange-brown, and white plumage, and elaborate courtship displa ...

, pochard,

tufted duck The tufted duck (or tufted pochard) (''Aythya fuligula'') is a small diving duck with a population of nearly one million birds, found in northern Eurasia. They are partially migratory. The scientific name is derived from Ancient Greek , an unide ...

and

goldeneye ''GoldenEye'' is a 1995 spy film, the seventeenth in the List of James Bond films, ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions, and the first to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional Secret Intelligence Service, MI6 agent James Bond (lit ...

Popular culture

Lough Sheelin is the setting of the song "Lough Sheelin Eviction", made popular by the

Wolfe Tones The Wolfe Tones are an Irish rebel music band that incorporate Irish traditional music in their songs. Formed in 1963, they take their name from Theobald Wolfe Tone, one of the leaders of the Irish Rebellion of 1798, with the double meaning of ...

. The song is purportedly based on an account of an eviction of more than 700 tenants, witnessed by Dr. Thomas Nulty, Roman Catholic Bishop of Meath, in 1848, in his first year as a priest in the diocese.

References

External links

Ordnance Survey of Ireland MapShannon Regional Fisheries Board Lough Sheelin Guide
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sheelin, Lough Lakes of County Cavan Lakes of County Meath Lakes of County Westmeath Important Bird Areas of the Republic of Ireland