The Blackwater or Munster Blackwater (, The Great River) is a river which flows through counties Kerry, Cork and

Waterford Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...

in Ireland. It rises in the Mullaghareirk Mountains in County Kerry and then flows in an easterly direction across County Cork through the towns of Mallow and

Fermoy Fermoy () is a town on the Munster Blackwater, River Blackwater in east County Cork, Ireland. As of the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, the town and environs had a population of approximately 6,700 people. It is located in the barony (Ir ...

. It then enters County Waterford where it flows through Lismore, before abruptly turning south at

Cappoquin Cappoquin (), also sometimes spelt Cappaquin, is a town in western County Waterford, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is on the Munster Blackwater, Blackwater river at the junction of the N72 road (Ireland), N72 national secondary road and the R ...

and finally draining into the

Celtic Sea The Celtic Sea is the area of the Atlantic Ocean off the southern coast of Ireland bounded to the north by St George's Channel, Saint George's Channel; other limits include the Bristol Channel, the English Channel, and the Bay of Biscay, as wel ...

at Youghal Harbour in Cork. In total, the Blackwater is 169 km (105 mi) long. The total catchment area of the River Blackwater is 3,324 km².South Eastern River Basin District Management System. Page 38 Its long-term average flow rate of is 89.1 cubic metres per second (m³/s) The Blackwater is notable for being one of the best

salmon Salmon (; : salmon) are any of several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the genera ''Salmo'' and ''Oncorhynchus'' of the family (biology), family Salmonidae, native ...

fishing rivers in the country. Like many Irish rivers, salmon stocks declined in recent years, but the Irish government banned commercial netting of salmon off the coast of Ireland in November 2006.

Tributaries

Tributaries of the Blackwater include: * River Awbeg (''An Abha Bheag'', "the small river") * River Dalua (''Abhainn Dalua'') * River Bride (''An Bhríd'') * River Allow (''Abhainn Ealla'') * River Araglin (''An Airglinn'') * River Finnow (''An Fhionnabha'', "the fair river") * River Funshion (''Abhainn na Fuinseann'', "the ash river")

Settlements

Towns along the river are

Youghal Youghal ( ; ) is a seaside resort town in County Cork, Ireland. Located on the estuary of the Munster Blackwater, River Blackwater, the town is a former military and economic centre. Located on the edge of a steep riverbank, the town has a long ...

, Lismore,

, Mallow and Rathmore.

Special Protection Area

The Blackwater Estuary was listed on the

Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance Ramsar sites are protected under by the Ramsar Convention, an international treaty for the conservation movement, conservation and sustainable use of wetlands, recognizing the fundamental ecological functions of wetlands and their economic, cultura ...

on 11 June 1996. It is also a

Special Protection Area A special protection area (SPA) is a designation under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds. Under the Directive, Member States of the European Union (EU) have a duty to safeguard the habitats of migratory birds and cer ...

(SPA) under the E.U.

Birds Directive The Birds Directive (formally known as Council Directive 2009/147/EC on the conservation of wild birds) is the oldest piece of EU legislation on the environment and one of its cornerstones which was unanimously adopted in April 1979 as the Dir ...

, the SPA extends from

New Bridge to the Ferry Point peninsula, near the outflow of the river to the sea. The SPA encompasses a section of the main channel of the River Blackwater as far as Ballynaclash Quay as well as the channel between Kinsalebeg and Moord Cross Roads on the eastern side and part of the estuary of the Tourig River as far upstream as Kilmagner. The tidal flats attract numbers of waders and wildfowl and the species named as targets for conservation within the SPA include an internationally important population of black-tailed godwit as well as nationally important populations of

Eurasian wigeon The Eurasian wigeon or European wigeon (''Mareca penelope''), also known as the widgeon or the wigeon, is one of three species of wigeon in the dabbling duck genus ''Mareca''. It is common and widespread within its Palearctic range. Taxonomy T ...

European golden plover The European golden plover (''Pluvialis apricaria''), also known as the Eurasian golden plover, or just the golden plover within Europe, is a relatively large species of plover. This species is similar to two other golden plovers, the American ...

Northern lapwing The northern lapwing (''Vanellus vanellus''), also known as the peewit or pewit, tuit or tewit, green plover, or (in Ireland and Great Britain) pyewipe or just lapwing, is a bird in the lapwing subfamily. It is common through temperate Palearcti ...

, dunlin,

bar-tailed godwit The bar-tailed godwit (''Limosa lapponica'') is a large and strongly migratory wader in the family Scolopacidae, which feeds on bristle-worms and shellfish on coastal mudflats and estuaries. It has distinctive red breeding plumage, long legs, ...

, Eurasian curlew and

common redshank The common redshank or simply redshank (''Tringa totanus'') is a Eurasian wader in the large family Scolopacidae. Taxonomy The common redshank was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of hi ...

. Other notable species occurring within the SPA are pale-bellied brent goose, common shelduck,

Eurasian teal The Eurasian teal (''Anas crecca''), common teal, or Eurasian green-winged teal is a common and widespread duck that breeds in temperate Eurosiberia and migrates south in winter. The Eurasian teal is often called simply the teal due to being th ...

mallard The mallard () or wild duck (''Anas platyrhynchos'') is a dabbling duck that breeds throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas, Eurasia, and North Africa. It has been introduced to New Zealand, Australia, Peru, Brazil, Uruguay, Arge ...

Northern shoveler The northern shoveler (; ''Spatula clypeata''), known simply in Britain as the shoveler, is a common and widespread duck. It breeds in northern areas of Europe and throughout the Palearctic and across most of North America, and winters in southe ...

, red-breasted merganser, great cormorant, little egret, grey heron, Eurasian oystercatcher, common ringed plover, grey plover, red knot,

common greenshank The common greenshank (''Tringa nebularia'') is a wader in the large family Scolopacidae, the typical waders. The genus name ''Tringa'' is the Neo-Latin name given to the green sandpiper by Aldrovandus in 1599 based on Ancient Greek ''trungas ...

and ruddy turnstone. Little egret, European golden plover and bar-tailed godwit are listed on Annex I of the E.U. Birds Directive.

References

External links

Special Area of ConservationSalmon fishing on the Munster Blackwater, from Salmon IrelandThe Munster Blackwater and associated navigationsThe Lombardstown to Mallow Canal
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blackwater Ramsar sites in the Republic of Ireland Rivers of County Cork Rivers of County Kerry Rivers of County Waterford Mallow, County Cork