The Cladagh River ( ga, An Chlaideach or "washing river"
), Claddagh or Swanlinbar River, is a moderately large river which forms from a number of small streams rising in
Commas
The comma is a punctuation mark that appears in several variants in different languages. It has the same shape as an apostrophe or single closing quotation mark () in many typefaces, but it differs from them in being placed on the baseline o ...
townland on the south-eastern slopes of
Cuilcagh Mountain
Cuilcagh () is a mountain on the border between County Fermanagh (in Northern Ireland) and County Cavan (in the Republic of Ireland). With a height of it is the highest point in both counties. It is also the 170th highest peak on the island of ...
,
County Cavan
County Cavan ( ; gle, Contae an Chabháin) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Ulster and is part of the Border Region. It is named after the town of Cavan and is based on the historic Gaelic territory of East Breffny (''Bréifn ...
, and flows through the village of
Swanlinbar
Swanlinbar () is a small village on the N87 national secondary road in north-west County Cavan, Ireland, close to the Cladagh river and near the Fermanagh border.
The village is situated in the townlands of Furnaceland and Hawkswood, in the ...
, before crossing the border into
County Fermanagh
County Fermanagh ( ; ) is one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the six counties of Northern Ireland.
The county covers an area of 1,691 km2 (653 sq mi) and has a population of 61,805 a ...
and eventually flowing into
Upper Lough Erne
Lough Erne ( , ) is the name of two connected lakes in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is the second-biggest lake system in Northern Ireland and Ulster, and the fourth biggest in Ireland. The lakes are widened sections of the River Erne, ...
. It is ultra-
oligotroph
An oligotroph is an organism that can live in an environment that offers very low levels of nutrients. They may be contrasted with copiotrophs, which prefer nutritionally rich environments. Oligotrophs are characterized by slow growth, low rates o ...
ic upstream before gradually becoming oligotrophic and oligo-
mesotrophic through its middle and lower reaches.
Environment
The river is a designated
Special Area of Conservation
A Special Area of Conservation (SAC) is defined in the European Union's Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC), also known as the ''Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora''. They are to protect the 220 habitats and a ...
.
The vegetation includes ''
Ranunculetum fluitantis Ranunculetum fluitantis is one of the 24 Aquatic plant communities (A18) included in the British National Vegetation Classification (NVC).
The vegetation type or community comprises stands of submerged vegetation dominated by clumps of River wate ...
'', ''
Callitriche
''Callitriche'' is a genus of largely aquatic plants known as water-starwort. Previously, it was the only genus in the family Callitrichaceae. However, according to the APG II system this family is now included in the Plantaginaceae (plantain fam ...
'' and ''
Ranunculus peltatus
''Ranunculus peltatus'', the pond water-crowfoot, is a plant species in the genus ''Ranunculus'', native to Europe, southwestern Asia and northern Africa.
It is a herbaceous annual or perennial plant
A perennial plant or simply perennial ...
''. The river contains one of the largest surviving populations in
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. North ...
of the
freshwater pearl mussel
The freshwater pearl mussel (''Margaritifera margaritifera'') is an endangered species of freshwater mussel, an aquatic bivalve mollusc in the family Margaritiferidae.
Although the name "freshwater pearl mussel" is often used for this specie ...
. The mussels, estimated to be a minimum of 10,000 in number, are confined to a stretch of undisturbed river in the middle section.
See also
*
Rivers of Ireland
Shown here are all the major rivers and tributaries of Ireland with their lengths (in kilometres and miles). Starting with the Northern Ireland rivers, and going in a clockwise direction, the rivers (and tributaries) are listed in regard to their ...
*
List of rivers of Northern Ireland
This is an alphabetical list of the main rivers on the island of Ireland. It includes rivers that flow through the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Rivers that flow through Northern Ireland are marked with an asterisk (*). There are over ...
References
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Cladagh
Cladagh
Cladagh