The River Faughan (; ) is a river in northwest

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

Legend

According to ''

Lebor Gabála Érenn ''Lebor Gabála Érenn'' (literally "The Book of Ireland's Taking"; Modern Irish spelling: ''Leabhar Gabhála Éireann'', known in English as ''The Book of Invasions'') is a collection of poems and prose narratives in the Irish language inten ...

'' (11th century), Fochain was a daughter of

Partholón Partholón () is a character in medieval Irish Christian pseudohistory, said to have led one of the first groups to settle in Ireland. His name comes from the Biblical name ''Bartholomaeus'' (Bartholomew), and may be borrowed from a character in ...

, an ancient settler of Ireland. In the ''

Táin Bó Cúailnge (Modern ; "the driving-off of the cows of Cooley"), commonly known as ''The Táin'' or less commonly as ''The Cattle Raid of Cooley'', is an epic from Irish mythology. It is often called "the Irish ''Iliad''", although like most other earl ...

'', Cúchulainn meets with

Medb Medb (), later spelled Meadhbh (), Méabh(a) () and Méibh (), and often anglicised as Maeve ( ), is queen of Connacht in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. Her husband in the core stories of the cycle is Ailill mac Máta, although she had ...

and

Fergus mac Róich Fergus mac Róich/Róigh (literally "Virility, manliness, son of great stallion") is an Irish hero and a character in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. Formerly the king of Ulaid, Ulster, he is tricked out of the kingship and betrayed by Conc ...

in Glenn Fochaine. A more prosaic etymology could be the

Old Irish Old Irish, also called Old Gaelic (, Ogham, Ogham script: ᚌᚑᚔᚇᚓᚂᚉ; ; ; or ), is the oldest form of the Goidelic languages, Goidelic/Gaelic language for which there are extensive written texts. It was used from 600 to 900. The ...

''fochaín'', "smooth-bottomed."

Course

The River Faughan rises on

Sawel Mountain Sawel Mountain () is the highest peak in the Sperrin Mountains, and the 8th highest in Northern Ireland. It is also the highest mountain in Northern Ireland outside of the Mourne Mountain range located in County Down. Geography To the north of S ...

, north of

Park A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are urban green space, green spaces set aside for recreation inside t ...

and flows northwestwards through

Claudy Claudy () is a village and townland (of 1,154 acres) in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It lies in the Faughan Valley, southeast of Derry, where the River Glenrandal joins the River Faughan. It is situated in the civil parish of Cumber ...

, crossing the A6 west of

Drumahoe Drumahoe () is a village and townland in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It lies to the east of Derry. It was home to Institute F.C., an NIFL Championship football club. The busy A6 road from Belfast to Derry passes through the townland ...

. It flows northwards on the eastern edge of

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry, is the second-largest City status in the United Kingdom, city in Northern Ireland, and the fifth-largest on the island of Ireland. Located in County Londonderry, the city now covers both banks of the River Fo ...

city, being bridged by the A2 between Campsey and

Strathfoyle Strathfoyle (from ) is a village in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland It is about north east of Derry. It was newly built in different phases between the late 1950s and the early 1960s, with many new recent additions to the village, includi ...

. The Faughan enters

Lough Foyle Lough Foyle, sometimes Loch Foyle ( or "loch of the lip"), is the estuary of the River Foyle, on the north coast of Ireland. It lies between County Londonderry in Northern Ireland and County Donegal in the Republic of Ireland. Sovereignty over t ...

east of Coolkeeragh power station. The Rebuilt Ballynameen Bridge Claudy

Wildlife

The River Faughan is a

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 ...

and

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 ...

fishery.

In culture

"The Faughan Side" is a traditional Irish song from the early 20th century, sung by

Eddie Butcher Eddie Butcher (8 May 1900 – 8 September 1980) was an Irish traditional singer, folk-song collector and songwriter from Magilligan, County Londonderry. He had an extensive repertoire of songs that he performed in a sturdy, earthy style. I ...

. The river gives its name to Faughan Valley Golf Club, near Eglinton.

References

Rivers of County Londonderry {{NorthernIreland-river-stub

Legend

Course

Wildlife

In culture

See also

References