The River Greese (also spelled Griese; ) is a small, fast-flowing river in south-east, Ireland, and a tributary of the

River Barrow The Barrow () is a river in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is one of The Three Sisters (Ireland), The Three Sisters; the other two being the River Suir and the River Nore. The Barrow is the longest of the three rivers and, at 192 km (12 ...

Name

The river takes its name from Killeen Cormac, which bears the name ''capella de Gris'' ("Gris Chapel") in ''Crede Mihi'', a c. 1280 ancient register of the Archbishops of Dublin, with the name also spelled ''Grys''/''Gryse'' in later accounts, and the ''rivulus de Grys'' appearing in

John Alen John Alen (1476 – 28 July 1534) was an English priest and canon lawyer, whose later years were spent in Ireland. He held office as Archbishop of Dublin and Lord Chancellor of Ireland, and was a member of the Privy Council of Ireland. In the l ...

's 1533 ''Reportorium Viride''. Jacob Nevill's 1760 map shows the ''River Greeces'', while ''Greese'' is the spelling generally used in the modern day, although ''Griese'' is also used.

Course

The river rises near

Dunlavin Dunlavin () is a village in County Wicklow, Ireland, situated about south-west of Dublin. It is centred on the junction of the R412 road (Ireland), R412 and R756 road (Ireland), R756 Regional road (Ireland), regional roads. It was founded aro ...

County Wicklow County Wicklow ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606 in Ireland, 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the Provinces ...

in the townland of Tober. It then runs south-west and forms part of the

/Kildare border. The Greese continues west past Killeen Cormac (formerly ''capella de Gris'', from which the river takes its name). It is bridged by the R448 road at Moyleabbey, County Kildare. It meets a tributary in Crookstown and passes under the R415, then flows southward through Ballitore. The Greese flows south-southwest, crossing under the M9, through Kilkea Golf Club and past Kilkea Castle, passing under the Dublin–Waterford railway line at Newtownpilsworth/Dunmanoge and draining into the

in the Jerusalem townland, Painestown downstream of Maganey Lock (this last stretch forms part of the

County Carlow County Carlow ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county located in the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region of Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Carlow is the List of Irish counties by area, second smallest and t ...

/Kildare border).

Wildlife

Thomas James Rawson, in his ''Statistical Survey of the County of Kildare'' in 1807 described how "The (River) Greece and Lerr, between Carlow and Athy, and all the other small rivers, swarm with the most excellent trout". Fish include

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 ...

stone loach The stone loach (''Barbatula barbatula'') is a European species of fresh water ray-finned fish in the family Nemacheilidae. It is one of nineteen species in the genus '' Barbatula''. Stone loaches live amongst the gravel and stones of fast flowi ...

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 ...

eel Eels are ray-finned fish belonging to the order Anguilliformes (), which consists of eight suborders, 20 families, 164 genera, and about 1000 species. Eels undergo considerable development from the early larval stage to the eventual adult stage ...

three-spined stickleback The three-spined stickleback (''Gasterosteus aculeatus'') is a fish native to most inland and coastal waters north of 30°N. It has long been a subject of scientific study for many reasons. It shows great morphological variation throughout its ra ...

and river lamprey.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Greese Rivers of County Carlow Rivers of County Kildare Rivers of County Offaly Rivers of County Wicklow