River Lee
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The River Lee () is a
river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...
in
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 ...
. It rises in the Shehy Mountains on the western border of
County Cork County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...
and flows eastwards through Cork, where it splits in two for a short distance, creating an island on which Cork's city centre is built, then passes through
Cork Harbour Cork Harbour () is a natural harbour and river estuary at the mouth of the River Lee (Ireland), River Lee in County Cork, Ireland. It is one of several which lay claim to the title of "second largest natural harbour in the world by navigational ...
on the south coast, one of the largest natural harbours in the world, to empty 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 ...
. The catchment area of the River Lee is 1,253 km2. The long-term average flow rate of the River Lee is 40.4 cubic metres per second (m3/s). A hydro-electric scheme was built on the river, upstream from Cork City, and this part of the river now contains the Carrigadrohid and Inniscarra reservoirs. The river is crossed by 42 bridges, 29 of which are in Cork City, and one
tunnel A tunnel is an underground or undersea passageway. It is dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, or laid under water, and is usually completely enclosed except for the two portals common at each end, though there may be access and ve ...
. The river also provides an stretch of salmon fishing.


Name

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; , ; ; – 160s/170s AD) was a Greco-Roman mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were important to later Byzantine science, Byzant ...
's ''
Geography Geography (from Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...
'' (2nd century AD) described a river called Δαβρωνα (''Dabrona'') or Λαβρωνα (''Labrona''), which is sometimes considered to refer to the River Lee. Though unconfirmed, the Irish name for the river, ''Laoi'', may derive from ''Corca Luighe'', which in turn derives from 'Luighe', the son of a quasi-mythical Milesian noble. There is also the Λουρ (''Lour''), a separate river which passes through
Tralee Tralee ( ; , ; formerly , meaning 'strand of the River Lee') is the county town of County Kerry in the south-west of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town is on the northern side of the neck of the Dingle Peninsula, and is the largest town in ...
.


Description


Sources

The River Lee has its source in the Shehy Mountains near Gougane Barra, where there is a forest park, chapel, hotel, and shop.


Course

The Lee flows from the lake of Gougane Barra as a fast-paced torrent, but by the town of Ballingeary it eases and flows into Lough Allua. Departing the lough, running east, it again becomes a rapid flow before running into The Gearagh, and Carrigadrohid feeder reservoirs, and then into the large Inniscarra reservoir created by Inniscarra Dam. Moving on, it flows down from the dam, in normal conditions a gentle river until it comes to Ballincollig Weir in Ballincollig Park; here it is dangerous to swimmers when in high water. The Lee then flows into the city under Inniscarra Bridge and flows parallel to the Carrigrohane road. Along this section gauges monitor the water levels from the Inniscarra Dam. The river flows over the Lee
weir A weir or low-head dam is a barrier across the width of a river that alters the flow characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the water level. Weirs are also used to control the flow of water for outlets of l ...
and then is split into the north and south channels at a sluice (it historically occupied the city area as a maze of channels). This area is popular for recreation,
kayaking Kayaking is the use of a kayak for moving over water. It is distinguished from canoeing by the sitting position of the paddler and the number of blades on the paddle. A kayak is a low-to-the-water, canoe-like boat in which the paddler sits fac ...
and
fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...
. The two channels join again at the Cork docks and enter the extensive estuary and harbour, south of Glanmire, passing either side of Great Island (
Cobh Cobh ( ,), known from 1849 until 1920 as Queenstown, is a seaport town on the south coast of County Cork, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. With a population of 14,148 inhabitants at the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, Cobh is on the south si ...
lies on the south coast) to fill the outer harbour, and reaching the open sea between Whitegate and Crosshaven.


Tributaries


Upper course (above Inchigeela)

High tributaries include the Owenagariff, the Bunsheelin, the Paudeen and the Garrifowa.


Middle course (to the Dripsey)

Tributaries joining below Lough Allua and Inchigeela include the River Toon, the extensive Sullane River system, from near Ballyvourney (tributaries include the Douglas, Finnow, Foherish and Laney or Laine Rivers) via
Macroom Macroom (; ) is a market town in County Cork, Ireland, located in the valley of the River Sullane, halfway between Cork (city), Cork city and Killarney. Its population has grown and receded over the centuries as it went through periods of war, ...
, the smaller Buinea and Glashagariff Rivers, and the River Dripsey and its tributaries the Rylane and the Delaghinagh.


Near Cork city

Below the last ESB dam, tributaries joining include the River Bride from Slievowen via Crookstown, Killumney and Ovens, and the River Shournagh (formed from the Blarney and Martin Rivers, and the Owennagearagh River; historically may have been the Awbeg River).


City area

City area tributaries include the combined Maglin (from Ballincollig) and Curraheen (occasionally Curragheen) Rivers, capturing the Glasheen River also and joining at the western end of the UCC complex, and the Kiln River (sometimes Bride River) which joins by the Christy Ring Bridge in the city centre, a little west of St. Patrick's Bridge (formed in turn from a Bride River and the Kilnap or Glennamought River, later joined by the Glen River).


Tidal area

Estuarine tributaries include the Glashaboy River, passing Glanmire (main tributaries the Black Brook, Cloghnageshee River and Butterstown River), the Douglas or Tramore River (joined by the Trabeg River as it flows into the Douglas Channel, its estuary) which drains parts of the southern city, Owennacurra River (joined by the Dungurney River at Midleton), and the Owenaboy River almost at the final mouth of the outer Lee estuary (the Liberty Stream joins this river, with significant flows from Cork Airport).


Recreation

Recreation activities on the Lee include sailing, swimming, kayaking, water skiing. Several rowing clubs are based on the Lee including the "Lee Rowing Club", "Shandon Boat Club" and “Cork Boat Club”. Naomhoga Chorcai is also based on the Marina, and is Ireland's largest Currach (traditional canvas fishing boat) rowing club. Angling is also common from the banks of the Lee Fields.


Flooding

Tidal considerations, combined with low-lying urban developments, and later dam management contribute to repeated flooding events on the Lee. Specific streets in Cork city centre have been affected by floods more than 100 times since the mid-19th century.


2009 flooding

In late 2009 the river flooded, causing some of the most significant damage in Cork city for a number of centuries. The Lee Water Station was forced to shut down after being submerged under six metres of water, and resulted in 40% of Cork City (50,000 people) being without running water for over a week. Lower-lying parts of the
University College Cork University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) () is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork (city), Cork. The university was founded in 1845 as one of three Queen's Universit ...
campus were also flooded extensively, resulting in lectures being cancelled throughout the week. There was severe damage to the university's then newly built IT building, the Western Gateway Building, situated next to the river on a known floodplain, where, for example, a 300-seat auditorium was flooded to near ceiling height. To prevent issues upstream, the ESB made a controversial decision to release water from the Inniscarra hydro-electric dam. This released 535 tonnes of water per second into the already flooded river, raising the flood to 1.5 metres in parts of the city centre. The ESB insisted this was an essential move, and if water had not been released, the flooding would have been much worse.


See also

* The Gearagh


References


External links


Salmon Ireland, information on the Salmon rivers of Ireland
{{coord, 51, 53, 55, N, 8, 32, 21, W, region:IE_type:river_source:kolossus-nlwiki, display=title Lee Geography of Cork (city)