Lough Allen

The lake

Lough Allen is the topmost of the three main lakes on the River Shannon — the other two, Lough Derg and Lough Ree, lie much further south. It is 17.7 km long and 4.8 km across at its widest, covering about 35 square kilometres; the water is shallow on average (4–5 m) but drops to 31 m in places. Most of the lake lies in County Leitrim, with the far shore in County Roscommon, and it sits just south of the Shannon’s source near the Iron Mountains (Sliabh an Iarainn), where iron was mined for centuries and the great charcoal forests of the county were cut to feed the forges.

The lake’s three islands — Corry Island, Drummans Island and Inishmagrath — are the reason it became a boating water: the Allen Canal and the Shannon navigation were cut through the 19th century to make the waterway workable, and the islands have been used as moorings ever since. The villages of Drumshanbo, Drumkeeran, Dowra and Arigna line its shores, and Arigna Forest Park, the largest forest park in Ireland, stands on the western shore.

What to do

Boating is the natural thing: the lake is a gentle, sheltered water, with moorings at Drumshanbo and along the Blueway. Bank fishing is permitted from the shore (confirm current licence rules before angling), and the wooded banks support walks from short lakeside loops to full days on the Arigna trails. Yeats spent time around Lough Allen at the turn of the twentieth century, and the lake’s quiet, half-enclosed basin is the best place in the county to watch the light change.