Area · Co. Leitrim
Keshcarrigan Lough
A small, quiet lake in south Leitrim under the old burial hill of Sheebeg, beside the Shannon–Erne Waterway — the bank fishing, the Blueway moorings, and a village famous for its backwards parades.
The lake and the castle
Lough Rynn (Rinn Lough) is a freshwater lake in south County Leitrim, a short drive north of Carrick-on-Shannon. The place is known for what stands on its shore: Lough Rynn Castle, a country house in 350 acres of parkland, gardens and woods. The estate grounds are open for walking, and they hold a 400-year-old oak, a Bronze Age tomb, the remains of a mediaeval castle, an arboretum and terraced gardens, with the Rynn river running through them — the same water that connects Lough Rynn to Lough Erril. The walk through the grounds runs about 1.1 miles (1.8 km), past sawmills, a farmyard, a greenhouse, French stable yards and nature trails as well as the oak, the tomb and the mediaeval ruin.
What to do
The grounds are a gentle circuit — easy enough for a family, long enough to be worth the drive — and the castle itself is now run as a hotel, so the park can be enjoyed without an appointment, with afternoon tea on offer in season. The lake is a small, sheltered water, good for an hour of quiet on the shore. It sits in the low green country north of the Shannon, where the river’s tributaries widen into a string of small lakes, and it rewards a slow visit rather than a photo stop: the walk through the parkland, a coffee in the village, and the water itself. Combine it with the wider west Leitrim circuit — Keshcarrigan Lough, Lough Allen and the Leitrim Way all lie within the hour.