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Lough Ree (Loch Rí in Irish
Irish language

Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic languages of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people....
, formerly Loch Ríbh) is a lake
Lake

A lake is a terrain feature , a body of liquid on the surface of a world that is localized to the bottom of basin and moves slowly if it moves at all....
 in the midlands of Ireland
Ireland

Ireland is the List of islands by area in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world. It lies to the north-west of continental Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islet....
, the second of the three major lakes on the River Shannon
River Shannon

The River Shannon is, at 386 km , the longest Rivers of Ireland. It divides the west of Ireland from the east and south . County Clare, being west of the Shannon but part of the province of Munster, is the major exception....
. Lough Ree is the second largest lake on the Shannon after Lough Derg
Lough Derg (Munster)

Lough Derg is the third-largest lake in Ireland and the second-largest in the Republic of Ireland. It is a long, relatively narrow lake, with shores in counties North Tipperary , County Galway , and County Clare ....
. The other two major lakes are Lough Allen
Lough Allen

Lough Allen is a lake situated on the River Shannon, in the north-central part of Republic of Ireland, near Ireland's border region. Most of the lake is in County Leitrim, with a smaller portion in County Roscommon....
 to the north, and Lough Derg to the south, there are also several minor lakes along the length of the river. The lake serves as a border between the counties of Longford
County Longford

Image:Royal Canal Longford long.JPGCounty Longford is a county situated in the Irish Midlands, in northwest Leinster. With an area of 1,091 km? and a population of 34,361, it is Ireland's third smallest county....
 and Westmeath (both in the province of Leinster
Leinster

Leinster , one of the Provinces of Ireland, lies in the east of Ireland and comprises the counties of County Carlow, County Dublin, County Kildare, County Kilkenny, County Laois, County Longford, County Louth, County Meath, County Offaly, County Westmeath, County Wexford and County Wicklow....
) on the eastern side and County Roscommon
County Roscommon

County Roscommon is a county located in central Ireland. Area: . Roscommon is in the Provinces of Ireland of Connacht. It is the only county in Connacht that does not have a shoreline....
 in the province of Connacht
Connacht

Connacht is the western Provinces of Ireland of Ireland, comprising counties County Galway, County Leitrim, County Mayo, County Roscommon, County Sligo....
 on the western side.






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Lough Ree (Loch Rí in Irish
Irish language

Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic languages of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people....
, formerly Loch Ríbh) is a lake
Lake

A lake is a terrain feature , a body of liquid on the surface of a world that is localized to the bottom of basin and moves slowly if it moves at all....
 in the midlands of Ireland
Ireland

Ireland is the List of islands by area in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world. It lies to the north-west of continental Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islet....
, the second of the three major lakes on the River Shannon
River Shannon

The River Shannon is, at 386 km , the longest Rivers of Ireland. It divides the west of Ireland from the east and south . County Clare, being west of the Shannon but part of the province of Munster, is the major exception....
. Lough Ree is the second largest lake on the Shannon after Lough Derg
Lough Derg (Munster)

Lough Derg is the third-largest lake in Ireland and the second-largest in the Republic of Ireland. It is a long, relatively narrow lake, with shores in counties North Tipperary , County Galway , and County Clare ....
. The other two major lakes are Lough Allen
Lough Allen

Lough Allen is a lake situated on the River Shannon, in the north-central part of Republic of Ireland, near Ireland's border region. Most of the lake is in County Leitrim, with a smaller portion in County Roscommon....
 to the north, and Lough Derg to the south, there are also several minor lakes along the length of the river. The lake serves as a border between the counties of Longford
County Longford

Image:Royal Canal Longford long.JPGCounty Longford is a county situated in the Irish Midlands, in northwest Leinster. With an area of 1,091 km? and a population of 34,361, it is Ireland's third smallest county....
 and Westmeath (both in the province of Leinster
Leinster

Leinster , one of the Provinces of Ireland, lies in the east of Ireland and comprises the counties of County Carlow, County Dublin, County Kildare, County Kilkenny, County Laois, County Longford, County Louth, County Meath, County Offaly, County Westmeath, County Wexford and County Wicklow....
) on the eastern side and County Roscommon
County Roscommon

County Roscommon is a county located in central Ireland. Area: . Roscommon is in the Provinces of Ireland of Connacht. It is the only county in Connacht that does not have a shoreline....
 in the province of Connacht
Connacht

Connacht is the western Provinces of Ireland of Ireland, comprising counties County Galway, County Leitrim, County Mayo, County Roscommon, County Sligo....
 on the western side. The lake is popular for fishing and boating. The lake supports a small commercial eel fishery and is locally famous for its eels on wheels truck. The town of Athlone
Athlone

Athlone is a town that lies on the River Shannon near the southern extremity of Lough Ree, Republic of Ireland....
 is situated at the southern end of the lake, and has a harbour for boats going out on the lake. The small town of Lanesboro
Lanesborough-Ballyleague

Lanesborough and Ballyleague is a town composed of two villages in the midlands of Ireland. Lanesborough is on the County Longford side and Ballyleague on the County Roscommon side of the River Shannon....
 is at the northern end of the lake.

Lough Ree
The island of Inchcleraun (Inis Cloithreann) in the northern part of the lake is the site of a monastery founded in the early Christian era and contains the remains of several ancient churches. In Irish legends, it was on this island that Queen Maeve
Medb

Medb ; modern , ; reformed modern Irish Meabh, ; sometimes Anglicised Maeve, Maev, or Maive , is Queen regnant of Connacht in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology....
 was killed. The Viking Turgesius
Turgesius

Turgesius was a Viking chief active in Ireland who is said to have conquered Dublin. It is not at all clear whether the names in the Irish annals represent the Old Norse Thurgestr or Thorg?sl....
 had a ringfort
Ringfort

Ringforts are fortification settlements that are generally deemed to be from the Iron Age, Early Christian or possibly the Early Middle Ages in Northern Europe, especially Ireland....
 on the shores, and islands, from where he oppressed the local Irish populations for many decades, until his death by drowning in Lough Owel
Lough Owel

Lough Owel is a lough in the Midlands of Ireland, situated north of Mullingar, the county town of County Westmeath. It is a deep lake, well known amongst Angling, and holds a few char along with brown trout....
.

Families lived on some of the islands in Lough Ree up until the 1950s, when they were rehoused ashore.

Lough Ree has a large number of wave-worn limestone, or mushroom stones
Mushroom stones

Mushroom stones, or wave stones, are limestone boulders undercut by water. These take the form of solitary sentinels of limestone which still bear the unmistakable marks of long-continued erosion by lapping waves at the edge of lakes which have since vanished or retreated....
 around the perimeter.

Like several other Irish loughs, Lough Ree has been the scene of claimed sightings of a lake monster
Lake monster

Lake monster or loch monster is the name given to large unknown animals which have reportedly been sighted in, and/or are believed to dwell in fresh waters, although their existence has never been confirmed scientifically....
 over the years.

See also: List of Irish lochs and loughs


See also

  • Lough Ree Yacht Club
    Lough Ree Yacht Club

    Lough Ree Yacht Club is a sailing club based in Ballymore, Coosan, near Athlone, Ireland. Founded in the year 1770, albeit under a different original name, it claims to be one of the oldest yacht clubs in the world, although another Irish yacht club, The Royal Cork Yacht Club has proven to be the world's first and oldest yacht club....



Footnotes