The River Swilly (Irish: An tSúileach) is a river in County Donegal, Ireland, which flows in an eastern direction through Letterkenny. Letterkenny, the largest town in County Donegal, is built on the river and became the first crossing point on the river in the 17th century.
The river takes its name Súileach ("sharp sighted" or "seeing one"), a multi-eyed man-eating water monster that was reputedly killed by Saint Columba.[1][2][3] Letterkenny DJ and producer Diarmuid O'Doherty produced a song, "A Monster in the River Swilly", about this legend.[4][5]
Courseedit
The River Swilly rises near Glendore, a mountain in County Donegal, and flows for around 41.8 km (26 mi), flowing through Letterkenny, before flowing into the Atlantic Ocean at Lough Swilly. A number of 'burns' flow into the river throughout its course. These include the Forglug Burn, which flows into the river just to the south of Conwal Cemetery, and the Correnagh Burn, which flows under the Derry Road (part of the N56), entering the river at Bonagee on the eastern edge of Letterkenny.[6][7]
Navigation and useedit
The river is nearly 42 kilometres (26 mi) long. A shipping industry once operated on the Swilly in Letterkenny. The river was extremely hard for larger ships to navigate, as it was narrow and has many bends near Letterkenny. The port was closed to commercial shipping in the 1960s and its warehouses were demolished in 2001. The coal yard still remains on the old site opposite the Mount Errigal Hotel. Newmills Corn and Flax Mills is powered by the waters of the river.
Fishingedit
The Swilly traditionally produced approximately 300–400 salmon per year. The heaviest salmon recorded weighed 11 kilograms (24 lb); a sea trout of 5.5 kilograms (12 lb) was also recorded.[8] The river is considered one of the best fishing rivers in the northwest of Ireland.[citation needed]
Crossingsedit
The Swilly is spanned by numerous bridges mostly open to road traffic. In Letterkenny there are four bridges across the river:
Bridge
Image
Oldtown Bridge
Port Bridge
Rail Bridge
Devlin Way
Devlin Wayedit
Devlin Way at night
Devlin Way, the first pedestrian bridge built over the River Swilly, was opened in Letterkenny in November 2006. It connects the suburban Oldtown area with the town centre. The bridge was designed by TS McLaughlin Structural Engineers and the ironwork was constructed by Bonnar Engineering. It cost €100,000 to construct. A maroon-coloured cambered steel structure which measures 28 metres long and 2.2 metres wide, the bridge is lit by a lamp cast from iron and contains a commemorative stone seat with a plaque. The bridge is a neighbour to the much older Oldtown Bridge. The bridge is named in honour of the Devlin family who live beside the bridge and gave part of their land so that the bridge could be built.[9]
Referencesedit
^"River Swilly An tSuileach", Reimagining Letterkenny Market Square(PDF), Donegal County Council, retrieved 15 December 2023
river, swilly, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, january, 200. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources River Swilly news newspapers books scholar JSTOR January 2008 Learn how and when to remove this template message The River Swilly Irish An tSuileach is a river in County Donegal Ireland which flows in an eastern direction through Letterkenny Letterkenny the largest town in County Donegal is built on the river and became the first crossing point on the river in the 17th century River SwillyAn tSuileachThe mouth of the River Swilly near LetterkennyLocationCountryIrelandPhysical characteristicsSource locationGlendore Mountain County Donegal elevation 15 2 m 50 ft Mouth locationAtlantic Ocean at Lough SwillyLength 41 8 km 26 0 miles Contents 1 Name 2 Course 3 Navigation and use 3 1 Fishing 4 Crossings 4 1 Devlin Way 5 References 6 External linksName editThe river takes its name Suileach sharp sighted or seeing one a multi eyed man eating water monster that was reputedly killed by Saint Columba 1 2 3 Letterkenny DJ and producer Diarmuid O Doherty produced a song A Monster in the River Swilly about this legend 4 5 Course editThe River Swilly rises near Glendore a mountain in County Donegal and flows for around 41 8 km 26 mi flowing through Letterkenny before flowing into the Atlantic Ocean at Lough Swilly A number of burns flow into the river throughout its course These include the Forglug Burn which flows into the river just to the south of Conwal Cemetery and the Correnagh Burn which flows under the Derry Road part of the N56 entering the river at Bonagee on the eastern edge of Letterkenny 6 7 Navigation and use editThe river is nearly 42 kilometres 26 mi long A shipping industry once operated on the Swilly in Letterkenny The river was extremely hard for larger ships to navigate as it was narrow and has many bends near Letterkenny The port was closed to commercial shipping in the 1960s and its warehouses were demolished in 2001 The coal yard still remains on the old site opposite the Mount Errigal Hotel Newmills Corn and Flax Mills is powered by the waters of the river Fishing edit The Swilly traditionally produced approximately 300 400 salmon per year The heaviest salmon recorded weighed 11 kilograms 24 lb a sea trout of 5 5 kilograms 12 lb was also recorded 8 The river is considered one of the best fishing rivers in the northwest of Ireland citation needed Crossings editThe Swilly is spanned by numerous bridges mostly open to road traffic In Letterkenny there are four bridges across the river Bridge ImageOldtown Bridge nbsp Port Bridge nbsp Rail Bridge nbsp Devlin Way nbsp Devlin Way edit nbsp Devlin Way at nightDevlin Way the first pedestrian bridge built over the River Swilly was opened in Letterkenny in November 2006 It connects the suburban Oldtown area with the town centre The bridge was designed by TS McLaughlin Structural Engineers and the ironwork was constructed by Bonnar Engineering It cost 100 000 to construct A maroon coloured cambered steel structure which measures 28 metres long and 2 2 metres wide the bridge is lit by a lamp cast from iron and contains a commemorative stone seat with a plaque The bridge is a neighbour to the much older Oldtown Bridge The bridge is named in honour of the Devlin family who live beside the bridge and gave part of their land so that the bridge could be built 9 References edit River Swilly An tSuileach Reimagining Letterkenny Market Square PDF Donegal County Council retrieved 15 December 2023 Swilly Monster bob fornal org MacKillop James 2004 Suileach A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology ISBN 9780198609674 Retrieved 15 December 2023 Diarmuid O Doherty A Monster In The River Swilly blogspot com House Obsessed blogspot com Discovery Series Map 4th ed Dublin Ordnance Survey of Ireland 2012 Sheet Sheet 6 Bunnagee Bonagee Townland Co Donegal townlands ie Donegaltown ie Article dead link First Pedestrian Bridge over the River Swilly nwipp newspapers com Archived from the original on 28 September 2007 Retrieved 30 December 2006 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to River Swilly irelandnorthwest ie 54 58 N 7 41 W 54 967 N 7 683 W 54 967 7 683 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title River Swilly amp oldid 1191819916, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
