Editing Lough Allen

{{short description |Lake in Leitrim/Roscommon, Ireland}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2020}}
{{Use Hiberno-English|date=January 2020}}
{{Infobox body of water
| name = Lough Allen
| native_name ={{native name|ga|Loch Aillionn}}
| image = Lough Allen Spencer Harbour 2003 09 11.jpg
| caption = Spencer Harbour
| image_bathymetry = 
| caption_bathymetry = 
| location = [[County Leitrim]]
| coords = {{Coord|54|06|25|N|8|02|21|W|region:IE_type:waterbody|display=inline,title}}
| lake_type =
|pushpin_map=island of Ireland
| inflow = [[River Shannon]]
| outflow = [[River Shannon]]
| catchment =
| basin_countries = [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]]
| length = {{convert|17.7|km|abbr=on}}
| width = {{convert|4.8|km|abbr=on}}
| area = {{convert|35|km2|abbr=on}}<ref name="mjj" />
| depth = {{convert|4|-|5|m|abbr=on}}<ref name="mjj" />
| max-depth = {{convert|31|m|abbr=on}}<ref name="mjj" />
| volume =
| residence_time =
| shore =
| elevation =
| islands = Corry Island, Drummans Island, Inishmagrath
| cities = [[Arigna]], [[Ballinaglera]], [[Drumshanbo]], [[Drumkeeran]], [[Dowra]], [[Keadue]]
| reference = <ref name="mjj">{{cite book|editor-last=Jahncke|editor-first=Michael J.|editor-last2=Garrett|editor-first2=E. Spencer|editor-last3=Reilly|editor-first3=Alan|editor-last4=Martin|editor-first4=Roy E.|editor-last5=Cole|editor-first5=Emille|title=Public, Animal, and Environmental Aquaculture Health Issues|publisher=Wiley|year=2002|isbn=0-471-38772-X|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iYaKFFpEbx8C&q=surface+area+of+lough+allen&pg=PA92|page=92|access-date=20 December 2020|archive-date=24 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210924184943/https://books.google.com/books?id=iYaKFFpEbx8C&q=surface+area+of+lough+allen&pg=PA92|url-status=live}}</ref>
}}

'''Lough Allen''' ({{lga|Loch Aillionn}})<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.logainm.ie/1166321.aspx |title=Placenames Database of Ireland |access-date=10 April 2012 |archive-date=19 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210219154916/https://www.logainm.ie/ga/1166321 |url-status=live }}</ref> is a [[lake]] on the [[River Shannon]]<ref name="isbn0-312-27048-8-p775">{{cite book |author=Bord Failte |title=Bord Failte Ireland Guide, 4th Edition |publisher=St. Martin's Griffin |location=New York |year=2001 |isbn=0-312-27048-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1tNEldGNn8sC&q=%22Lough+Allen%22+lake&pg=RA1-PA775 |page=775 |access-date=20 December 2020 |archive-date=24 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210924184949/https://books.google.com/books?id=1tNEldGNn8sC&q=%22Lough+Allen%22+lake&pg=RA1-PA775 |url-status=live }}</ref> in northeastern [[Connacht]], [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]]. Most of the lake is in [[County Leitrim]],<ref name="isbn0-312-27048-8-p775" /> with a smaller part in [[County Roscommon]]. The lake lies to the south of the [[River Shannon's source]], near the Iron Mountains, and is the uppermost of the three main lakes on the river. The other two, [[Lough Ree]] and [[Lough Derg (Shannon)|Lough Derg]] are much further to the south.

==Geography==
Lough Allen, out of which the Shannon takes its source, is nine miles long, and three miles wide.{{sfn|Boate|1653|pp=74}} The lake is shaped like an [[isosceles triangle]]. The Shannon enters the lake at the wider northern end and leaves the lake at the narrow southern end. Other rivers that feed the lake include the Diffagher (northwest), the [[Yellow River (County Leitrim)|Yellow]] (northeast), the Stoney (east) and the Arigna (southwest). The [[R280 road|R280]] [[Regional road (Ireland)|regional road]] skirts the west side of the lake, while the [[R207 road|R207]] follows the east bank,<ref name="isbn0-312-27048-8-p779">{{cite book |author=Bord Failte |title=Bord Failte Ireland Guide, 4th Edition |publisher=St. Martin's Griffin |location=New York |year=2001 |isbn=0-312-27048-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1tNEldGNn8sC&q=%22Lough+Allen%22+lake+r280&pg=RA1-PA779 |page=779 |access-date=20 December 2020 |archive-date=24 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210924184949/https://books.google.com/books?id=1tNEldGNn8sC&q=%22Lough+Allen%22+lake+r280&pg=RA1-PA779 |url-status=live }}</ref> from Ballinagleragh to [[Drumshanbo]]. The [[R200 road (Ireland)|R200 road]] is on the north side of the lake, traveling west from [[Dowra]] to [[Drumkeeran]]. [[Slieve Anierin]] lie to the east of Lough Allen. There has been speculation that notable reserves of oil and gas lie beneath the Allen basin.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.independent.ie/national-news/ireland-on-the-verge-of-an-oil-and-gas-bonanza-679889.html | work=Irish Independent | title=Ireland on the verge of an oil and gas bonanza | date=20 May 2007 | access-date=11 June 2009 | archive-date=1 March 2011 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110301011545/http://www.independent.ie/national-news/ireland-on-the-verge-of-an-oil-and-gas-bonanza-679889.html | url-status=live }}</ref>

==Ecology==
Between {{nobreak|{{circa|2001|2003}}}}, water quality was reported to be excellent with an [[Trophic state index#Oligotrophic|oligotrophic]] rating.{{sfn|Clenaghan|Clinton|Crowe|2005|pp=97}}{{refn|group=n|[[Trophic state index|Trophic states]] of "[[Trophic state index#Oligotrophic|Oligotrophic]]" and "[[Trophic state index#Mesotrophic|Mesotrophic]]" are desirable, but freshwater lakes rated '[[Trophic state index#Eutrophic|Eutrophic]]' or '[[Trophic state index#Eutrophic|Hypertrophic]]' indicates pollution.{{sfn|Clenaghan|Clinton|Crowe|2005|pp=8}}|name=EPAunsatisfactory}}  The pike population is the "native Irish strain" ({{langx|ga|liús}} meaning 'Irish [[Northern Pike|Pike]]') not the other European [[Northern Pike|Pike]] strain ({{langx|ga|gailliasc}} meaning 'strange or foreign fish').<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last1=Pedreschi |first1=Debbi |last2=Kelly‐Quinn |first2=Mary |last3=Caffrey |first3=Joe |last4=O'Grady |first4=Martin |last5=Mariani |first5=Stefano |date=2014 |editor-last=Phillimore |editor-first=Albert |title=Genetic structure of pike ( E sox lucius ) reveals a complex and previously unrecognized colonization history of I reland |journal=Journal of Biogeography |language=en |volume=41 |issue=3 |pages=548–560 |doi=10.1111/jbi.12220 |issn=0305-0270 |pmc=4238397 |pmid=25435649}}</ref> The ecology of Lough Allen, and other Irish waterways, remain threatened by [[Lagarosiphon major|curly waterweed]], [[zebra mussel]], and [[Freshwater bivalve|freshwater clam]] invasive species.<ref name=":0" />{{sfn|Clenaghan|Clinton|Crowe|2005|pp=16}}

==Prehistory==
Significant traces of Mesolithic inhabitation have been found around the lakeshore, with hundreds of stone tools collected.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Driscoll|first1=Killian|title=The early prehistory in the west of Ireland: Investigations into the social archaeology of the Mesolithic, west of the Shannon, Ireland|date=2006|url=http://www.lithicsireland.ie/mlitt_mesolithic_west_ireland_chap_5.html|access-date=8 April 2017|archive-date=9 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170409111006/http://www.lithicsireland.ie/mlitt_mesolithic_west_ireland_chap_5.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="lithicsireland.ie">{{cite journal|last1=Driscoll|first1=Killian|last2=Menuge|first2=Julian|last3=O'Keeffe|first3=Emmett|title=New materials, traditional practices: a Mesolithic silicified dolomite toolkit from Lough Allen, Ireland|journal=Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy|date=2014|volume=114C|pages=1–34 |doi=10.1353/ria.2014.0005 |s2cid=245847658 |url=http://www.lithicsireland.ie/killian_driscoll_publications_2014_new_materials_traditional_practices_mesolithic_silicified_dolomite_toolkt_lough_allen_ireland_abstract.html|access-date=8 April 2017|archive-date=9 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170409110913/http://www.lithicsireland.ie/killian_driscoll_publications_2014_new_materials_traditional_practices_mesolithic_silicified_dolomite_toolkt_lough_allen_ireland_abstract.html|url-status=live|url-access=subscription}}</ref> In total almost 1000 stone tools were collected during a set of surveys by [[Killian Driscoll]], and 95% were formed on silicified dolomite, which outcrops locally. The remaining 5% were formed from flint, chert and quartz, along with the
shale/mudstone and basalt ground/polished axes. The majority of the stone tools are characteristic of the Later Mesolithic, with possible evidence for the Early Mesolithic and limited evidence for Neolithic activity.<ref name="lithicsireland.ie"/> The assemblage includes a number of stone axes and axe roughouts, and the roughouts represent the first recorded, by the [[Irish Stone Axe Project]], as found in a lakeside context in Ireland, with most previously provenanced examples coming from axe quarry sites.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Cooney|first1=G|last2=Mandal|first2=S|title=The Irish Stone Axe Project: Monograph I|date=1998|publisher=Wordwell|location=Bray|isbn=1869857232}}</ref>

==History==

===Ironworks===
[[Iron ore]] has been extracted at [[Slieve Anierin]] for millennia.{{sfn|Boate|1653|pp=128}} From the early 17th century a number of mines and works were conveniently contiguous to Lough Allen, allowing for the transportation of iron ore over water to the [[ironworks]] in boats of up to forty tons. During the [[Irish Rebellion of 1641]] nearly all ironworks were destroyed, but many were revived by the English after the [[Irish Confederate Wars]].{{sfn|Boate|1653|pp=129}} Extensive forests around Lough Allen before the 17th century were denuded to make charcoal for ironworks,{{sfn|Boate|1653|pp=120}} the industry later collapsing in the 19th century.

===Reservoir===
On the construction of the [[Shannon hydroelectric scheme]] in 1925–9, the lake became a storage reservoir for the power station nearly 100 miles away, with sluices to control the flow into the river. This helps to maintain the flow during dry periods and manage flooding at other times. It made the [[Lough Allen Canal]], which was rarely used by this time, unusable until restored in 1996.<ref>{{cite book|last=Delany|first=Ruth|title=Ireland's Inland Waterways|year=2004|publisher=Appletree Press|page=133}}</ref>

===Regattas===
In the mid-19th century, regattas were held by M. O'Conor at Lough Allen Island which is also known as O'Reilly's Island at the southern end of the lake. The house is destroyed, and only a ruin now exists. Regatta parties were held at Birchill's House, Blackrock. E.K. Tenison of Kilronan Castle, the photographer, Captain Tottenham, Captain Birchill and Francis la Touche attended the Regatta parties. Among the yachts competing in the regattas were 'Corsair', 'Avenger', 'Querida', 'Meta' and 'Shamrock'.<ref>Alf Delany archives</ref> The Water Wags from Dun Laoghaire, organised a regatta on Lough Allen, in September 2015, for their 14'-3" long historic open clinker dinghies. competed in a regatta in 2014, including Penelope (1933), Scallywag, Swift, Moosmie (1910), Mollie, Chloe, Marie Louise (1927) and Good Hope. This was probably the first regatta on the lake since the mid-19th century.<ref>Water Wag Newsletter 2015</ref>

==See also==
*[[List of loughs in Ireland]]
*[[Slieve Anierin]]

==References and notes==
===Notes===
{{Reflist|82em|group=n}}

===Primary sources===
{{reflist}}

===Secondary sources===
{{refbegin}}
*{{cite report
|title=Phosphorus Regulations National Implementation Report
|year=2005
|publisher=Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Environmental Enforcement
|first1=Conor
|last1=Clenaghan
|first2=Frank
|last2=Clinton
|first3=Matthew
|last3=Crowe
|url=https://www.epa.ie/pubs/reports/water/phosphorus/EPA_phosphorus_report_2005.pdf
|access-date=9 February 2017
|archive-date=25 October 2017
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171025150144/http://www.epa.ie/pubs/reports/water/phosphorus/EPA_phosphorus_report_2005.pdf
|url-status=live
}}
*{{citation
|title=Genetic structure of pike (Esox lucius) reveals a complex and previously unrecognized colonization history of Ireland
|last1=Pedreschi
|first1=D.
|last2=Kelly-Quinn
|first2=M.
|last3=Caffrey
|first3=J
|last4=O'Grady
|first4=M.
|last5=Mariani
|first5=S.
|last6=Phillimore
|first6=A.
|journal=Journal of Biogeography
|publisher=Journal of Biogeography, 41(3), 548–560. 
|year=2014
|volume=41
|issue=3
|pages=548–560
|doi=10.1111/jbi.12220
|pmid=25435649
|pmc=4238397
|s2cid=13486116
|doi-access=free
}}
*{{cite book
|title=Irelands Naturall History
|last=Boate
|first=Gerard
|year=1653
|edition=Digitized 2009
|publisher=Samuell Hartlib, For the Common Good of Ireland, and more especially, for the benefit of the Adventurers and Planters therein; Imprinted at London for John Wright at the Kings Head, in the Old Bayley
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KpY9AAAAcAAJ
|access-date=24 February 2017
|archive-date=24 February 2017
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170224133952/https://books.google.com/books?id=KpY9AAAAcAAJ
|url-status=live
}}
{{refend}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Allen}}
[[Category:Lakes of County Leitrim]]
[[Category:Lakes of County Roscommon]]
[[Category:River Shannon]]