Shannon

Shannon principal river of the Republic of Ireland and longest (c.240 mi/390 km) in the British Isles. It rises near Cuilcagh Mt., NW Co. Cavan, and flows S through the Central Plain into Co. Limerick , where it turns west in a broad estuary (c.70 mi/110 km) to the Atlantic Ocean between Loop Head and Kerry Head. Loughs Allen, Boderg, Ree, and Dreg are expansions of the river. The Shannon with its many tributaries drains a region of farmland and peat bogs. Towns along the Shannon include Carrick-on-Shannon , Athlone, and Limerick . The river is connected with E Ireland by the Royal Canal and the Grand Canal; large vessels, however, cannot ascend the river above Foynes. Limerick is the head of estuary navigation. An important hydroelectric plant was built between Lough Derg and Limerick. The fisheries of the river are valuable. Shannon Airport Industrial Estate (opened 1945), a duty-free international terminal on the river, 15 mi (24 km) W of Limerick, has been developed by the government into an industrial center.

Shannon [ModIr. An tSionna, the old one]. Principal river of Ireland flowing 224 miles south-west from a spring under Cuilcach Mountain, Co. Cavan, to the Atlantic. In its last seventy miles the river becomes a wide estuary; between counties Roscommon, Longford, and Westmeath, it widens to form Lough Ree, and above Killaloe, between Clare, Galway, and Tipperary, it forms Lough Derg (2). For much of its length the Shannon forms the border between Connacht on the west and Leinster and Munster on the east and south, and thus in much of Irish literature the river's name implies a border. Surprisingly, considering its size and importance in Irish transportation and commerce, and its frequent citation in early Irish literature, the Shannon is less mythologized than the Boyne. The goddess of the Shannon, Sinann, is linked to the Boand, goddess of Boyne, through the Well of Segais. In stories from oral tradition, the Shannon was formed by the dragon-like oilliphéist [Ir., great beast] fleeing St Patrick. Midach's enchanted Hostel of the Quicken Trees in the Fenian story Bruidhean Chaorthainn is located on the Shannon. Much action along the river focuses on its principal ford Athlone [the ford of Luan]. Along the Shannon's lower reaches, under the estuary, is thought to lie Shannon City, which appears above water every seven years; mortals who see it will die. See SUBMERGED CITIES. Known in Manx as Yn hannon; W Llinon. See Padraic O'Farrell, Shannon Through Her Literature (Dublin, 1983).

Shannon Longest river in the Republic of Ireland and the British Isles. It rises on Cuilcagh Mountain in nw County Cavan and flows s through loughs Allen, Ree, and Derg, then s across the central plain of Ireland to Limerick, and w to enter the Atlantic Ocean between Loop Head and Kerry Head. The Shannon separates Connacht from the provinces of Leinster and Munster. Length: 370km (230mi).