Lough Allen () is a lake on the River Shannon in northeastern Connacht, Ireland. Most of the lake is in County Leitrim, from Ballinagleragh to Drumshanbo. The 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.
Ecology
Between , water quality was reported to be excellent with an oligotrophic rating. The pike population is the "native Irish strain" ( meaning 'Irish Pike') not the other European Pike strain ( meaning 'strange or foreign fish'). The ecology of Lough Allen, and other Irish waterways, remain threatened by curly waterweed, zebra mussel, and freshwater clam invasive species. 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.
History
Ironworks
Iron ore has been extracted at Slieve Anierin for millennia. 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. Extensive forests around Lough Allen before the 17th century were denuded to make charcoal for ironworks, 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.
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'. 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.
See also
- List of loughs in Ireland
- Slieve Anierin