Rivers of Ireland

Shown here are all the major rivers and tributaries of Ireland with their lengths (in kilometres and miles). Starting with the Northern Ireland rivers, and going in a clockwise direction, the rivers (and tributaries) are listed in regard to their entry into the different seas: the Irish Sea, the Celtic Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Also shown are two tables. Table 1 shows the longest rivers in Ireland with their lengths (in kilometres and miles), the counties they flow through, and their catchment areas (in square kilometres). Table 2 shows the largest rivers in Ireland (by mean flow) in cubic metres per second.

frame|right|Some of the larger or better-known rivers of Ireland are shown on this map ([[:Image:Ireland physical large.png|large version).]]

The longest river in Ireland is the River Shannon, at . The river develops into three lakes along its course, Lough Allen, Lough Ree and Lough Derg. Of these, Lough Derg is the largest. The Shannon enters the Atlantic Ocean at the Shannon Estuary. Other major rivers include the River Liffey, River Lee, River Swilly, River Foyle, River Lagan, River Erne, River Blackwater, River Nore, River Suir, River Barrow (The Three Sisters), River Bann, River Slaney, River Boyne, River Moy and River Corrib.

Longest Irish Rivers (with Basin areas)

Lengths obtained from the Ordnance Survey of Ireland: Rivers and their Catchment Basins 1958 (Table of Reference), and for the rivers Bann and Erne – Notes on River Basins by Robert A. Williams

{| class="wikitable"

|-

!

! River

! Counties

! Length

! Basin Area

|-

! 1

| River Shannon (including estuary and flow through lakes)^a

| Cavan, Leitrim, Roscommon, Longford, Westmeath, Galway, Offaly, Tipperary, Clare, Limerick, Kerry

| 360 km (224 mi)

| 16,800 km²

|-

! 2

| River Barrow^b

| Laois, Kildare, Kilkenny, Carlow, Wexford, Waterford

| 192 km (119 mi)

| 3,067 km²

|-

! 6

| River Nore^b

| Tipperary, Laois, Kilkenny

| 140 km (87 mi)

| 2,530 km²

|-

! 8

| River Liffey

| Wicklow, Kildare, Dublin

| 132 km (82 mi)

| 1,256 km²

|-

! 15

| River Blackwater (Ulster) (Bann) ^c

| Tyrone, Monaghan, Armagh

| 92 km (57 mi)

| 1,507 km²

|-

! 22

| River Bandon

| Cork

| 72 km (45 mi)

| 608 km² 11 km (7 mi) longer than the Shannon Pot source.

• The River Shannon's overall length (to Loop Head), using the Boyle River's furthest source, is , making the Boyle-Shannon river the longest natural stream flow (source to sea) in Ireland, 31.6 km (19.5 mi) longer than the Shannon Pot source.
• The River Shannon is a traditional freshwater river for just about 45% of its total length. Excluding the tidal estuary from its total length of , if one also excludes the lakes (L. Derg , L. Ree , L. Allen plus L. Boderg, L. Bofin, L. Forbes, L. Corry) from the Shannon's freshwater flow of , the Shannon as a freshwater river is only about long.

b

• The total basin area of the Three Sisters (Barrow, Nore and Suir) is 9,207 km².

c

• The traditional length given for the River Bann is 80 miles (129 km) which is the combined total length of Upper and Lower Bann rivers and doesn't include Lough Neagh.
• The total length of the Ulster Blackwater from its source to the sea via L. Neagh and the Lower Bann is 186.3 km (115.75 mi), surpassed, in Ireland, only by the Shannon and Barrow rivers. This is the longest stream flow (source to sea) in Ulster.

d

• The total basin area of the 6 km River Corrib is 3,138 km² This is the longest stream flow (source to sea) within the Corrib Basin.^b

| 92 (102.5)

|-

! 4

| River Foyle

| 90

|-

! 5

| River Blackwater (Munster) (Corrib)

| 37.6

|-

! 16

| River Feale (Shannon)

| 34.6

|-

! 17

| River Fergus (Corrib)

| 22.9

|-

! 19

| River Suck (Corrib)

| 15.0

|-

! 32

| Owenmore River (County Mayo) are added to the discharge at Limerick giving a total catchment of 16,865 km², the total discharge of the River Shannon at its mouth at Loop Head reaches 300 m³/s

^b The River Bann's 92 m³/s is to Movanagher Gauging station (Basin area 5209.8 km²). The 102.5 m³/s is based on the total basin area of 5808 km²

• River Blackwater
• Owenmore River (County Cavan)