Lough Funshinagh

Lough Funshinagh (Irish: Loch Fuinseann, meaning 'lake of the ash tree')[1] is a lake and Special Area of Conservation in County Roscommon, Ireland, found to the west of Lough Ree.[2][3][4] It has been called Ireland's amazing disappearing lake,[2] due to the way it empties quickly - in as little as two days - and unpredictably, sometimes killing thousands of fish.[5] Lough Funshinagh is one of a number of seasonal lakes, or turlough, found in the karst areas of Ireland, west of the River Shannon.[6]

Lough Funshinagh
Lough Funshinagh is located in Ireland
Lough Funshinagh
Lough Funshinagh
LocationCounty Roscommon, Ireland
Coordinates53.509832°N 8.098922°W / 53.509832; -8.098922
Native nameLoch Fuinseann (Irish)
Basin countriesIreland
Surface area3.8 km2 (1.5 sq mi)
Surface elevation67 m (220 ft)
IslandsRed Island, Inchnadarra, Inchihiceley

2016 flood event

Prior to 2016 the lake drained through a swallow hole, now blocked, which caused the lake to double its surface area. In March 2022 plans to drain the lake by constructing a 2.5-mile (4km) pipeline to the River Shannon were halted when the Friends of the Irish Environment obtained an injunction, halting the work on the grounds that no environmental impact assessment had been carried out. Houses near to the lake are now protected by sandbags. Since the 2016 flood there has been a decline in the number Bewick’s swans, whooper swans and curlews found in the area surrounding the lake.[6]

See also

References
  1. "Loch Fuinseann/Lough Funshinagh". Placenames Database of Ireland (logainm.ie). Government of Ireland - Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht and Dublin City University. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
  2. Jane Walsh (8 June 2015). "The mystery of the disappearing Irish lake". IrishCentral.
  3. "The Geological Heritage of Roscommon" (PDF).
  4. "Loch Fuinseann/Lough Funshinagh". logainm.ie.
  5. "Many fish die as lake falls quickly". The Irish Times. 29 August 1996. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
  6. O'Carroll, Lisa (29 March 2022). "'Nobody knows what happened': the row over the non-vanishing Irish lake". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
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