Carrowmore Lake () is situated in the parishes of Belmullet,

Kiltane Kiltane ( Irish: ''Cill tSéadhna'') is a parish in Erris, North County Mayo, Ireland. Origins Kiltane derives its name from Cill tSéadhna, or Seadhna's church, which was in the townland of Kiltane by the banks of the Owenmore River. The name ...

and

Kilcommon Kilcommon ( ga, Cill Chomáin) is a civil parish in Erris, north Mayo consisting of two large peninsulas; Dún Chaocháin and Dún Chiortáin. It consists of 37 townlands, some of which are so remote that they have no inhabitants. Habitatio ...

Erris Erris is a barony in northwestern County Mayo in Ireland consisting of over , much of which is mountainous blanket bog. It has extensive sea coasts along its west and north boundaries. The main towns are Belmullet and Bangor Erris. The name ...

, County Mayo between the villages of

Bangor Erris Bangor Erris () is a town in Kiltane parish in Erris, County Mayo, Ireland with a population of over 300. It is on the banks of the Owenmore River and is a "gateway" to the Erris Peninsula linking Belmullet with Ballina and Westport. It is ...

and Barnatra at the southern end of

Broadhaven Bay Broadhaven Bay ( ga, Cnocán na Líne) is a natural bay of the Atlantic Ocean on the northwestern coast of County Mayo, Ireland. The opening of the bay faces northward, stretching 8.6 km between Erris Head in the west and Kid Island/Oileá ...

. The freshwater lake is over long and almost wide at its widest point.

Glencullen Glencullen () is a village and townland in the county of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown in south County Dublin, Ireland. It is also the name of the valley above one end of which the village sits, and from which it takes its name, and is on the R ...

's two townlands line its eastern shore and Rathmorgan and the Knocknascollop mountains rise up along its western shores. Carrowmore is not a deep lake and it provides the drinking water for the whole of the Erris area. It is fed by the Carrowmore River and drains into the Owenmore River on its way to Blacksod Bay. The lake is designated as a S.P.A. (Birds directive) in E.U. law and also as 000476 Complex S.A.C. (Special Area of Conservation). It is an oligotrophic/mesotrophic lake with a substrate of Dalradian

schist Schist ( ) is a medium-grained metamorphic rock showing pronounced schistosity. This means that the rock is composed of mineral grains easily seen with a low-power hand lens, oriented in such a way that the rock is easily split into thin flakes ...

s and pale

quartzite Quartzite is a hard, non- foliated metamorphic rock which was originally pure quartz sandstone.Essentials of Geology, 3rd Edition, Stephen Marshak, p 182 Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tec ...

. Its shorelines are dominated by blanket bog mainly but there are many houses, mainly linear in layout, along both sides of its shores. Its catchment area includes the townland of Bellanaboy in

where the contentious Corrib Gas refinery is situated.

Archaeology

There are many islands in the lake. Some of these are thought to have been

crannogs A crannog (; ga, crannóg ; gd, crannag ) is typically a partially or entirely artificial island, usually built in lakes and estuarine waters of Scotland, Wales, and Ireland. Unlike the prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps, which were b ...

in use as lake fortifications through from the

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostl ...

to as late as the 17th century. The fort of Rathmorgan on the mountain at the south west corner of the lake is the site of the

Táin Bó Flidhais ''Táin Bó Flidhais'', also known as the ''Mayo Táin'', is a tale from the Ulster Cycle of early Irish literature. It is one of a group of works known as Táin Bó, or "cattle raid" stories, the best known of which is '' Táin Bó Cúailnge' ...

cattle raid on Erris from Cruachan in

Tulsk Tulsk () is a village in County Roscommon, Ireland, on the N5 national primary road between Strokestown and Bellanagare. It is 19 km north of Roscommon town. Heritage Near Tulsk is Cruachan, an Iron Age (Gaelic) royal palace. As recou ...

, Co. Roscommon, a tale from the

cycle of folklore. George W. Russell ("Æ") wrote a poem about Carrowmore Lake.

References

{{reflist Lakes of County Mayo Gaeltacht places in County Mayo