The Clady River (

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

: ''An Chláidigh'', meaning 'the One Who Washes' or 'the Strong-Flowing One'Patrick McKay, ''A Dictionary of Ulster Place-Names'', p. 41. The Institute of Irish Studies,

The Queen's University of Belfast , mottoeng = For so much, what shall we give back? , top_free_label = , top_free = , top_free_label1 = , top_free1 = , top_free_label2 = , top_free2 = , established = , closed = , type = Public research university , parent = ...

, Belfast, 1999.) is a small river in

Gweedore Gweedore ( ; officially known by its Irish language name, ) is an Irish-speaking district and parish located on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of County Donegal in the north-west of Ireland. Gweedore stretches some from Glasserchoo in the ...

(Irish: ''Gaoth Dobhair''), a district in the north-west of

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ga, Contae Dhún na nGall) is a county of Ireland in the province of Ulster and in the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Donegal in the south of the county. It has also been known as County Tyrconne ...

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...

, the northern

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

in Ireland.''Discovery Series'' Sheet 1 (Fourth Edition).

Ordnance Survey of Ireland Ordnance Survey Ireland (OSI; ga, Suirbhéireacht Ordanáis Éireann) is the national mapping agency of Ireland. It was established on 4 March 2002 as a body corporate. It is the successor to the former Ordnance Survey of Ireland. It and the ...

(O.S.I.),

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, 2012.Angling Ireland: The Rivers Clady & Crolly (Gweedore). https://fishinginireland.info/salmon/north/clady-crolly/ The river flows entirely within the

Civil Parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

of Tullaghobegly.

Course

The Clady River flows out of the western end of Lower Lough Nacung (

: ''Loch na Cuinge Íochtarach'') in

. Lower Lough Nacung is immediately north-west of Upper Lough Nacung (Irish: ''Loch na Cuinge Uachtarach''). The Clady River mainly flows in a west-north-westerly direction for its entire course, flowing into the Crolly River (Irish: ''Abhainn Chroithlí''Patrick McKay, ''A Dictionary of Ulster Place-Names'', p. 50 and p. 80. The Institute of Irish Studies,

, Belfast, 1999.), also known as the Gweedore River, on the south-western outskirts of

Bunbeg ''An Bun Beag'' (anglicised as Bunbeg), meaning "the small river mouth", is a small Gaeltacht village and townland in County Donegal, Ireland. It is officially the smallest townland in ''Gaoth Dobhair'' (Gweedore), but today the name Bunbeg is ...

(Irish: ''An Bun Beag''). The river enters the Crolly River beside Bunbeg

Quay A wharf, quay (, also ), staith, or staithe is a structure on the shore of a harbour or on the bank of a river or canal where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers. Such a structure includes one or more berths (mooring location ...

, very near the Crolly River's mouth. This part of the Crolly River is known as ''An Gaoth'' ('The Inlet' or 'The Estuary'), and is effectively an inlet of the

North Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Africa, Europe and ...

. The Clady River is about 5

miles The mile, sometimes the international mile or statute mile to distinguish it from other miles, is a British imperial unit and United States customary unit of distance; both are based on the older English unit of length equal to 5,280 English ...

(around 8

kilometres The kilometre ( SI symbol: km; or ), spelt kilometer in American English, is a unit of length in the International System of Units (SI), equal to one thousand metres (kilo- being the SI prefix for ). It is now the measurement unit used for ex ...

) in length. The N56 crosses the Clady River near its source, crossing it very near the western end of Lower Lough Nacung. The R257 crosses the river at Clady Bridge in Bunbeg. Almost all of the R258 runs alongside the Clady River, this road running along the river's right bank, from near the river's source to its mouth at Bunbeg Quay.

Hydroelectric scheme

In the second half of the 1950s, the E.S.B. built a

hydroelectric Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and ...

power station in

. ESB Archives: River Clady. https://esbarchives.ie/portfolio/river-clady/amp/ N.I.A.H.: Clady Hydroelectric Station, Arduns, Gweedore, Donegal. https://www.buildingsofireland.ie/buildings-search/building/40817003/clady-hydroelectric-power-station-dore-gweedore-donegal The power station, officially called Clady Power Station, is located in the

townland A townland ( ga, baile fearainn; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a small geographical division of land, historically and currently used in Ireland and in the Western Isles in Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of Gaelic origi ...

of Dore, and is just under two miles south-west of where the Clady River leaves Lower Lough Nacung.Dore Townland. https://www.townlands.ie/kilmacrenan/tullaghobegly/magheraclogher/dore/ The station is powered by water diverted from the Clady River. A '

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flow un ...

' was built to carry the diverted water from the river, as it flowed out of Lower Lough Nacung, to the power station. The 'canal' branches off from the Clady River at the Gweedore

Weir A weir or low head dam is a barrier across the width of a river that alters the flow characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the river level. Weirs are also used to control the flow of water for outlets of l ...

. The 'spent water' from Clady Power Station then flows directly into the Crolly River, also known as the Gweedore River. This power station, which was built between 1954 and 1959, remains in use today.

References

{{reflist Rivers of Ireland