Doo Lough () is a

freshwater Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the term specifically excludes seawater and brackish water, it does include ...

lake in the west of Ireland. It is located in southwest

County Mayo County Mayo (; ga, Contae Mhaigh Eo, meaning "Plain of the Taxus baccata, yew trees") is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Conn ...

on the

Murrisk Murrisk () is a village in County Mayo, Ireland, on the south side of Clew Bay, about 8 km west of Westport and 4 km east of Lecanvey. Murrisk lies at the foot of Croagh Patrick and is the starting-point for pilgrims who visit the m ...

peninsula.

Geography

Doo Lough measures about long and wide. It lies about southwest of Westport near the village of

Delphi Delphi (; ), in legend previously called Pytho (Πυθώ), in ancient times was a sacred precinct that served as the seat of Pythia, the major oracle who was consulted about important decisions throughout the ancient classical world. The oracle ...

. The lake runs in a narrow northwest to southeast direction, and is overlooked by the long ridge of

Ben Lugmore ) corrie (left) , elevation_m = 803 , elevation_ref = , prominence_m = 158 , prominence_ref = , listing = 100 Highest Irish Mountains, Marilyn, Hewitt, Arderin, Simm, Vandeleur-Lynam , location = Mayo, Ireland , range = Mweelrea , ...

, on its southwest shores, and by

Barrclashcame Barrclashcame () is a 772 m (2,533 ft) mountain in County Mayo, Ireland. Geography The mountain is in the townland of Clashcame and is the highest peak of the Sheeffry Hills. A short distance to the northwest is the peak called Barr ...

on its northeast shores. At its southeast head, lies the

massif In geology, a massif ( or ) is a section of a planet's crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures. In the movement of the crust, a massif tends to retain its internal structure while being displaced as a whole. The term also refers to a ...

of Ben Gorm . A notable feature on its northwestern head it the deep corrie of

Lug More ) corrie (left) , elevation_m = 803 , elevation_ref = , prominence_m = 158 , prominence_ref = , listing = 100 Highest Irish Mountains, Marilyn, Hewitt, Arderin, Simm, Vandeleur-Lynam , location = Mayo, Ireland , range = Mweelrea , ...

(or ga, Coum Dubh), from which the Glencullin River feeds into the neighboring Lough Glencullin (the bottom of the corrie is also called the Glencullin valley). Surrounding the corrie is the long ridge of Ben Lugmore and its several subsidiary summits, Ben Lugmore East Top , and Ben Lugmore West Top ; while cutting across the headwall (from bottom left to upper right), is grenn grassy feature known as ''The Ramp'', which is used by climbers to gain the ridge of Ben Lugmore from the shores of Doo Lough.

Hydrology

Doo Lough is one of a set of connected lakes near Delphi. Glencullin Lough flows into Doo Lough, which in turn flows into Fin Lough via the Owengarr River. Fin Lough in turn drains into

Killary Harbour Killary Harbour or Killary Fjord () is a fjord or fjard on the west coast of Ireland, in northern Connemara. To its north is County Mayo and the mountains of Mweelrea and Ben Gorm; to its south is County Galway and the Maumturk Mountains. Str ...

via the Bundorragha River.

Natural history

Fish species in Doo Lough include

brown trout The brown trout (''Salmo trutta'') is a European species of salmonid fish that has been widely introduced into suitable environments globally. It includes purely freshwater populations, referred to as the riverine ecotype, ''Salmo trutta'' morph ...

sea trout Sea trout is the common name usually applied to anadromous (sea-run) forms of brown trout (''Salmo trutta''), and is often referred to as ''Salmo trutta'' morpha ''trutta''. Other names for anadromous brown trout are sewin (Wales), peel or peal ...

perch Perch is a common name for fish of the genus ''Perca'', freshwater gamefish belonging to the family Percidae. The perch, of which three species occur in different geographical areas, lend their name to a large order of vertebrates: the Percif ...

salmon Salmon () is the common name for several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family (biology), family Salmonidae, which are native to tributary, tributaries of the ...

Arctic char The Arctic char or Arctic charr (''Salvelinus alpinus'') is a cold-water fish in the family Salmonidae, native to alpine lakes and arctic and subarctic coastal waters. Its distribution is Circumpolar North. It spawns in freshwater and populatio ...

three-spined stickleback The three-spined stickleback (''Gasterosteus aculeatus'') is a fish native to most inland and coastal waters north of 30°N. It has long been a subject of scientific study for many reasons. It shows great morphological variation throughout its ra ...

and the critically endangered

European eel The European eel (''Anguilla anguilla'') is a species of eel, a snake-like, catadromous fish. They are normally around and rarely reach more than , but can reach a length of up to in exceptional cases. Eels have been important sources of fo ...

. The lake is part of the Mweelrea/Sheeffry/Erriff Complex

Special Area of Conservation A Special Area of Conservation (SAC) is defined in the European Union's Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC), also known as the ''Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora''. They are to protect the 220 habitats and ap ...

Famine memorial

The northern end of Doo Lough is the site of a stone

Celtic cross The Celtic cross is a form of Christian cross featuring a nimbus or ring that emerged in Ireland, France and Great Britain in the Early Middle Ages. A type of ringed cross, it became widespread through its use in the stone high crosses er ...

which was erected as a memorial to the 1849

Doolough Tragedy The Doolough Tragedy is an event that took place during the Great Irish Famine close to Doo Lough (Mayo), Doo Lough in southwest County Mayo. At least seven (and perhaps 20 or significantly more) starving people died after being "forced to walk ...

Gallery

File:Ben Lugmore and Doo Lough from the south ridge of Barrclashcame.jpg, Full ridge of Ben Lugmore, viewed from across Doo Lough, on

File:Ben Lugmore and Lug More corrie (Coum Dubh) from Doo Lough Pass (Glencullin Valley) 1.jpg, Looking into the corrie of

( ga, Coum Dubh), and the headwall of

, with ''The Ramp'' running diagonally across the face. File:Mweelrea (back left), and Ben Lugmore (centre), from summit of Ben Gorm.jpg,

Mweelrea Mweelrea (; ) at , is the 26th-highest peak in Ireland on the Arderin scale, and the 34th-highest peak on the Vandeleur-Lynam scale.Mountainviews, (September 2013), "A Guide to Ireland's Mountain Summits: The Vandeleur-Lynams & the Arderins", C ...

(back left), and

(centre), and Doo Lough (right), from summit of Ben Gorm File:Doo Lough Valley - panoramio.jpg, Looking southeast from the top of Doo Lough towards the massif of Ben Gorm File:Famine Memorial, Doo Lough, County Mayo. Ireland.jpg, Famine Memorial

References

{{Reflist, refs = {{cite web , url = http://www.logainm.ie/en/114180 , title = Dúloch/Doo Lough , work =

Placenames Database of Ireland The Placenames Database of Ireland ( ga, Bunachar Logainmneacha na hÉireann), also known as , is a database and archive of place names in Ireland. It was created by Fiontar, Dublin City University in collaboration with the Placenames Branch of t ...

, publisher = Government of Ireland - Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht and

Dublin City University Dublin City University (abbreviated as DCU) ( ga, Ollscoil Chathair Bhaile Átha Cliath) is a university based on the Northside of Dublin, Ireland. Created as the ''National Institute for Higher Education, Dublin'' in 1975, it enrolled its f ...

, access-date = 3 January 2016 {{Google maps , url = https://www.google.com/maps/place/Doo+Lough,+Co.+Mayo,+Ireland/@53.6510423,-9.7806554,14z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x485a2adda03d7bf1:0x3f92de86dcc70a85?hl=en , title = Doo Lough , access-date = 3 January 2016 {{cite report , last1 = Free , first1 = Gary , last2 = Little , first2 = Ruth , last3 = Tierney , first3 = Deirdre , last4 = Donnelly , first4 = Karol , last5 = Caroni , first5 = Rossana , name-list-style = amp , url = https://www.epa.ie/publications/research/water/Final-Report-(2000-FS1-M1).pdf#page=17 , title = A Reference Based Typology and Ecological Assessment System for Irish Lakes , date = 2006 , pages = 11 , publisher =

Environmental Protection Agency (Ireland) The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is responsible for protecting and improving the environment as a valuable asset for the people of Ireland. It operates independently under the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications. Hi ...

, access-date = 11 October 2022 {{cite web , url = http://wfdfish.ie/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Doo_report_2012.pdf , title = Water Framework Directive Fish Stock Survey of Doo Lough , publisher = Inland Fisheries Ireland , date = October 2012 , access-date = 3 January 2016 {{cite web , url = http://www.npws.ie/sites/default/files/protected-sites/synopsis/SY001932.pdf , title = Mweelrea/Sheeffry/Erriff Complex SAC , publisher =

National Parks and Wildlife Service (Ireland) The National Parks and Wildlife Service () manages the Irish State's nature conservation responsibilities. As well as managing the national parks, the activities of the NPWS include the designation and protection of Natural Heritage Areas, Special ...