Dowra () is a village and

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 orig ...

in northwest County Cavan,

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. Located in a valley on

Lough Allen Lough Allen () is a lake on the River Shannon in northeastern Connacht, Ireland. Most of the lake is in County Leitrim, with a smaller part in County Roscommon. The lake lies to the south of the River Shannon's source, near the Iron Mountains, ...

, it is the first village on, and marks the most uppermost navigable point of, the River Shannon. On one side of its bridge is County Cavan; on the other is

County Leitrim County Leitrim ( ; gle, Contae Liatroma) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Connacht and is part of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the village of Leitrim. Leitrim County Council is the local authority for the ...

. The nucleus of the village is situated on the Cavan side. It is located on the junction of the

R200 The R200 is the second generation of GPUs used in Radeon graphics cards and developed by ATI Technologies. This GPU features 3D acceleration based upon Microsoft Direct3D 8.1 and OpenGL 1.3, a major improvement in features and performance ...

and R207 regional roads.

Transport

Bus Éireann route 462 serves Dowra on Saturdays only linking it to

Drumkeeran Drumkeeran () is a village in County Leitrim, Ireland located at the junction of the R280 and R200 roads. It is situated in drumlin hills at the foot of Corry Mountain, just north of Lough Allen. History Throughout at least the 19th and 20th ...

Dromahair Dromahair () is a village in County Leitrim in the northern part of Connacht, the western province in Ireland. Dromahair is 10 km (6 mi) from Manorhamilton and 17 km (10 mi) from Sligo town. Geography Dromahair lies in the ...

and Sligo.

History

The village was formed in the late 19th century after another village close by, Tober, was washed away by landslides in the summer of 1863. Back in 1925, Dowra village comprised 18 houses, with 10 being licensed to sell alcohol. The remains of the

Black Pig's Dyke The Black Pig's Dyke ( ga, Claí na Muice Duibhe) or Worm's Ditch ( ga, Claí na Péiste) is a series of discontinuous linear earthworks in southwest Ulster and northeast Connacht, Ireland. Remnants can be found in north County Leitrim, north Co ...

can be seen outside the village. It is noted on the Ordnance Survey's Edition of 1911 Six-inch to One-mile map, 1/2 mile west of Dowra alongside the River Shannon (forming part of the Leitrim / Cavan border) - see Leitrim Sheet 5. It is again noted 3/4 mile downstream just below where the Owennayla River joins the Shannon on the east side of Canbeg Township, Co. Leitrim - see Leitrim Sheet 18.

Places of interest

The source of the River Shannon, known as the

Shannon Pot Shannon Pot () is a pool in the karst landscape in the townland of Derrylahan near Cuilcagh Mountain in County Cavan, Ireland. An aquifer-fed naturally fluctuating pool, it is the traditional source of the River Shannon. The pool itself is about ...

is located about 12 km (7 miles) to the north.

The Cavan Way The Cavan Way () is a long-distance trail in County Cavan, Ireland. It is long and begins in Blacklion and ends in Dowra. It is typically completed in one day. It is designated as a National Waymarked Trail by the National Trails Office of th ...

hiking trail starts in the village and the

Leitrim Way The Leitrim Way is a 56km long-distance trail between Leitrim village, and Manorhamilton County Leitrim, Ireland. This route is generally completed over 2–3 days, and brings walkers through a variety of landscape forms common to this beautiful ...

passes through it. The Miners' Way is nearby. Restoration of Dowra Courthouse was completed in 2014 with the new building opening as a Community Creative Arts Space.

Economy

The main industries in the locality are agriculture, forestry and construction. There is a livestock market held every Saturday.

Education

The local national school is in

, just across the bridge from the village centre.

Religion

The village church is located approximately 5 km north and is called the Church of the Immaculate Conception, Doobally. Image:An Damhshraith.jpg, Dowra - An Damhshraith Image:Dowra Bridge.jpg, Dowra Bridge - first town on the Shannon Image:The Shannon.jpg, The River Shannon immediately upstream of Dowra Bridge Image:Dowra - east.jpg, Looking across the bridge towards Leitrim Image:Dowra.jpg, Directions to everywhere Image:Dowra - in its entirety!.jpg, Dowra from above the old Garda barracks

References

{{River Shannon Towns and villages in County Cavan Townlands of County Cavan Populated places on the River Shannon