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 County Cavan ( ; gle, Contae an Chabháin) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Ulster and is part of the Border Region. It is named after the town of Cavan and is based on the historic Gaelic territory of East Breffny (''Bréifn ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

. Located in a valley on Lough Allen, it is the first village on, and marks the most uppermost navigable point of, the

River Shannon The River Shannon ( ga, Abhainn na Sionainne, ', '), at in length, is the longest river in the British Isles. It drains the Shannon River Basin, which has an area of , – approximately one fifth of the area of the island of Ireland. The Sha ...

. On one side of its bridge is

; 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 Bus Éireann (; "Irish Bus") is a state-owned bus and coach operator providing services throughout Ireland, with the exception of Dublin and the Greater Dublin Area, where bus services are provided by sister company Dublin Bus. It is a subsidi ...

route 462 serves Dowra on Saturdays only linking it to Drumkeeran,

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 th ...

and

Sligo Sligo ( ; ga, Sligeach , meaning 'abounding in shells') is a coastal seaport and the county town of County Sligo, Ireland, within the western province of Connacht. With a population of approximately 20,000 in 2016, it is the largest urban ce ...

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 Alcohol most commonly refers to: * Alcohol (chemistry), an organic compound in which a hydroxyl group is bound to a carbon atom * Alcohol (drug), an intoxicant found in alcoholic drinks Alcohol may also refer to: Chemicals * Ethanol, one of sev ...

. The remains of the Black Pig's Dyke 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

, known as the Shannon Pot is located about 12 km (7 miles) to the north. The Cavan Way hiking trail starts in the village and the Leitrim Way 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