The Figile River (; ga, Abhainn Fhiodh Gaibhle) is a river in eastern Ireland.

Name

The earliest recorded name is ''Fidgable''/''Fid nGabli'', meaning "Gabul's Wood", recorded in the

Book of Leinster The Book of Leinster ( mga, Lebor Laignech , LL) is a medieval Irish manuscript compiled c. 1160 and now kept in Trinity College, Dublin, under the shelfmark MS H 2.18 (cat. 1339). It was formerly known as the ''Lebor na Nuachongbála'' "Book ...

and the

Metrical Dindshenchas ''Dindsenchas'' or ''Dindshenchas'' (modern spellings: ''Dinnseanchas'' or ''Dinnsheanchas'' or ''Dınnṡeanċas''), meaning "lore of places" (the modern Irish word ''dinnseanchas'' means "topography"), is a class of onomastic text in early Irish ...

, both c. 1160. It is also mentioned in

Buile Shuibhne ''Buile Shuibhne'' or ''Buile Suibne'' (, ''The Madness of Suibhne'' or ''Suibhne's Frenzy'') is a medieval Irish tale about Suibhne mac Colmáin, king of the Dál nAraidi, who was driven insane by the curse of Saint Rónán Finn. The insanity ma ...

("Suibhne's Frenzy", 12th century) as ''Fiodh Gaibhle'', a site of refuge for the maddened Suibhne where he lived for a year, eating

holly ''Ilex'' (), or holly, is a genus of over 570 species of flowering plants in the family Aquifoliaceae, and the only living genus in that family. ''Ilex'' has the most species of any woody dioecious angiosperm genus. The species are evergreen o ...

berries and

acorn The acorn, or oaknut, is the nut of the oaks and their close relatives (genera ''Quercus'' and '' Lithocarpus'', in the family Fagaceae). It usually contains one seed (occasionally two seeds), enclosed in a tough, leathery shell, and borne ...

s and drinking from ''uisci na Gabhla'' ("Gabul's waters"). The Anglicisation ''Fegowly'' first appears in the 17th century, becoming ''Feagile'' on Alex Taylor's 1783 map and ''Figile'' on the 1843

Ordnance Survey , nativename_a = , nativename_r = , logo = Ordnance Survey 2015 Logo.svg , logo_width = 240px , logo_caption = , seal = , seal_width = , seal_caption = , picture = , picture_width = , picture_caption = , formed = , preceding1 = , di ...

map. It was here that

Fionn Mac Cumhaill Fionn mac Cumhaill ( ; Old and mga, Find or ''mac Cumail'' or ''mac Umaill''), often anglicized Finn McCool or MacCool, is a hero in Irish mythology, as well as in later Scottish and Manx folklore. He is leader of the ''Fianna'' bands of ...

is said to have been concealed by his mother Muirne from his family's enemies and brought up by her sisters deep in the woods after the killing of his father.

Course

The Figile River begins at the union of the Crabtree and Cushaling rivers, near the

County Kildare County Kildare ( ga, Contae Chill Dara) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the county, ...

County Offaly County Offaly (; ga, Contae Uíbh Fhailí) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe. It was formerly known as King's County, in hono ...

border. It meets the Black River tributary and continues northwest, crossing and recrossing the bog railway. It crosses under the R401 at the Kilcumber Bridge, a triple-arch masonry bridge, built c. 1790. The Figile continues south, meeting the Philipstown River outside Clonbulloge. It is bridged by the R442 at Saint Patrick's Bridge and flows on southwards, passing under the R442 again near Millgrove House. The Figile passes under the R419 west of

Bracknagh Bracknagh or Bracnagh () is a small village in County Offaly, Ireland. It is at the junction of the R442 and R419 regional roads, halfway between Portarlington and Rathangan (8 km from both). It is thought that the settlement began wi ...

and flows on southeast where it is joined by the Slate River and the

Cushina River Cushina () is a townland in County Offaly on the Cushina River at the junction of the R400 and R419 regional roads. It is 4 km north of Portarlington. See also * List of townlands of County Offaly This is a sortable table of the ...

before entering

at Pollagorteen. It continues southward through Clogheen and forms part of the

County Laois County Laois ( ; gle, Contae Laoise) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and in the province of Leinster. It was known as Queen's County from 1556 to 1922. The modern county takes its name from Loígis, a medie ...

-County Kildare border, draining into the

River Barrow The Barrow ( ga, An Bhearú) is a river in Ireland. It is one of The Three Sisters; the other two being the River Suir and the River Nore. The Barrow is the longest of the three rivers, and at 192 km (120 mi), the second-longest ri ...

at Passlands, just north of

Monasterevin Monasterevin (), also Monasterevan, and Mevin is a town in County Kildare, Ireland. The town lies on the River Barrow and the Barrowline, a canal branch of the Grand Canal. The population was 4,246 at the 2016 Census. Location and Access Situ ...

Wildlife

The Figile is known as a

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 ...

common bream The common bream, freshwater bream, bream, bronze bream, carp bream or sweaty bream (''Abramis brama''), is a European species of freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae. It is now considered to be the only species in the genus ''Abramis''. ...

common rudd The common rudd (''Scardinius erythrophthalmus'') is a bentho-pelagic freshwater fish, widely spread in Europe and middle Asia, around the basins of the North, Baltic, Black, Caspian and Aral seas. Identification Morphologically, this species ...

, common roach and

northern pike The northern pike (''Esox lucius'') is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus '' Esox'' (the pikes). They are typical of brackish and fresh waters of the Northern Hemisphere (''i.e.'' holarctic in distribution). They are known simply as a ...

fishery.

References

{{coord, 53, 09, N, 7, 05, W, display=title, region:IE_type:river_source:GNS-enwiki Rivers of County Kildare Rivers of County Laois Rivers of County Offaly