Lough Funshinagh () is a lake and

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 ...

County Roscommon "Steadfast Irish heart" , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Roscommon.svg , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Ireland , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Connacht , subdi ...

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 ...

, found to the west of

Lough Ree Lough Ree () is a lake in the midlands of Ireland, the second of the three major lakes on the River Shannon. Lough Ree is the second largest lake on the Shannon after Lough Derg. The other two major lakes are Lough Allen to the north, and Lou ...

. It has been called ''Ireland's amazing disappearing lake'', due to the way it empties quickly - in as little as two days - and unpredictably, sometimes killing thousands of fish. Lough Funshinagh is one of a number of seasonal lakes, or turlough, found in the

karst Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathering-resistant ro ...

areas of Ireland, west 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 Shan ...

2016 flood event

Prior to 2016 the lake drained through a swallow hole, now blocked, which caused the lake to double its surface area. In March 2022 plans to drain the lake by constructing a 2.5-mile (4km) pipeline to the River Shannon were halted when the Friends of the Irish Environment obtained an injunction, halting the work on the grounds that no

environmental impact assessment Environmental Impact assessment (EIA) is the assessment of the environmental consequences of a plan, policy, program, or actual projects prior to the decision to move forward with the proposed action. In this context, the term "environmental imp ...

had been carried out. Houses near to the lake are now protected by sandbags. Since the 2016 flood there has been a decline in the number Bewick’s swans, whooper swans and

curlews The curlews () are a group of nine species of birds in the genus ''Numenius'', characterised by their long, slender, downcurved bills and mottled brown plumage. The English name is imitative of the Eurasian curlew's call, but may have been i ...

found in the area surrounding the lake.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Funshinagh, Lough Lakes of County Roscommon

2016 flood event

See also

References