Rockfield Lake (

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

: ''Loch Pháirc na Carraige'', meaning 'Lough of the Field of Rocks'Loughnafin or Rockfield Townland, Co. Cavan. https://www.townlands.ie/cavan/tullyhunco/killashandra/springfield/loughnafin-or-rockfield/ ), also known as Rockfield Lough, is a

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

lough ''Loch'' () is the Scottish Gaelic, Scots and Irish word for a lake or sea inlet. It is cognate with the Manx lough, Cornish logh, and one of the Welsh words for lake, llwch. In English English and Hiberno-English, the anglicised spelling ...

situated between Carrigallen and

Killeshandra Killeshandra or Killashandra (), is a village in County Cavan, Ireland. It is northwest of Cavan Town in the centre of County Cavan's lakeland and geopark region and the Erne catchment environment of rivers, lakes, wetlands and woodland. Toge ...

, two small towns on the northern edge of the Midlands in Ireland.''Discovery Series'' Sheet 27A (3rd Edition).

Ordnance Survey of Ireland Ordnance Survey Ireland (OSI; ga, Suirbhéireacht Ordanáis Éireann) is the national mapping agency of Ireland. It was established on 4 March 2002 as a body corporate. It is the successor to the former Ordnance Survey of Ireland. It and the ...

(O.S.I.),

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, 2012.''Discovery Series'' Sheet 34 (5th Edition).

(O.S.I.),

, 2021.Angling Ireland: Pike angling in Rockfield Lough. https://fishinginireland.info/pike/north/rockfield/ Active Irish Angling: Rockfield Lake, Carrigallen. https://www.activeirishangling.com/angling-centres/leitrim-angling/rockfield-lake-carrigallen/ Part of the lake is in

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 ...

, which is part of the

Province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

Connacht Connacht ( ; ga, Connachta or ), is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, Conmhaícne, and Delbhn ...

, while most of the lake is in

County Cavan County Cavan ( ; gle, Contae an Chabháin) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is part of the Border Region. It is named after the town of Cavan and is base ...

, which is part of the Province of

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...

. This means that the

provincial Provincial may refer to: Government & Administration * Provincial capitals, an administrative sub-national capital of a country * Provincial city (disambiguation) * Provincial minister (disambiguation) * Provincial Secretary, a position in Can ...

boundary between Connacht and Ulster runs through the lough. The Cullies River (

: ''An Abhainn Dubh'', meaning 'the Black River') flows through Rockfield Lake, entering the lake at its southern end and flowing out of the lake at its north-western end. This small river flows from nearby Cullies Lake, and flows on, via Drumhart Lake, through Rockfield Lake to Glasshouse Lake. Rockfield Lake covers about 94

acres The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial and US customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one chain by one furlong (66 by 660 feet), which is exactly equal to 10 square chains, of a square mile, 4,840 square ya ...

(around 38

hectares The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), or 10,000 m2, and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre is ab ...

) and is just over 36

feet The foot ( : feet) is an anatomical structure found in many vertebrates. It is the terminal portion of a limb which bears weight and allows locomotion. In many animals with feet, the foot is a separate organ at the terminal part of the leg made ...

(just over 11

metres The metre (British spelling) or meter (American spelling; see spelling differences) (from the French unit , from the Greek noun , "measure"), symbol m, is the primary unit of length in the International System of Units (SI), though its prefi ...

) deep at its deepest point, this point being at the southern end of the lake. The surface elevation of the lake is 154 feet or 47 metres.

Location

Rockfield Lake is situated where South-East Leitrim meets the western part of County Cavan. It is located in the middle of a 'triangle' framed by the following small towns:

, a few miles to the north-east; Carrigallen, about 2½ miles to the west; and

Arvagh Arvagh (), or Arva, is a village in County Cavan, Ireland, on the shores of Garty Lough and overlooked by Bruse Mountain. It is located on the junction of the R198 road (Ireland), R198 and R203 road (Ireland), R203 Regional road (Ireland), regio ...

, a few miles to the south. The County Leitrim part of the lake lies within both the

Barony Barony may refer to: * Barony, the peerage, office of, or territory held by a baron * Barony, the title and land held in fealty by a feudal baron * Barony (county division), a type of administrative or geographical division in parts of the British ...

of Carrigallen and the

Civil Parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

of Carrigallen, while the County Cavan part of the lake lies within both the Barony of

Tullyhunco Tullyhunco () is a barony in County Cavan, Ireland. It comprises the civil parishes of Kildallan, Killeshandra and Scrabby. Location Tullyhunco is located in western County Cavan. It borders County Leitrim to the west and County Longford to th ...

and the Civil Parish of Killeshandra. The main Killeshandra-to-Carrigallen road, which is part of the R201, runs just to the north of Rockfield Lake. This road passes over Kilbracken Bridge, a stone bridge which straddles the

border. Kilbracken Bridge, which crosses the Cullies River, is a short distance north-west of Rockfield Lake. The lake lies within three

townlands 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 origi ...

, one of which is in County Leitrim, the other two being in County Cavan. The entire east and north-east of the lake lies within the townland of Rockfield, also known as Loughnafin, which is part of County Cavan. Most of the northern part of the lake lies within the townland of Portlongfield, also part of County Cavan.Portlongfield Townland, Co. Cavan. https://www.townlands.ie/cavan/tullyhunco/killashandra/springfield/portlongfield/ The western and south-western part of the lake lies within the townland of Aghavore, which is part of County Leitrim.Aghavore Townland, Co. Leitrim. https://www.townlands.ie/leitrim/carrigallen/carrigallen/carrigallen-east/aghavore/

Access and angling

The easiest public access to Rockfield Lake is from a sideroad numbered as the L1524, which runs within County Cavan. This sideroad, which, via the L1525, links

with the

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 origi ...

of Portlongfield, runs close to the eastern shore of the lake. A paved lane leads from this sideroad down to the small public car park on the eastern shore of the lake. Rockfield Lake is quite popular with anglers, with the eastern shore, which is the County Cavan shore, being particularly popular due to its easy public access from the L1524, the aforementioned public sideroad.

Portlongfield Lake and Portlongfield Orange Hall

Portlongfield Lake, also known as Portlongfield Lough, is a very small lake immediately to the north of Rockfield Lake. This small lough, which is beside a small wood of trees, is in the

of Portlongfield in County Cavan, and is separated from Rockfield Lake by a small

hillock A hillock or knoll is a small hill,The Free Dictionary
"hillock" entry, retrieved December 18, 2007 ...

. Portlongfield Lake is just to the south of the main Carrigallen to Killeshandra road, being located between that road and the northern shore of Rockfield Lake. A stream flows into the Cullies River from Portlongfield Lake. Very near Portlongfield Lake is Portlongfield Orange Hall, which was built ''c.'' 1890. N.I.A.H.: Portlongfield Orange Hall, Portlongfield, Cavan. https://www.buildingsofireland.ie/buildings-search/building/40401910/portlongfield-orange-hall-portlongfield-cavan This small

Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

hall is just to the east of Portlongfield Lake, being just north of the north-eastern 'spur' of Rockfield Lake. The hall, which is also in the townland of Portlongfield, sits along the southern verge of the main Killeshandra-to-Carrigallen road, which is part of the R201.

Drumhart Lake

Drumhart Lake, also known as Drumhart Lough, lies a short distance to the south of Rockfield Lake. Drumhart Lake is also a small lake, being much smaller than Rockfield Lake but being considerably larger than Portlongfield Lake. Drumhart Lake is partially in County Leitrim, while the rest of it is in County Cavan. The Cullies River flows through Drumhart Lake ''en route'' to Rockfield Lake. Like Rockfield Lake to its north, Drumhart Lake is divided between three

. The County Cavan side of the lake is mainly in the townland of Drumhart, which covers all of the eastern part of the lake, while the southern end of the lake, also part of County Cavan, is in the townland of Drumlarney.Drumlarney Townland, Co. Cavan. https://www.townlands.ie/cavan/tullyhunco/killashandra/arvagh/drumlarney/ The County Leitrim side of the lake, which covers the western and north-western part of the lake, is in the townland of Aghavore.

Rockfield House

Rockfield House is located on a small hill just above the north-eastern shore of Rockfield Lake. N.I.A.H.: Rockfield House, Loughnafin or Rockfield, Cavan. https://www.buildingsofireland.ie/buildings-search/building/40401913/rockfield-house-loughnafin-or-rockfield-county-cavan The main gate into the grounds surrounding the house is on the L1524, the sideroad connecting

with the

of Portlongfield. This large

farmhouse FarmHouse (FH) is a social Fraternities and sororities in North America, fraternity founded at the University of Missouri on April 15, 1905. It became a national organization in 1921. Today FarmHouse has 33 active chapters and four associate ch ...

is situated in the townland of Rockfield in County Cavan, and was probably originally built in the early to mid-eighteenth-century. The house is surrounded by the remains of its garden and grounds, while part of the original farmyard also survives to the rear of the house. Now derelict, Rockfield House and its grounds are privately owned and are not open to the public.

References

{{reflist Lakes of County Leitrim Lakes of County Cavan