The River Finn ( ga, Abhainn na Finne) is a

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of w ...

in the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern ...

that passes through

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ga, Contae Dhún na nGall) is a county of Ireland in the province of Ulster and in the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Donegal in the south of the county. It has also been known as County Tyrconn ...

and

County Tyrone County Tyrone (; ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the thirty-two traditional counties of Ireland. It is no longer used as an administrative division for local government but retai ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. From

Lough Finn Lough Finn () is a freshwater lough (lake) in County Donegal, Ireland. The lough, along with its neighbouring village of Fintown, was named after a mythological woman, Finngeal, who drowned in the lake after attempting to save her wounded brothe ...

, the river goes to

Ballybofey Ballybofey ( , ; ) is a town located on the south bank of the River Finn, County Donegal, Ireland. Together with the smaller town of Stranorlar on the north side of the River Finn, the towns form the Twin Towns of Ballybofey-Stranorlar. B ...

and

Stranorlar Stranorlar () is a town, townland and civil parish in the Finn Valley of County Donegal, in Ireland. Stranorlar and Ballybofey (located on the other side of the River Finn) form ''the Twin Towns''. Transport The town is located at the junctio ...

before joining the

River Mourne The River Mourne ( ga, An Mughdhorn) is a river in County Tyrone (between Strabane and Newtownstewart), Northern Ireland, and is a tributary of the River Foyle It is formed at the meetings of the River Derg and River Strule below Ardstraw. At St ...

. The Monellan

Burn A burn is an injury to skin, or other tissues, caused by heat, cold, electricity, chemicals, friction, or ultraviolet radiation (like sunburn). Most burns are due to heat from hot liquids (called scalding), solids, or fire. Burns occur ma ...

, also known as the Creamery Burn, flows into the River Finn very near a

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

called The Cross, not far from the former site of Monellan Castle, just outside Killygordon. From

Castlefin Castlefin (), sometimes spelt Castlefinn, is a market town and townland in the Finn Valley of County Donegal in Ulster, the northern province in Ireland. It is located between Ballybofey and Lifford in East Donegal and, , the population was 705 ...

downstream, the river is tidal, becoming deeper towards Strabane. The Finn is long and together with its tributary the Reelin River, drains a catchment area of 195 square miles. The River Foyle is formed by the confluence of the

and the River Finn, west of

Lifford Bridge Lifford Bridge (in Irish ''Droichead Leifear'') is a cross-border bridge spanning the River Foyle in Ireland. It connects Strabane in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, and Lifford in County Donegal in the Republic of Ireland, joining the A38 ro ...

. The area which the River Finn flows through is called the Finn Valley. The village of Clady, near Strabane in County Tyrone, is on the River Finn. The football club in Ballybofey,

Finn Harps Finn Harps Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Chláirsigh na Finne) are an Irish football club that play in the First Division of the League of Ireland, as of 2023. The club was founded in 1954 and elected to the league in 1969. However, it was te ...

, is named after the river.

Angling

The upper reaches of the Reelin and the Finn are fast downstream to Ballybofey and can give excellent fishing. From Ballybofey downstream the river becomes deeper and slower. In all there is more than of

salmon Salmon () is the common name for several commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family Salmonidae, which are native to tributaries of the North Atlantic (genus ''Salmo'') and North Pacific (genus '' Oncorhy ...

fishing on the river from Flushtown right up to Bellanmore Bridge and part of the Reelan too. There is good sea trout fishing at Liscooley and Killygordan and from Ballybofey to Bellanamore Bridge. The Finn and its tributary the Reelan are probably the most prolific salmon and

grilse Salmon () is the common name for several commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family Salmonidae, which are native to tributaries of the North Atlantic (genus '' Salmo'') and North Pacific (genus ''Oncorhynchu ...

rivers in Donegal and indeed throughout the Foyle catchment. Fish species such as roach,

perch Perch is a common name for fish of the genus ''Perca'', freshwater gamefish belonging to the family Percidae. The perch, of which three species occur in different geographical areas, lend their name to a large order of vertebrates: the Per ...

eel Eels are ray-finned fish belonging to the order Anguilliformes (), which consists of eight suborders, 19 families, 111 genera, and about 800 species. Eels undergo considerable development from the early larval stage to the eventual adult stage ...

s and brown trout are caught in the Finn system.

Area of special scientific interest

The River Foyle and tributaries Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) include the River Foyle and its tributaries i.e. that part of the River Finn which is within Northern Ireland, the River Mourne and its tributary the

River Strule The River Strule is a small river in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. The river has its source in the confluence of the rivers Camowen and Drumragh at Omagh. The Strule runs to north and meets the rivers Fairy Water and Owenkillew before joi ...

(up to its confluence with the Owenkillew River) and the

River Derg The River Derg is a small river in Ireland. The river has its source in the Lough Derg, in County Donegal, Republic of Ireland and it flows into County Tyrone, Northern Ireland east through Castlederg to join the River Strule forming the Riv ...

, along with two of its sub-tributaries, the

Mourne Beg River Mourne may refer to: In Ireland *Mourne Abbey, a small parish just south of Mallow, County Cork, Ireland *Mourne (barony), in County Down, Northern Ireland *Mourne Mountains, located in County Down in the south-east of Northern Ireland **Mourne Wa ...

and the Glendergan River. The area encompasses 120 km of watercourse and is notable for the physical diversity and naturalness of the banks and channels, especially in the upper reaches, and the richness and naturalness of its plant and animal communities. Of particular importance is the population of Atlantic Salmon, which is one of the largest in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

. Research has indicated that each sub-catchment within the system supports genetically distinct populations.

References

External links

Geograph - The River Finn at Capry PhotographSalmon fishing on the River Finn, from salmon Ireland
{{authority control Ballybofey Finn Finn Finn