Loch Na Fooey (), also Loch Nafooey or Lough Nafooey, is a rectangular shaped glacial lake in County Galway, Ireland. Part of the north-eastern shore lies along the border to County Mayo. The closest village is

Finny, County Mayo Finny (or Finney) () is a small village and townland in County Mayo, Ireland. The village is situated in the civil parish of Ross, in the Barony of Ross. Finny is located on the R300 regional road. The nearby Finny River, rising from the south ...

with the

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a city in the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay, and is the sixth most populous city on ...

village of

Leenaun Leenaun (), also Leenane, is a village and 1,845 acre townland in County Galway, Ireland, on the southern shore of Killary Harbour and the northern edge of Connemara. Location Leenaun is situated on the junction of the N59 road, and the R336 ...

approximately 11 km distant. Lough Nafooey02

At approximately 2.5 miles long and 0.5 miles wide, Loch Na Fooey is set in a steep-sided valley, surrounded by the mountains of Galway to the south and Mayo's

Partry Mountains The Partry Mountains ( ga, Sliabh Phartraí) is a mountain range in County Mayo on the west coast of Ireland. Geography The highest peak in the Partry Mountains is Maumtrasna which rises to (682m / 2,238ft). The mountain range overlooks Lough ...

to the north. A number of rivers feed the lake, including the River Fooey (), which rises from the Devil’s Mother mountain and enters the lake at the western shore. The Finny River, rising from the south-east of the lake drains into the southwest part of

Lough Mask Lough Mask () is a limestone lake of about in Counties Mayo and Galway, Ireland, north of Lough Corrib. Lough Mask is the middle of the three lakes, which empty into the Corrib River, through Galway, into Galway Bay. Lough Carra flows into ...

. Also many mountain streams flow into the lake. The lake has a small sandy shore on its western end. The area around Loch Na Fooey is known as the site of the ancient "Finny volcano" (490 million years ago), formed as the Iapetus Ocean closed to bring the two halves of Ireland together. The volcano's landform is now gone but some of volcanic rocks are preserved in the area, including

pillow lava Pillow lavas are lavas that contain characteristic pillow-shaped structures that are attributed to the extrusion of the lava underwater, or ''subaqueous extrusion''. Pillow lavas in volcanic rock are characterized by thick sequences of discont ...

s, and

breccia Breccia () is a rock composed of large angular broken fragments of minerals or rocks cemented together by a fine-grained matrix. The word has its origins in the Italian language, in which it means "rubble". A breccia may have a variety of ...

. There is a small funnel-shaped island close to the south-eastern shore known as Red Island (An tOileán Rua). The waters hold a range of fish including wild brown trout and

pike Pike, Pikes or The Pike may refer to: Fish * Blue pike or blue walleye, an extinct color morph of the yellow walleye ''Sander vitreus'' * Ctenoluciidae, the "pike characins", some species of which are commonly known as pikes * ''Esox'', genus of ...

. The locality has a number of walks, both for experienced hill walkers and others. In folklore, the lake is said to be home to ''An Capall Uisce'' or the Water Horse, a mythical Celtic creature.

References

{{reflist Fooey Volcanoes of the Republic of Ireland Cambrian volcanoes Subduction volcanoes Extinct volcanoes Fooey Gaeltacht places in County Galway

See also

References