Leitrim ( ; ) is a village in

County Leitrim County Leitrim ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht and is part of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the village of Leitrim, County Leitr ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, on the

River Shannon The River Shannon ( or archaic ') is the major river on the island of Ireland, and 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 I ...

near the border with

County Roscommon County Roscommon () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is part of the province of Connacht and the Northern and Western Region. It is the List of Irish counties by area, 11th largest Irish county by area and Li ...

. It is at the junction of the R280 and R284 regional roads.

Location

Located on the River Shannon, Leitrim village is connected to the

River Erne The River Erne ( , or ''An Éirne'') in the northwest of the island of Ireland, is the second-longest river in Ulster, flowing through Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, and forming part of their border. Course The Erne rises on ...

via the Shannon-Erne Waterway. The river port has a quay, several jetties and two marinas, with facilities for cruising traffic. The village is about from

Carrick-on-Shannon Carrick-on-Shannon () is the county town of County Leitrim in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is the largest town in the county. A smaller part of the town located on the west bank of the River Shannon lies in County Roscommon and is home to th ...

History

From the

Early modern period The early modern period is a Periodization, historical period that is defined either as part of or as immediately preceding the modern period, with divisions based primarily on the history of Europe and the broader concept of modernity. There i ...

is named after the village. Throughout at least the 19th and 20th centuries, numerous annual

fair A fair (archaic: faire or fayre) is a gathering of people for a variety of entertainment or commercial activities. Fairs are typically temporary with scheduled times lasting from an afternoon to several weeks. Fairs showcase a wide range of go ...

s were held at Leitrim village on- 22 January, 20 February, 25 March, 5 May, 16 June, 23 July, September 1 (or 3rd), 13 October, and 1 December. In 1925, Leitrim village comprised 30 houses with 5 being licensed to sell

alcohol Alcohol may refer to: Common uses * Alcohol (chemistry), a class of compounds * Ethanol, one of several alcohols, commonly known as alcohol in everyday life ** Alcohol (drug), intoxicant found in alcoholic beverages ** Alcoholic beverage, an alco ...

. Liatroim was a strategically important ford of the

connecting

Ulster Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...

and

Connacht Connacht or Connaught ( ; or ), is the smallest of the four provinces of Ireland, situated in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, C ...

. The

Irish Annals A number of Irish annals, of which the earliest was the Chronicle of Ireland, were compiled up to and shortly after the end of the 17th century. Annals were originally a means by which monks determined the yearly chronology of feast days. Over ti ...

makes mention of Leitrim village () many times. In 1270, the Battle of Áth an Chip between Normans and Connacht probably occurred on Drumhierney townland beside Battle-bridge. The county itself is named after the village of Leitrim near the River Shannon, which was an important stronghold during the Ó Ruairc (O'Rourke) family reign. The remains of O'Rourke's Castle can still be found in the village centre. The name 'Leitrim' itself is derived from the Irish Liath Druim, meaning 'grey ridge', and is a commonplace name throughout Ireland.

Developments

Successive Finance Acts during the 1990s encouraged the building of hotels and holiday houses in designated deprived rural areas. Leitrim village was a beneficiary of these tax incentives. The resultant growth in the period between 2002 and 2007 saw several complexes of self-catering apartment blocks being erected around the marinas, one of which was funded by the International Fund for Ireland under the auspices of the

Anglo-Irish Agreement The Anglo-Irish Agreement was a 1985 treaty between the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland which aimed to help bring an end to the Troubles in Northern Ireland. The treaty gave the Irish government an advisory role in Northern Irelan ...

. The village has had a number of successes in the National Tidy Towns competition. Leitrim village is used as a tourist base for the surrounding attractions such as the Arigna Mining Experience, Lough Rynn, Lough Key Forest Park, the Shannon-Erne Blueway and the nearby County Town of Carrick on Shannon.

Education and religion

St Joseph's National School is the local primary school. The local

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

church is also dedicated to St Joseph.

Demographics

The village had 274 residents in 1834. In 2016, the population was 594.

References

Notes

Sources

* * * * *

Irish annals

* * * {{Authority control Towns and villages in County Leitrim Populated places on the River Shannon Places of Conmaicne Maigh Nissi