The River Inny (Irish: ''An Eithne'') is a river within the
Shannon River Basin
The Shannon River Basin consists of the area containing Ireland's longest river, the River Shannon, and all of its tributaries and lakes. The official Ordnance Survey Ireland length of the Shannon from its Shannon Pot source is made up of tidal ...
in
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 ...
. It is in length, and has a number of lakes along its course.
Etymology
The river's name derives from the mythological figure
Ethniu or Eithne, who reputedly died in rapids in its lower reaches.
Course

The Inny begins as a stream at
Slieve na Calliagh, in the townland of Tubride, near
Oldcastle,
a hilly area which holds the complex of megalithic tombs now more often named for
Loughcrew, all in
County Meath
County Meath ( ; or simply , ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is bordered by County Dublin to the southeast, County ...
. In its upper reaches, it marks the boundary between Counties Meath and Cavan for about a short distance before it enters
Lough Sheelin
Lough Sheelin (), in standard Irish language, Irish ''Loch Síleann'', is a limestone freshwater lough (lake) in central Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The lake is a part of the River Inny (Leinster), River Inny course, and ultimately of the Riv ...
, which lies at a meeting points of Counties
Cavan
Cavan ( ; ) is the county town of County Cavan in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town lies in Ulster, near the border with County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland. The town is bypassed by the main N3 road (Ireland), N3 road that links Dublin ( ...
, Meath and
Westmeath
County Westmeath (; or simply ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It formed part of the historic Kingdom of ...
. The portion as far as Lough Sheelin is also sometimes known as the Upper Inny, or the Ross River.
At Lough Sheelin, multiple tributaries join, including the Mountnugent (Mount Nugent) River
and the Bellsgrove (or Belsgrove, also known as Ballyheelan) and Crover Streams,
as well as the Mauraghboy, Carrick, Rusheen, Moneybeg and Schoolhouse Streams.
The Upper Inny and Lough Sheelin are on limestone, while some of the Lough Sheelin tributaries flow over quartzite.
From Lough Sheelin, the Inny, sometimes known as the Lower Inny from here on,
forms the boundary between Westmeath and Cavan. It flows under the bridge at the village of
Finea, and into
Lough Kinale, where counties Cavan and Westmeath meet Longford. From there the river forms much of the boundary between Longford and Westmeath but enters Westmeath near Streete and flows into
Lough Derravaragh, known for its role in the legend of the
Children of Lir
The ''Children of Lir'' () is a legend from Irish mythology. It is a tale from the post-Christianisation period that mixes magical elements such as druidic wands and spells with a Christian message of Christian faith bringing freedom from su ...
. It then flows near the village of Ballinalack, forms Lough Iron, and crosses into
County Longford
County Longford () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Longford. Longford County Council is the Local government in the Republic ...
near
Abbeyshrule, where the Whitworth Aqueduct suspends the
Royal Canal
The Royal Canal () is a canal originally built for freight and passenger transportation from Dublin to Longford in Ireland. It is one of two canals from Dublin to the River Shannon and was built in direct competition to the Grand Canal. Th ...
above the river,
and pumps supply the canal with water. At nearby Tenelick the mythological Princess Eithne drowned in the rapids, giving her name to the river,
which powered two mills here for many years. It continues past Newcastle House to
Ballymahon
Ballymahon () on the River Inny (Leinster), River Inny is a town in the southern part of County Longford, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is 19 km north-east of Athlone, at the junction of the N55 road, N55 and R392 road (Ireland), R392 ro ...
.
Downstream of Ballymahon, the Inny again forms the county line between Longford and Westmeath, and runs westwards into
Lough Ree
Lough Ree (), translated to English as ''King's Lake'' or ''King Lake'', is a lake in the midlands of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, the second of the three major lakes on the River Shannon. Lough Ree is the second largest lake on the Shannon af ...
at Inny Bay. Lough Ree is the second major lake of 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 ...
which drains into the
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...
.
In the 1960s the river was drained which removed the weir at Newcastle, this fed a generator and a sawmill for the "big house" nearby. It also closed off the millrace and millpond to the ruined mill at the bridge in Ballymahon. This silenced the waterfall at the mill which had roared for about 100 years.
References
External links
Inny River whitewater guide
{{DEFAULTSORT:Inny
Rivers of County Westmeath
Rivers of County Longford
Tributaries of the River Shannon