Lough Marrave

Lough Marrave (Irish: Loch Marbh, meaning "Dead lake")[3] is a small freshwater lake in county Leitrim in the northwest of Ireland.

See also: Keshcarrigan Lough, Lough Scur, and St. John's Lough
Lough Marrave
Location in Ireland
LocationCounty Leitrim
Coordinates54°02′N 7°56′W
Lake typeFreshwater
Native nameLoch Marbh  (Irish)
Primary inflowsShannon–Erne Waterway
Primary outflowsShannon–Erne Waterway
Basin countriesIreland
Surface area0.1 km2 (0.039 sq mi) est.
Max. depth4 m (13 ft) est.
Surface elevation62 m (203 ft) est.
References[1][2]

Etymology

(Irish: Loch Marbh) translates to "the dead lake, or lake of death".[3] It is plausible Lough Marrave served a pagan sacrificial purpose, and the Keshcarrigan Bowl was deposited there as a ritual offering. There is a reference in the "Book of Fenagh" to an unidentified and "Irish: Inbher, meaning "cursed estuary, pool, or lake"" on the "road to Fenagh", with a marginal note attributed to Tadgh O'Roddy (flourit 1700) adding: "no fish was afterwards caught in it; for they (the fishes) cannot even live in that lake".[4] Nevertheless, the origin of the "Dead lake" etymology remains speculative and unknown.

Geography

Lough Marrave lies 1 kilometre (0.6 mi) north east of Keshcarrigan village, and 500 metres (1,640.4 ft) east of Lough Scur. The lake is very small and shallow, covering a surface-area of about 0.1 square kilometres (0.0 sq mi), and might be considered a continuation of Lough Scur, as they share the same level and connected by a half-mile channel.[1] Lough Marrave is connected to St. John's Lough and Lough Scur by the Shannon–Erne Waterway.

Ecology

The presence, and type, of fish found in Lough Marrave is not recorded. The ecology of Leitrim waterways, such as Lough Marrave, is threatened by zebra mussel and other invasive species.[5]

Human settlement

The primary human settlements at Lough Marrave are Keshcarrigan and Fenagh villages. Lough Marrave is bounded by the townlands of Gubroe to the south and east, Killmacsherwell to the north, and Rossy to the west.[6]

Heritage

The Keshcarrigan Bowl was discovered in the canal between Lough Scur and Lough Marrave in the 19th century, c. 1843 – c. 1852, and is today preserved at the National Museum of Ireland.[7]

See also

References and notes

Notes

    Citations
    1. MacMahon 1845, pp. 22.
    2. Haug 2013, pp. 53.
    3. logainm.ie, pp. Loch Marbh.
    4. Ó Donnabháin 1828, pp. 181.
    5. Pedreschi, Kelly-Quinn, Caffrey, O’Grady, Mariani, Phillimore 2014.
    6. townlands.ie.
    7. Mulvany, Fraser, Roberts, Mulvany, O'Flaherty 1852, pp. lix.

    Primary references
    • MacMahon, John (1845). Correspondance relative to the navigation between Lough Erne and the River Shannon (Report). Parliamentary Papers, House of Commons and Command, Volume 45 (Digitized 2006 from original in Harvard University ed.). H.M. Stationery Office.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
    • logainm.ie. "Loch Marbh/Lough Marrave".CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
    • Haug, Per Ivar (2013). "Gazetteer of Ireland". Til Opplysning, A series of papers from the University Library in Trondheim, Nummer 16 (Third ed.). Hommelvik: UBiT, Universitetsbiblioteket i Trondheim. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

    Secondary references
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