Chapter Five: Waterways of Ireland
Introduction
When we think of images of the Irish landscape – perhaps on television, in travel magazines, or in films – the main focus is often on green pastures, rolling green hills that capture the apt nickname for the island as the ‘Emerald Isle’. As we have and will learn in this text, the Irish landscape is far more diverse than rolling green hills alone, as it is home to boglands, mountainous regions, major cityscapes, and networks of important waterways, including lakes, rivers, and coastal lands facing the Atlantic ocean and Irish sea.
In this chapter, we will explore two key waterways in Ireland – first, a naturally formed waterway, and second, a man-made waterway. These waterways physically intersect with each other: the Grand Canal connects the east coast with the west coast of Ireland from the River Liffey to the River Shannon, while the River Shannon connects the Grand Canal down to the Atlantic Ocean. Along the way, we will discover the physical, human, and cultural aspects of these waterways, asking how they shape economic and social movements, human lives, and the development of settlements in their wake. We will further explore myths and stories associated with these waterways. The stories and myths reveal the relationships between human lives, cultural practices, and physical aspects of the landscape that each contribute to the making of the Irish landscape.
This chapter focuses on the case studies of the River Shannon and the Grand Canal in Ireland. In Figure 5.1 below, Blueways Ireland has mapped out a variety of waterways in Ireland. You can identify the River Shannon as the long river the runs north to south on the eastern side of the island, spanning from Limerick city up to Lough Allen (the area shaded in orange). Also in Figure 5.1, you can see two waterways that run east to west in the centre of the island; these are the two man-made canals, with the Royal Canal running to the north and the Grand Canal running to the south. As you can see, both canals connect Dublin with the River Shannon.
The River Shannon and the Grand Canal are two examples selected from a much broader range of lakes, rivers and canals that run throughout the country. Within this text, you will encounter other major bodies of water and waterways that are significant to Ireland – for example, in Chapter 4 we learned about Lough Neagh in Northern Ireland, and in Chapter 3 we learned about the River Liffey that runs between Dublin city and the Wicklow Mountains.
