On 5 December 2015 Met Éireann issued a red warning for storm conditions for Connacht and other parts of the country. Storm Desmond caused millions of Euro of damage in the Province, dumping record amounts of rainfall carried by moist air brought from the Carribean to the British Isles. The lake rose quickly  onto some of [Click photo to view more…]

The pied wagtail is a frequent visit to the water, having a preference for water areas and is also common in built-up areas. The town of Loughrea straddles nearly 40% of the lakeshore. Old Irish Rhyme: Wee Mister Wagtail, hopping on a rock, Daddy says your pretty tail is like a Goblin’s clock, Wee Willy Wagtail, [Click photo to view more…]

Reported in the Loughrea notes of the Connacht Tribune on 3rd July 2015. Apparently persons seen planting willow saplings in Corry’s Field and along the Lake Road, during the year, in the early hours of the mornings, before sunrise. A large number of recently illegally planted saplings were also removed from private lakeshore land at the [Click photo to view more…]

Lovely to see the sailboats in a pleasant breeze at sunset. Dinghy sailing has been carried out on the Lake since the 1960s. Loughrea sailing club hosted Provincial Championships in the 1970s and 1980s. Dinghies can be seen sailing the lake in the summer and autumn months.  

These beautiful yellow flowers brighten the shore in Corry’s Field between June and August. Not quite the ‘Field of Yellow Irises at Giverny‘ by Claude Monet, but beautiful all the same.   In some places it has escaped from cultivation to invade marshy areas , out-competing other plants in the ecosystem. When it establishes, it is difficult to remove on [Click photo to view more…]

In April when the weather warms after the long winter we get millions of these flies swarming like balls of smoke along the lakeshore. Drifting in the wind they will land on brightly covered surfaces, usually the walls of a house, encouraging many people to keep their windows closed until ‘the plague’ is over. They rise to [Click photo to view more…]

The angling season opened on a pleasant St. Patrick’s Day and will go on until 30th September. With a seasonal east wind it was cold on the water, but the hardiest of the anglers couldn’t wait to shake off the winter’s cobwebs ! These anglers are fly fishing for trout as they drift towards the [Click photo to view more…]

Shore island, backlit in the morning fog which billows down between hill and water. It is an island that’s rarely noticed by the public as its trees blend into the background of the Kileenadeema shore. It has a rich history, yielding up ancient stone axe heads and a chert arrows head dating back 2000 years [Click photo to view more…]

Seagull, seagull sit on the sand. It’s never good weather when you’re on land ! However, they always seem to be here, whatever the weather. No doubt it’s mainly because they are scavengers. They will gather in flocks wherever food is available – like here, where young and old like to feed the swans and ducks. Seagulls [Click photo to view more…]

In 1862 G. Henry Kinahan carried out an archaeological survey of the Crannoges on Loughrea Lake. His study shows two interesting sketches of the southern and western shores of the Lake, which were sketched looking from the Fairgreen. “Reed Island lies a little on the right of sketch, Fig. No.1. It was not included, as [Click photo to view more…]