Lough Sheelin (from Irish: Loch Síodh Linn meaning “lake of the fairy pool”) is a limestone freshwater lough (lake) in Ireland located in County Westmeath, County Meath and County Cavan near the village of Finea and the town of Granard County Longford.
The lake lies on the early course of the River Inny, a major tributary of the Shannon, a little upstream of Lough Kinale. The inflow is sometimes known as the Upper Inny or the Ross River, and the outflow as the Lower Inny. It is also fed by smaller watercourses, including the Mount Nugent River and the Bellsgrove and Crover Streams, as well as the Mauraghboy, Carrick, Rusheen, Moneybeg and Schoolhouse Streams.
Some people would say that it is the best trout lough in Ireland, some might say it is the best anywhere, the statistics tend to bear this out. In a recent study the lough, which is only 4 miles long and 1 mile wide (4654 acres), was found to hold over 100,000 fish over 8 inches of which 40,000 were between 2 and 4lbs. Now that is phenomenal. The average for the lough is 3lbs with fish up to double figures taken every year
it is also the setting of the song “Lough Sheelin Eviction”, made popular by the Wolfe Tones. The song is purportedly based on an account of an eviction of more than 700 tenants, witnessed by Dr. Thomas Nulty, Roman Catholic Bishop of Meath, in 1848, in his first year as a priest in the diocese.
The fantastic Crover House Hotel is lovated on its shores
But more than that, its just bloody fantastic to look at.
