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River Nore

Coordinates:52°25′N6°57′W/ 52.417°N 6.950°W/52.417; -6.950
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River Nore
River Nore in theCity of Kilkenny.
Map of the Nore's course
EtymologyOld Irish:Eoir[1]
Native nameAn Fheoir(Irish)[2]
Location
StateRepublic of Ireland
RegionLeinster
CountiesTipperary,Laois,Kilkenny,Waterford
Physical characteristics
SourceDevil's Bit Mountain
• locationCounty Tipperary
MouthRiver Barrow
• location
New Ross,County Wexford
Length140 km (87 mi)
Basin size2,595 km2(1,002 sq mi)[3]
Discharge
• average42.9 m3/s (1,510 cu ft/s)
Basin features
River systemThree Sisters
Tributaries
• leftRiver Suir

TheRiver Nore(Irish:An Fheoir[əˈn̠ʲoːɾʲ])[2]is one of the principalrivers(along with theRiver SuirandRiver Barrow) in theSouth-East RegionofIreland.The 140-kilometre-long (87 mi) riverdrainsapproximately 2,530 square kilometres (977 sq mi) ofLeinsterandMunster,[4][5]that encompasses parts of three counties (Tipperary, Laois, Kilkenny). Along with theRiver SuirandRiver Barrow,it is one of the constituent rivers of the group known as theThree Sisters.

Starting in theDevil's BitMountain,County Tipperary,the river flows generally southeast, and then south, before its confluence with the River Barrow at Ringwood, and theBarrow railway bridgeat Drumdowney, County Kilkenny, which empties into theCeltic SeaatWaterford Harbour,Waterford.

The long term average flow rate of the River Nore is 42.9 cubic metres per second (m3/s)[5]The river is home to the only known extant population of thecritically endangeredNore freshwater pearl mussel,and much of its length is listed as aSpecial Area of Conservation.[6]

Name[edit]

Nore is an anglicisation of the river'sOld IrishnameAn Eoir;[7]the modernIrishname isAn Fheoir.As such, the name is believed to be derived, etymologically, from Old Irishfeórann:"green bank or shoreland."[8]Modern Irishfeorameans "green bank, edge or shore of sea, lake or river". In regard to "An Fheoir, the Nore (g. -e, al. An Eoir); al. Feor, cf. feora",Dinneen's Dictionary(1927) states: "Feoir g. -e, and Feorach, f. border, brim, edge; a stream or rivulet.”[9]

TheMartyrology of Oengus the Culdee(Félire Óengusso Céli Dé), published some time before the year 824, mentions the river:re taeb Eoire uarglaine"the cold-pure Eoire."[10]AMiddle Irishreference, from before 1420, refers to theFiond-chlár fairsing na Feoire"fair wide plain of the Feoir".[11]

Course[edit]

Bridge over the Nore inKilkenny

The Nore rises on the eastern slopes of theDevil's Bit Mountainin thetownlandofBorrisnoe,County Tipperary.It then flows south-eastwards toCounty LaoisandCounty Kilkennybefore joining theRiver Barrowjust north ofNew Rossnear theBarrow Bridge.[12]The river passes nearDurrow, County Laoisthen throughBallyragget,the city ofKilkennyand then the villages ofBennettsbridgeandThomastown.Further south, it forms a picturesque V-shaped river valley, particularly notable near the village ofInistioge,thetidal limit.Major tributaries of the Nore include theDinan,the Breagagh atKilkenny City,theKing's River,the Little Arrigle and the Black Water.

The river nore as seen from [[Kilkenny Castle]]
The river nore as seen fromKilkenny Castle

List of places along the river.

List of tributaries

  • River Erkina
  • River Dinan(Dinin, Deen)
  • White Horse (Mountrath River)
  • Breagagh
  • King's River
  • Little Arrigle
  • Black Water

Geology and morphology[edit]

The Nore rises on a sandstone base but the catchment soon turns to limestone and remains so to the sea. The countryside is one of mixed farming, with some tillage, quite a bit of pasture and dairying and some bloodstock. The river has a fairly steep gradient but the flow is checked by innumerableweirsand it is probably true to say that shallow glides are the pre-dominant feature.[4]

History[edit]

River Nore at Thomastown inCounty Kilkenny

In pre-Famineyears, there were many water-powered industries in the Nore valley, particularly in the ten-mile (16 km) stretch between Kilkenny City and Thomastown, including breweries,woolen mills,sawmills, marble works, distillaries and grain mills.Flaxandlinenwere produced just north of Kilkenny City.

Recreation[edit]

Kilkenny fishing club has extensive fishing rights on the River Nore and its tributary, theRiver Dinan.Popular with anglers, it holdsbrown troutandsalmon.[citation needed][4]

Some of these weirs along the river have good playboating qualities. The river is long and mostly flat and dotted with weirs at most of the villages it passes through.[13]

Salmon runs on the river Nore were interrupted in 2005 and 2006 by a flood relief scheme in Kilkenny city carried out by the Office of Public Works. Initially budgeted at €13.1 million, the scheme was delivered at a cost in excess of €48 million[14]and did not contain suitable fish passes. This oversight has since been rectified at additional expense and salmon can now ascend the river upstream of Kilkenny city.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

Footnotes[edit]

  1. ^Ó Cíobháin 2007.
  2. ^ab (Fiontar 2008,An Fheoir/River Nore (river))
  3. ^ (Environmental Protection Agency 2016,Catchment: Nore,Environmental Protection Agency 2018,Nore Catchment Assessment 2010-2015 (HA 15))
  4. ^abc"Irishfisheries River Nore Fishing".Archivedfrom the original on 17 November 2007.Retrieved11 September2008.
  5. ^ab South Eastern River Basin District Management System. Page 38Archived2016-03-03 at theWayback Machine
  6. ^River Barrowand River Nore (IE0002162).Site SynopsisArchived2007-12-19 at theWayback Machine-National Parks and Wildlife Service,Republic of Ireland.Natura 2000(data setArchived28 December 2017 at theWayback Machine) -European Environment Agency.
  7. ^"Breandán Ó Cíobháin has confirmed that the modern name... An Fheoir does represent the early form An Eoir... with an initial sound that was represented in English as 'yeo'", and therefore cognate withIoriponte,the original name ofJerpoint,in Kilkenny. (An Chomhairle Oidhreachta/The Heritage Council, 2007,Newtown Jerpoint, County Kilkenny: Conservation Plan.Dublin, Heritage Council, p.53.)
  8. ^"EDIL - Irish Language Dictionary".
  9. ^Foclóir Gaedhilge agus Béarla,Patrick S. Dinneen (ed.) 1996, (1st pub. 1927) reprinted 1996), p. 447.
  10. ^"úar".eDIL (An Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language).2019.Retrieved8 May2023.
  11. ^Archive.org, "The topographical poems of John O'Dubhagain and Giolla na naomh O'Huidhrin," modern translation by John O’Donovan published in 1862.
  12. ^Hughes 1863.
  13. ^"Irish whitewater river guide to the Nore".Archivedfrom the original on 30 October 2009.Retrieved11 September2008.
  14. ^"Kilkenny flood costs lead to cuts".Archived fromthe originalon 27 September 2011.

Further reading[edit]

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related toRiver Nore.
Wikisourcehas the text of the 1920Encyclopedia AmericanaarticleNore.

52°25′N6°57′W/ 52.417°N 6.950°W/52.417; -6.950

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