The
River Erne ( or
An Éirne), in the
northwest of
Ireland, is the second-longest river in
Ulster. It rises on the east shoulder of Slieve Glah mountain three miles south of Cavan in
County Cavan and flows 80 miles (129km) through
Lough Gowna,
Lough Oughter and Upper and Lower
Lough Erne,
County Fermanagh, to the sea at
Ballyshannon,
County Donegal. For 30 miles from
Crossdoney in County Cavan to
Enniskillen in County Fermanagh, it is difficult to distinguish the river as it winds its way through interconnected loughs or parts of loughs nestling among the drumlin hills of Cavan and south Fermanagh. The
river is 120 kilometres long and is very popular for
fly fishing for
trout and
salmon, with a number of
fisheries along both the river itself and its tributaries. The town of
Enniskillen is mostly situated on an island in the river, between Upper and Lower Lough Erne. It is linked to the
River Shannon by the
Shannon–Erne Waterway. The total catchment area of the River Erne is 4,372 km
2. The long-term average flow rate of the River Erne is 101.7 cubic metres per second (m
3/s)