River Cladagh (Swanlinbar)


The Cladagh River or Swanlinbar River is a moderately large river which forms from a number of small streams rising in Commas townland on the south-eastern slopes of Cuilcagh Mountain, County Cavan and flows through the village of Swanlinbar, before crossing the border into County Fermanagh and eventually flowing into Upper Lough Erne. It is ultra-oligotrophic upstream before gradually becoming oligotrophic and oligo-mesotrophic through its middle and lower reaches.

Course

The river is formed from three rivers and a number of streams draining off the northern slopes of Cuilcagh mountain in County Cavan, which combine underground in the Marble Arch Cave system. On the surface, the River Cladagh emerges from one of the largest karst resurgences in the British Isles, and flows through the village of Swanlinbar, before crossing the border into County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland. It then passes Kinawley before entering Upper Lough Erne and becoming a tributary of the River Erne.

Environment

This area is part of the Marble Arch Caves Global Geopark which includes Marlbank Forest, the Cladagh Glen and the Marble Arch National Nature Reserve. A loop from the Ulster Way traverses Glen Cladagh. The river is a designated Special Area of Conservation. The vegetation includes Ranunculetum fluitantis, Callitriche and Ranunculus peltatus. The river contains one of the largest surviving populations in Northern Ireland of the freshwater pearl mussel. The mussels, estimated to be a minimum of 10,000 in number, are confined to a stretch of undisturbed river in the middle section.