| River Brosna | |
|---|---|
 Old mill on the Brosna at Kilbeggan | |
 | |
| Etymology | Possibly means "place of twigs"[1] |
| Native name | An Bhrosnach (Irish) |
| Location | |
| Country | Ireland |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • location | NearMullingar,County Westmeath |
| Mouth | River Shannon |
• location | Shannon Harbour |
| Length | 79.26 km (49.25 mi) |
| Basin size | 1,248 km2 (482 sq mi) |
| Discharge | |
| • average | 5.13 m3/s (181 cu ft/s)[2] |
| Basin features | |
| River system | Shannon |
TheRiver Brosna (Irish:An Bhrosnach) is a river within theShannon River Basin inIreland, flowing throughCounty Westmeath andCounty Offaly.
The river rises inLough Owel north ofMullingar[3] and is a tributary of theRiver Shannon. It meets the Shannon atShannon Harbour.
The River Brosna is 49.25 miles (79 km) in length.[4]
The Brosna begins as a small river, flowing fromLough Owel in a south-south-westerly direction throughMullingar, intoLough Ennell. From Lough Ennell, the river Brosna flows intoKilbeggan, where it still powers the mill atKilbeggan Distillery. The Brosna continues flowing southwest throughClara,Ballycumber andPullough. East ofFerbane it is joined by theSilver River. From Ferbane it heads toShannon Harbour, north ofBanagher, where it joins theShannon
The river Brosna is popular for fly fishing and has stocks ofbrown trout as well as somesalmon andgrilse.[5] However it has, in recent years, suffered somewhat from pollution problems due to its poorassimilative capacity and the discharge of untreated sewage in the Mullingar area during storm conditions. There have also been discharges of pollutants, whether accidental or otherwise, such as one filmed at the bridge of Clonmore industrial estate in Mullingar.[6][7]
Works, to the cost of IR £750,000,[8] were undertaken on the river in the late 1940s and early 1950s to improve drainage in the river’s catchment area. As part of the Arterial Drainage Scheme, designed to tackle poor drainage caused by Ireland’s relatively low-lying topography, the river was deepened and widened, leaving the river with the high banks distinctive of many of the rivers in the Irish midlands that received this treatment. More recently, in late 2008 the river was diverted from theN52 road beside Mullingar in order to accommodate a new roundabout and bridge.[9]
