| River Moy | |
|---|---|
 River Moy atFoxford, County Mayo | |
 | |
| Etymology | Old Irishmuad, "noble" |
| Native name | An Mhuaidh (Irish) |
| Location | |
| Country | Ireland |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • location | Ox Mountains,County Sligo |
| Mouth | |
• location | Atlantic Ocean viaKillala Bay |
| Length | 110 km (68 mi) |
| Basin size | 2,086 km2 (805 sq mi) |
| Discharge | |
| • average | 63 m3/s (2,200 cu ft/s) |
| Basin features | |
| Tributaries | |
| • left | Owengarve River, Gweestion River |
| • right | River Inagh |
TheRiver Moy (Irish:An Mhuaidh)[1] is a river in the west of Ireland.
Ptolemy'sGeography (2nd century AD) described a river called Λιβνιου (Libniu, perhaps from *lei- "flow"[2]), which probably referred to the River Moy.
The Moy is first named inAdomnán'sLife of Columba (c. 700) asModam fluvium. Later spellings includeMuaide, Muadam, Múed, Múaid; the nameAn Mhuaidh is used in modern Irish. The name is possibly derived from theOld Irish wordmuad, meaning "noble."[3][4]
The Moy rises at the foot of theOx Mountains inCounty Sligo. It flows for 110 kilometres (68 mi).[5] For the greater part of its length, it flows southwestward, enteringCounty Mayo and passing nearSwinford before passing throughFoxford then turning north near the village of Kilmore and heading for the town ofBallina, where it enters theAtlantic Ocean atKillala Bay. The Moy Estuary is eight kilometres (5 miles) long beginning at Ballina and running into Killala Bay.The catchment area of the River Moy is 2,086 km2.[6]The long term average flow rate of the River Moy intoKillala Bay is 61.5 cubic metres per second (m3/s)[6]
The Moy valley, with its ancientchurches andabbeys, is a prominenttourist destination.[7]
The entrance to the River Moy from an 1860 chart, showing turbulent water over the bar.
Theriver was once among the bestsalmon fisheries inEurope; however, in recent times,drift net fishing off the coast caused a huge decline in salmon numbers. According to central fisheries board statistics, 101,231 returning salmon were taken by drift nets off the west coast of Ireland in 2005. In the same year, 29% (6,675) of all rod-caught salmon in Ireland were taken in the Ballina district as a result of aweir which keeps salmon trapped in the ridge pool near the mouth of the river during the summer. Drift netting for salmon was banned in November 2006 and the ban came into force on 1 January 2007.[8]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)https://web.archive.org/web/20160303222354/http://www.serbd.com/MultiDownloads/Creport/Chapters/Physical%20Description%20Ch3.pdf R.O.I. Rivers Table 3.10 P.38
