| River Nore | |
|---|---|
 River Nore in theCity of Kilkenny. | |
 Map of the Nore's course | |
| Etymology | Old Irish: Eoir[1] |
| Native name | An Fheoir (Irish)[2] |
| Location | |
| State | Republic of Ireland |
| Region | Leinster |
| Counties | Tipperary,Laois,Kilkenny,Waterford |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | Devil's Bit Mountain |
| • location | County Tipperary |
| Mouth | River Barrow |
• location | New Ross,County Wexford |
| Length | 140 km (87 mi) |
| Basin size | 2,595 km2 (1,002 sq mi)[3] |
| Discharge | |
| • average | 42.9 m3/s (1,510 cu ft/s) |
| Basin features | |
| River system | Three Sisters |
| Tributaries | |
| • left | River Suir |
TheRiver Nore (Irish:An Fheoir[əˈn̠ʲoːɾʲ])[2] is one of the principalrivers (along with theRiver Suir andRiver Barrow) in theSouth-East Region ofIreland. The 140-kilometre-long (87 mi) riverdrains approximately 2,530 square kilometres (977 sq mi) ofLeinster andMunster,[4][5] that encompasses parts of three counties (Tipperary, Laois, Kilkenny). Along with theRiver Suir andRiver Barrow, it is one of the constituent rivers of the group known as theThree Sisters.
Starting in theDevil's Bit Mountain,County Tipperary, the river flows generally southeast, and then south, before its confluence with the River Barrow at Ringwood, and theBarrow railway bridge at Drumdowney, County Kilkenny, which empties into theCeltic Sea atWaterford 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]
Nore is an anglicisation of the river'sOld Irish nameAn Eoir;[7] the modernIrish name isAn Fheoir. As such, the name is believed to be derived, etymologically, from Old Irishfeórann: "green bank or shoreland."[8] Modern Irishfeora means "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 Irish reference, from before 1420, refers to theFiond-chlár fairsing na Feoire "fair wide plain of the Feoir".[11]
The Nore rises on the eastern slopes of theDevil's Bit Mountain in thetownland ofBorrisnoe,County Tipperary. It then flows south-eastwards toCounty Laois andCounty Kilkenny before joining theRiver Barrow just north ofNew Ross near theBarrow Bridge.[12] The river passes nearDurrow, County Laois then throughBallyragget, the city ofKilkenny and then the villages ofBennettsbridge andThomastown. 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]]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aRiverbykilkennycastle1.jpg)
List of places along the river.
List of tributaries
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 innumerableweirs and it is probably true to say that shallow glides are the pre-dominant feature.[4]
In pre-Famine years, 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.Flax andlinen were produced just north of Kilkenny City.
Kilkenny fishing club has extensive fishing rights on the River Nore and its tributary, theRiver Dinan. Popular with anglers, it holdsbrown trout andsalmon.[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.
