County Leitrim

Birding County Leitrim

County Leitrim is one of the counties of Ireland and is part of the province of Connacht. Its name derives from the Irish Liath Druim, meaning ‘grey ridge’.

Leitrim has a dramatic hilly and mountainous landscape in its northwest and is relatively flat in the southeast, each separated from the other by Lough Allen in the middle of the county. It is an unspoiled, peaceful land of great natural beauty, consisting of lofty mountains, deep valleys, pastures, lakes, rolling hills and rivers. Leitrim is not a landlocked county as it has a short length of Atlantic coastline (5km) between Sligo and Donegal in the northwest. Neighbouring Leitrim are the Ulster counties of Donegal to the north, Fermanagh to the northeast, and Cavan to the east, the Leinster county of Longford to the south and, to the west, the Connacht counties of Roscommon and Sligo. Fermanagh is in Northern Ireland while all the other neighbouring counties are within the Republic. Leitrim offers scenic panoramic vistas of Lough Allen and the River Shannon. The Shannon is linked to the Erne via the Shannon-Erne Waterway.

Lough Melvin is internationally renowned for its unique range of plants and animals. Lough Allen offers amazing views, especially from the road between Leitrim Village and Drumkeeran. Lough Gill is to the northwest of Dromahair; Parke’s Castle is located on the lake shore. Other particularly beautiful lakes include Lough Garadice, Lough Glenade, Lough Rynn and Lough MacNean.