**The Ancient Water Rights and Waterways of Annaly :

Lakes, Rivers, Fishing, Navigation, and Viking Pathways to the Sea**

The ancient principality of Annaly—today largely aligned with County Longford—is a land woven together by rivers, lakes, marshlands, and island-studded waterways. At its center lies Lough Ree, one of Ireland’s greatest inland seas, and around it flows a complex network of rivers whose presence shaped everything from medieval warfare to monastic settlement, trade routes, Viking incursions, and the cultural memory of the region. Long before roads, the waterways of Annaly were its highways.

I. The Royal Water System of Annaly

Lough Ree – The Inland Sea

Lough Ree, which dominates northern Longford and borders Westmeath and Roscommon, is a vast freshwater lake nearly 30 kilometers long. It is fed and drained by the River Shannon, forming one of the most strategic inland water systems in all of Ireland.

Lough Ree is dotted with holy islands and ancient Christian monasteries, including:

• Inchcleraun / Inis Clothran (an ancient monastic island tied to early saints)

• Inchmore (the largest island, once home to abbeys and ringforts)

• Hare Island, Quaker Island, Coosan Island, and others

These islands formed a constellation of monastic sanctuaries and defensive positions for over a thousand years.

The River Shannon – Annaly’s Highway to the Ocean

Running for more than 360 kilometers, the Shannon is Ireland’s longest river, and Annaly sits on one of its most defensible and navigable stretches. Ancient Annaly had direct access by boat from Lough Ree to:

• the River Shannon,

• the Shannon Estuary,

• the Atlantic Ocean at present-day Limerick and beyond.

This meant that Annaly had a direct inland-sea route to the ocean—completely navigable since prehistory.

II. Viking Navigation: Annaly’s Pathway to the Sea

More than 1,000 years ago, Viking fleets used the Shannon as a major invasion route. The Norse longships sailed inland from the Atlantic, traveling:

Atlantic → Shannon Estuary → Lough Derg → Shannon River → Lough Ree → Annaly

From Lough Ree, they raided monasteries, overran local kingdoms, built longphorts (naval bases), and controlled inland trade. Their ships could easily reach Annaly’s islands and river inlets.

The geography of Annaly shows why:

• The Shannon is wide and deep, suitable for longships.

• Lough Ree offered secure anchorage, fresh water, and access to monastic wealth.

• Islands were natural fortress bases, easy to defend and ideal for raiding operations.

The Vikings raided Inchcleraun, Inchmore, and the monasteries around Ardagh. Annaly’s waterways, far from isolating it, made it a strategic prize—an inland kingdom connected to the ocean.

III. Rivers of Annaly: Lungs of Trade and Warfare

Aside from the Shannon and Ree, Annaly is interlaced with critical tributaries:

The Camlin River

Flowing through Longford town into the Shannon at Tarmonbarry, the Camlin provided:

• fishing grounds for trout and pike,

• boat landing places,

• defensive positions,

• water access to the O’Farrell strongholds.

The Inny River

Rising in Westmeath, the Inny flows into Lough Ree, forming another important artery through Teffia and eastern Annaly lands. It nourished:

• rich pastoral lands,

• fish stocks,

• early monastic settlements.

Other Waterways

• The Feorish River

• The Tang River

• Lough Gowna (source of the Erne, bordering Annaly’s northern sphere)
  These waters formed natural barriers and internal highways for Gaelic clans, including O’Farrell septs and their allies.

IV. Fishing, Foodways, and River Culture

The waterways of Longford/Annaly produce abundant fish species:

• Pike (a prized catch and top predator)

• Perch

• Bream and Roach

• Trout (in rivers and feeder streams)

• Eels, once crucial for food and trade

• Salmon, historically common before modern obstructions

Lough Ree, in particular, is sacred to anglers. Medieval monks kept fisheries, while the O’Farrell princes controlled rights to:

• eel weirs,

• salmon traps,

• river crossings,

• island fisheries.

These fisheries were so valuable that many were granted by charter to the Barons Delvin in the 16th century as part of their feudal rights.

V. Medieval Boating and Travel in Annaly

Before roads, boats were the primary mode of transport. Currachs, hide boats, and wooden craft moved:

• monks between islands,

• clan envoys to council sites,

• warriors along river approaches,

• traders carrying wool, hides, and timber,

• fishermen supplying local chieftains.

The O’Farrells, and later the Nugent Barons Delvin, controlled:

• river fords,

• maritime tolls,

• landing places,

• island moorings,

• ancient boat routes,
  all of which gave political leverage over the entire region.

VI. Invasions and Defenses Along the Water

Annaly’s waterways served as both routes of attack and lines of defense:

Viking Raids

Used the Shannon–Ree system to plunder monasteries, seize cattle, and occupy islands.

Norman Penetration (1200s)

The de Lacys and Nugents used boat routes to penetrate central Ireland and enforce the Lordship of Meath.

Tudor and Stuart Military Supply

English forces used the river system to:

• move troops into Annaly,

• deliver supplies to garrisons,

• attack O’Farrell castle sites,

• establish their own forts along the Shannon.

Gaelic Resistance

The O’Farrell clans used islands and marshland retreats as:

• refuges,

• hidden bases,

• ambush points.

Many battles were fought at river crossings like Tarmonbarry, Lanesborough, and Clondra.

VII. Annaly’s Gateway to the Atlantic

Few people today realize this crucial geographic fact:

Annaly had direct navigable access to the Atlantic Ocean.

A boat could travel from Annaly to the sea entirely by inland waterways:

1. Lough Ree

2. River Shannon

3. Lough Derg

4. Lower Shannon

5. Shannon Estuary

6. Atlantic Ocean

This is why:

• the Vikings reached Annaly,

• monks traveled from Annaly to mainland Europe,

• merchants shipped goods out to the coast,

• and the Crown considered Annaly a high-strategic node during the conquest of Ireland.

Annaly was not remotely inland—it was an inland maritime kingdom.

Conclusion

The waterways of Annaly and modern County Longford formed one of the most important inland maritime systems in Ireland. With Lough Ree as its inland sea, the Shannon as its ocean highway, and dozens of tributaries feeding its soil and its economy, Annaly was a kingdom shaped by water. Its lakes provided food, its rivers invited trade, its islands sheltered monks and warriors, and its navigable system connected it directly to the Atlantic world—allowing Vikings, princes, monks, and later English forces to move through the region as if it were an archipelago rather than a landlocked county. The story of Annaly is ultimately a story of water: sacred, strategic, bountiful, and profoundly central to its identity for over a thousand years.