Lough Rea
The town of Loughrea takes its name from the lake at its southern edge, Loch Riach, the speckled lake, which the town's streets run down to. It is a fishing lake and a walking lake, with a path along the shore, and it carries two legends: that it was made when gods fighting in the shape of deer burst a well, and that a town lies drowned beneath it.
Checked against the source on 2026-09-19.
Anthony2285, public domain via Wikimedia Commons
Lough Rea on the 3D model; tap a pin for its page and directions.
In the water
The lake holds brown trout, pike, perch, rudd and eel, with three-spined and ninespine stickleback in the shallows; it is stocked and fished from the shore and from boats. The lakeside walk and the swimming area are a few minutes from Main Street, and the model on this page pins the shore.
Two stories
The Dindsenchas tradition, the old lore of place names, says the lake formed after a battle between pre-Christian deities who fought as deer, the violence of it bursting a well that flooded the plain. The other story is simpler and older than anyone can trace: there was a town where the lake is, and the water took it.
Questions people ask
What fish are in Lough Rea?
What does Lough Rea mean?
Written from Wikipedia, "Lough Rea" (CC BY-SA 4.0), read on 2026-09-19, and from the OpenStreetMap places on the model. Nothing has been added from memory; follow the source for its footnotes.