River Shannon (Abhainn na Sionainne)
River
River Shannon from Drumsna bridge, County Leitrim
Country	Ireland
Counties	Cavan, Leitrim, Roscommon, Longford, Offaly, Westmeath, Galway, Clare, Tipperary, Limerick, Kerry
Source	Shannon Pot
- location	Dowra, Cuilcagh Mountain, County Cavan
- elevation	100 m (328 ft)
- coordinates	54°14′06″N 7°55′12″W / 54.235°N 7.92°W / 54.235; -7.92
Mouth	Shannon Estuary
- location	Limerick
- coordinates	52°39′25″N 8°39′36″W / 52.657°N 8.66°W / 52.657; -8.66
Length	360.5 km (224 mi)
Basin	6,060 sq mi (15,695 km2)

The River Shannon (Irish: Abha na Sionainne / an tSionainn / an tSionna) is the longest river in Ireland at 360.5 km (224 miles).^[1]

It divides the west of Ireland (principally the province of Connacht) from the east and south (Leinster and most of Munster). County Clare, being west of the Shannon but part of the province of Munster, is the major exception. The river represents a major physical barrier between east and west, with fewer than twenty crossing-points between Limerick city in the south and the village of Dowra in the north.

The river is named for Sionna, a Celtic goddess.^[2]

The Shannon has been an important waterway since antiquity, having first been mapped by the Graeco-Egyptian geographer Ptolemy. The river flows generally southward from the Shannon Pot in County Cavan before turning west and emptying into the Atlantic Ocean through the 113 km (70 mi) long Shannon Estuary. Limerick city stands at the point where the river water meets the sea water of the estuary. The Shannon is unaffected by sea tides east of Limerick.

Geography[link]

By tradition the Shannon is said to rise in the Shannon Pot, a small pool on the slopes of Cuilcagh Mountain in County Cavan, from where the young river appears as a small trout stream. Surveys have defined a 12.8 km² immediate pot catchment area covering the slopes of Cuilcagh. This area includes Garvah Lough, Cavan, 2.2 km to the northeast, drained by Pollnaowen.^{[n 1]} Further sinks that source the pot include Pollboy and, through Shannon Cave, Pollahune in Cavan and Polltulyard and Tullyrrakeeragh in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. The highest point in the catchment is a spring at Tiltinbane on the western end of the Cuilcagh mountain ridge.^[3]

From the Shannon Pot, the river subsumes a number of tributaries before replenishing Lough Allen at its head.^[4]

The river runs through or between 11 of Ireland's counties, subsuming the tributary rivers Inny, Suck and Brosna, before reaching the Shannon Estuary at Limerick. At a total length of 360.5 km (224 miles), this means it is the longest river in both Ireland and the wider British Isles.^{[5][6][7][8][9]}

River Shannon at Clonmacnoise, County Offaly.

There are some tributaries within the River Shannon system which may have headwaters that are further in length (from source to mouth) than the Shannon Pot source. Most notably the Owenmore river in Co. Cavan, which flows west through the valley of Glengavlin, joining the Shannon about 2 miles below Lugnashinna.^[10]

Lakes on the Shannon include Lough Allen, Lough Ree and Lough Derg.

History[link]

Carrick-on-Shannon Bridge, Leitrim

The river began flowing along its present course after the end of the last Ice Age. Vikings settled in the region in 10th century and used the river to raid the rich monasteries deep inland. In 937 the Limerick Vikings clashed with those of Dublin on Lough Ree and were defeated.

In the 17th century, the Shannon was of major strategic importance in military campaign in Ireland, as it formed a physical boundary between the east and west of the country. In the Irish Confederate Wars of 1641-53, the Irish retreated behind the Shannon in 1650 and held out for two further years against English Parliamentarian forces. In preparing a land settlement, or plantation after his conquest of Ireland Oliver Cromwell reputedly said the remaining Irish landowners would go to "Hell or Connacht", referring to their choice of forced migration west across the river Shannon, or death, thus freeing up the eastern landholdings for the incoming English settlers.

In the Williamite war in Ireland (1689–91), the Jacobites also retreated behind the Shannon after their defeat at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. Athlone and Limerick, cities commanding bridges over the river, saw bloody sieges. (See Sieges of Limerick and Siege of Athlone).

As late as 1916, the leaders of the Easter Rising planned to have their forces in the west "hold the line of the Shannon". However, in the event, the rebels were neither well enough armed nor equipped to attempt such an ambitious policy.

The Shannon river is closely bound up with Ireland's social, cultural, military, economic and political history.

Navigation[link]

The Shannon Pot, the traditional source of the river

Course of River Shannon

River Shannon at Limerick. Limerick is the end point of the river, where it flows into the Shannon Estuary

Though the Shannon has always been important for navigation in Ireland, there is a fall of only 18 m (60 ft) in the first 140 miles. Consequently it has always been shallow with 0.5 m (2 ft) depths in various places. The first serious attempt to improve things came in 1755 when the Commissioners of Inland Navigation ordered Thomas Omer, a new, possibly Dutch immigrant from England, to commence work.^[11] He tackled four places between Lough Derg and Lough Ree where natural navigation was obstructed, by installing lateral canals and either pound locks or flash locks. He then continued north of Lough Ree and made a number of similar improvements, most notably by cutting out a loop of the river at Jamestown as well lateral canals at Roosky and Lanesborough.

The lower Shannon between Killaloe and Limerick was a different story. Here the river falls by 30 m (100 ft) in only 20 km (12 mi). William Ockenden, also from England, was placed in charge of this in 1757 and spent £12,000 over the next four years without fully completing the task. In 1771 parliament handed over responsibility to the Limerick Navigation Company with a grant of £6,000 to add to their subscriptions of £10,000. A lateral canal 5 miles long with 6 locks was started but the company needed more to complete it. In 1791, William Chapman was brought in to advise and discovered a sorry state of affairs. All the locks had been built to different dimensions and he spent the next three years rebuilding most of them. The navigation was finally opened in 1799, when over 1,000 tons of corn came down to Limerick as well as slates and turf. But even then, there were no tow paths in the river sections and there were still shoals in the summer months, no harbour facilities at Limerick and boats were limited to 15-20 tons load, often less.

With the approaching opening of the Grand Canal, the Grand Canal Company obtained permission from the Directors General and asked John Brownrigg to do a survey which found that much of Omer's work had deteriorated badly, so they started repairs. After protracted negotiations on costs and conditions, the work was completed by 1810 so that boats drawing 5'9" could pass from Athlone to Killaloe. Improvements on the lower levels were also undertaken, being completed by 1814.

When the Royal Canal was completed in 1817 there was pressure to improve the navigation above Lough Ree. The Jamestown Canal was repaired, harbours built and John Killaly designed a canal alongside the river from Battlebridge to Lough Allen which was opened in 1820.

In the latter part of the 1820s, trade increased dramatically with the arrival of paddle-wheeled steamers on the river which carried passengers and goods. By 1831 14,600 passengers and 36,000 tons of freight were being carried. This put new pressure on the navigation and a commission was set up resulting in the Shannon Navigation Act of 1835 appointing five Commissioners for the improvement of navigation and drainage who took possession of the whole navigation. Over the next 15 years many improvements were made but in 1849 a railway was opened from Dublin to Limerick and the number of passengers fell dramatically. Freight, which had risen to over 100,000 tons per year, was also halved.

But the work the commissioners carried out failed to solve the problems of flooding and there were disastrous floods in the early 1860s. Given the flat nature of most of the river this was not easily addressed and nothing much was done till the twentieth century.

One of the first projects of the Irish Free State in the 1920s was to build the Ardnacrusha power station on the lower Shannon near Killaloe. The old navigations were abandoned and the head race constructed from Lough Derg which also served for navigation. A double lock has been provided for navigation.

In the 1950s traffic began to fall and low fixed bridges would have replaced opening bridges but for the actions of the Inland Waterways Association of Ireland which persuaded the Tánaiste to encourage passenger launches, which kept the bridges high enough for navigation. Since then the leisure trade has steadily increased, becoming a great success story.

In 2007 Donald Attig and Jack Donovan claimed to have set endurance and adventure challenge benchmark records by becoming the first persons to transit the entire Shannon Navigation in an engineless boat, with live aboard capability.^{[citation needed]}

Canals[link]

Shannon-Bridge, Offaly

There are also many canals connecting with the River Shannon. The Royal Canal and the Grand Canal connect the Shannon to Dublin and the Irish Sea. It is linked to the River Erne and Lough Erne by the Shannon-Erne Waterway. Ballinasloe is linked to the Shannon via the River Suck and canal, while Boyle is connected via the Boyle canal, the river Boyle and Lough Kee. There is also the Ardnacrusha canal connected with the Ardnacrusha dam south of Lough Derg. Near Limerick, a short canal connects Plassey with the Abbey River, allowing boats to bypass the Curraghower Falls, a major obstacle to navigation. Lecarrow village in County Roscommon is connected to Lough Ree via the Lecarrow canal. Jamestown Canal forms a link between the River Shannon, from south of Jamestown, to Lough Nanoge to the south of Drumsna.

Economics[link]

Athlone, Westmeath

Despite being 360.5 km (224.0 mi) long, it rises only 76 m (256 feet) above sea level, so the river is easily navigable, with only a few locks along its length. There is a hydroelectric generation plant at Ardnacrusha belonging to the ESB.

Shipping in Shannon estuary was developed extensively during the 1980s, with over IR£2 billion (€2.5Billion) investment. A tanker terminal at Foynes and an oil jetty at Shannon Airport were built. In 1982 a large scale alumina extraction plant was built at Aughinish Island. 60,000 tonne cargo vessels now carry raw bauxite from West African mines to the plant, where it is refined to alumina. This is then exported to Canada where it is further refined to aluminium. 1985 saw the opening of a 915 MW coal-fired electricity plant at Moneypoint, fed by regular visits by 150,000 tonne bulk carriers.

Cultural[link]

The Shannon reputedly hosts a river monster named Cata, first appearing in the Book of Lismore, an ancient Irish Manuscript, translated to English by Whitley-Strokes. In this manuscript we are told that Senan, patron saint of County Clare, went to seek the monster "to place it in which it abode"(Inis Cathaig = Scattery Island).^[12] Cata is described as a large monster with a horse's mane, gleaming eyes, thick feet, nails of iron and a whale's tail. Numerous sightings have been reported, notably that of Captain Shaw and his crew in July 1922. ^{[13] [14]}

See also[link]

• Shannon International Airport
• Shannon Town
• Cromwellian conquest of Ireland

Notes[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Information, maps etc. on The Shannon Navigation (from Inland Waterways Association of Ireland)
• River Shannon
• An Account of a Navigation of the Shannon River in 3 Sea Kayaks during August 2007
• Salmon fishing on the River Shannon, from Salmon Ireland
• "River Shannon". Encyclopædia Britannica. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/538586/River-Shannon. 

Will Oakland (January 15, 1880–May 15, 1956) was an American Countertenor famed for his exceptionally high vocal range. He was born Herman Hinrichs in Jersey City, New Jersey, to German-American immigrant parents.

Oakland began his musical career after leaving the United States Army in 1905, joining Lew Dockstader's minstrels in Rochester, New York. He began recording for Edison Records in 1908, soon after Richard Jose's retirement. In addition to appearing as a solo performer, Oakland recorded duets with Billy Murray, sometimes singing the female part in love songs. He often sang woeful, sentimental songs that contrasted with Murray's usually upbeat reportoire.

From 1912 to 1914 Oakland recorded in the Heidelberg Quintet, joining the members of the American Quartet.

External links[link]

• Collected Works of Will Oakland
• Collected Works of Billy Murray and Will Oakland
• Collected Works of Heidelberg Quintet with Billy Murray
• "In the Gloaming" The American Quartet with Will Oakland (1910)
• "Just Before the Battle, Mother", Will Oakland and Chorus (1912)

Bridie Gallagher
Background information
Birth name	Bridget Gallagher
Also known as	"The Girl from Donegal"
Born	(1924-09-07)7 September 1924 Creeslough, County Donegal, Ireland
Died	9 January 2012(2012-01-09) (aged 87) Belfast, Northern Ireland
Genres	Irish
Occupations	Singer
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1956–2000
Labels	Beltona, Decca, London Records (US), Emerald Records, Parlophone, Capitol (US), Pye Records

Bridget "Bridie" Gallagher (7 September 1924 – 9 January 2012) was an Irish singer, affectionately known as "The Girl from Donegal". She was "Ireland's first truly international pop star".^[1]

Gallagher shot to fame in 1956 with her recording of "A Mother's Love's A Blessing" and achieved international acclaim with her legendary rendition of "The Boys From County Armagh". During her career, which spans over six decades, she has appeared in many leading venues across the globe. She also made songs such as "The Homes of Donegal" famous.

Career[link]

Gallagher started her singing in the Creeslough Hall with a local Ceili Band started by Bill Gallagher. The Creeslough Hall was owned by Jim Mc Caffrey and Bridie would make many more visits to the Creeslough Hall in her home town throughout her long and successful career. Bridie's talent was soon spotted in the 1950's by Billy Livingstone (no relation to her husband) who was a talent scout for Decca records, and she went to Belfast which was to become her base, therein she married George Livingstone and had two boys, Jim and Peter. One son, Peter died in a motor accident in 1976 and the other later went on to tour with Gallagher.

Gallagher holds the record for the largest number of people in attendance in the Albert Hall London, with over 7,500 people,^[2] a record that was never equalled as it went on to be come an all seater venue. Gallagher become world famous and travelled all over the world, United States, Canada, Europe, Australia and was known as "The Girl from Donegal". Bridie played in many of the world's best known theatre's including London's Royal Albert Hall, Sydney Opera House and Carnegie Hall in New York. Bridie sang mainly ballads or as they later became known as Country and Irish. One of her best known songs was "The Boys From The County Armagh" which sold over 250,000 copies, the biggest selling Irish single at that time. ^[3]

Gallagher had her own radio show on RTÉ. As well as many appearances on television (RTÉ, BBC, UTV, and coast to coast in the United States).^[4]

Personal life[link]

Gallagher has lived in Belfast for most of her life. In 1976 she lost her 21-year-old son in a motorbike accident."She never really got over that (accident)," said her son Jim, "but she just kept going.". She was honoured by the people of Creeslough on July 10, 2000 with an event to celebrate her career. Members of her family from Creeslough and Donegal attended the event along with her two sisters and their families who travelled from Glasgow to be there along with an estimated crowd of 2,500 fans. A plaque paying tribute to Gallagher was unveilled. The following day she was honoured by Donegal County Council when the held a Civic Reception for her. "Bridie blazed the trail for many artists who followed after her and I'm sure that many of them looked upon her as a role model as they started their careers in the music world," council chairman Charlie Bennett said at the ceremony.

Gallagher died at her home in Belfast on 9 January 2012 at the age of 87.^[5][6] With her burial taking place in her native Creeslough.^[7]

Discography[link]

Singles[link]

• A Mother's Love's a Blessing/ I'll Remember You Love, In My Prayers (1956)
• The Boys From the County Armagh/ Kilarney and You (July, 1957)
• The Girl from Donegal / Take this Message to my Mother (1958)
• At the Close of an Irish Day / Two Little Orphans (1958)
• The Hills of Donegal / My Mother's Last Goodbye (1958)
• I'll Forgive But I'll Never Forget / Poor Little Orphan Boy (1958)
• Hillside in Scotland / Johnny Gray (1958)
• The Kylemore Pass / Cutting the Corn in Creeslough (1958)
• Goodbye Johnny / The Faithful Sailor Boy (1958)
• I Found You Out/ It's A Sin To Tell A Lie (December 1958)
• If I Were a Blackbird / The Moon Behind the Hill (1959)
• Moonlight in Mayo / In The Heart of Donegal (1959)
• I Left Ireland and My Mother Because we were Poor / Star of Donegal (1959)
• Noreen Bawn / Moonlight on the River Shannon (1959)
• Hills of Glenswilly / The Old Wishin' Chair (1959)
• Orange Trees Growing in Old County Down / The Crolly Doll (1959)
• I'll Always Be With You / Stay With Me (May 1959)
• Irish Jaunting Car / Johnny My Love(1960)
• My Lovely Irish Rose / Don't Forget To Say I Love You (1960)
• Homes Of Donegal / Ballyhoe (1960)
• Rose of Killkenny / Shall My Soul Pass Through Old Ireland (1960)
• The Castlebar Fair / Home To Mayo (1962)
• Christmas In Old Dublin Town/ I'll Cry Tomorrow (December 1962)
• A Little Bunch Of Violets/ The Bonny Boy (1966)
• The Wild Colonial Boy/ Poor Orphan Girl (1967)
• Destination Donegal / The Turfman From Ardee (1967)
• The Glen of Aherlow / Henry Joy (1967)
• Cottage On The Borderline / Rose of Mooncoin (December, 1967)
• Swinging In The Lane / 5,000 Miles From Sligo (October, 1970)
• If I Had My Life To Live Over / Golden Jubilee (1971)
• Just Like Your Daddy/ No Charge (March, 1976)
• A Mother's Love's a Blessing / The Road To Creeslough (October, 1976)

Extended Plays[link]

• The Girl From Donegal, No. 1
• A1: The Girl From Donegal
• A2: Take This Message To My Mother
• B1: At The Close Of An Irish Day
• B2: Two Little Orphans

• The Girl From Donegal, No. 3 (1958)
• A1:Hill Of Donegal
• A2: I'll Forgive But I'll Never Forget
• B1: The Boys From County Armagh
• B2: The Poor Orphan Boy

• Bridie Gallagher (1959)
• A: Moonlight On The Shannon River
• B1: I Left Ireland And Mother Because We Were Poor
• B2: The Hills Of Glenswilly

• Bridie Gallagher (EP) (1959)
• A1: I Found You Out
• A2: Two-Faced Moon
• B1: It's A Sin To Tell A Lie
• B2: Somebody Cried At Your Wedding

Long Plays[link]

• At Home With Bridie Gallagher (1962)
• Little Bunch of Violets (1966)
• In The Heart of Donegal (1968)
• Bridie Gallagher Sings Irish Requests (1970)
• The Half Door (1978)

Discography Sources = ^{[8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16]}

References[link]

External links[link]

• DDTV: BRIDIE GALLAGHER SINGING ‘A MOTHER’S LOVE’S A BLESSING’

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2011)

Not to be confused with the pornographic actress Savanna Samson

Savannah
Born	Shannon Michelle Wilsey (1970-10-09)October 9, 1970 Mission Viejo, California, U.S.
Died	July 11, 1994(1994-07-11) (aged 23)
Other names	Silver Cane, Silver Kane, Savanah, Silver
Height	5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
Weight	105 lb (48 kg; 7.5 st)
No. of adult films	119 (per IAFD)

Shannon Michelle Wilsey (October 9, 1970 – July 11, 1994), commonly known by her stage name of Savannah, was an American pornographic performer, starring in more than 100 pornographic videos during her career. One of the most prominent adult-industry models of her time, she achieved notoriety within her short (1990–1994) career due to her on-screen presence and personal life. Savannah committed suicide in 1994 after a car accident.^[1][2][3]

Wilsey reportedly took her stage name from Savannah Smiles, a 1982 movie she enjoyed.

Career and relationships[link]

Wilsey signed an exclusive contract with Vivid Entertainment in 1991 and quickly became famous. She began using drugs and spending huge amounts of money, and reportedly had severe financial troubles despite her substantial income. She also garnered a reputation for being temperamental, leading Vivid to sever its association with her in 1992.

Wilsey became involved in a long-term lesbian relationship with fellow porn model Jeanna Fine, with whom she later claimed to have fallen deeply in love.^[4] She also had relationships with musician Gregg Allman, comedian Pauly Shore, bassist Billy Sheehan, guitarist Slash,^[3] and Vince Neil of Mötley Crüe.^[5]

Death[link]

Around 2:00 a.m. on July 11, 1994, Wilsey drove herself and a friend, Jason Swing, home from a night of partying. According to reports, both were intoxicated. One block from her home, she drove her Corvette into a fence, suffering lacerations to her face and breaking her nose. When she and Swing got to her house, she sent him out to walk her Rottweiler, Daisy.

She was found in a pool of blood, but still breathing, by her friend, Nancy Pera. She had shot herself in the head with a 9 mm handgun she kept in her home. After almost nine hours in a coma, she died at 11:20 a.m. on July 11, 1994, at St. Joseph's Medical Center in Burbank, California.

After her death, Wilsey's family traded angry public statements of blame with her friends in the porn industry. Police investigators concluded that she was deeply depressed due to several factors, including her drug use, financial difficulties, and failed relationships. The accident in which she sustained injuries that might have seriously hurt her career, police theorized, was the final factor that led her to take her own life.

In popular culture[link]

The Austin-based rock band Okkervil River has written three songs based on the life and times of Savannah. They are entitled "Red" on the album Don't Fall in Love with Everyone You See, "Savannah Smiles" on The Stage Names, and "(Shannon Wilsey on the) Starry Stairs" on The Stand-Ins.

References[link]

External links[link]

Biography portal

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Savannah (pornographic actress)

• Savannah at Find a Grave
• Savannah at the Internet Movie Database
• Savannah at the Internet Adult Film Database
• Savannah at the Adult Film Database