The River Moy ()[ River Moy Placenames Database of Ireland. Retrieved: 2012-04-09.] is a river in the west of Ireland.
Name
Ptolemy's
Geography (2nd century AD) described a river called Λιβνιου (
Libniu, perhaps from *
lei- "flow"
), which probably referred to the River Moy.
The Moy is first named in Adomnán's Life of Columba (c. 700) as Modam fluvium. Later spellings include Muaide, Muadam, Múed, Múaid; the name An Mhuaidh is used in modern Irish. The name is possibly derived from the Old Irish word muad, meaning "noble."
Geography
The Moy rises at the foot of the
Ox Mountains in
County Sligo. It flows for .
For the greater part of its length, it flows southwestward, entering
County Mayo and passing near
Swinford before passing through
Foxford then turning north near the village of Kilmore and heading for the town of Ballina, where it enters the
Atlantic Ocean at
Killala Bay. The Moy Estuary is long beginning at Ballina and running into Killala Bay.
The catchment area of the River Moy is 2,086 km
2.
The long term average flow rate of the River Moy into
Killala Bay is 61.5 cubic metres per second (m
3/s)
The Moy valley, with its ancient churches and , is a prominent tourist destination.
The entrance to the River Moy from an 1860 chart, showing turbulent water over the bar.
Economics
The
river was once among the best
salmon fisheries in
Europe; however, in recent times,
drift net fishing off the coast caused a huge decline in salmon numbers. According to central fisheries board statistics, 101,231 returning salmon were taken by drift nets off the west coast of Ireland in 2005. In the same year, 29% (6,675) of all rod-caught salmon in Ireland were taken in the Ballina district as a result of a
weir which keeps salmon trapped in the ridge pool near the mouth of the river during the summer. Drift netting for salmon was banned in November 2006 and the ban came into force on 1 January 2007.
https://web.archive.org/web/20160303222354/http://www.serbd.com/MultiDownloads/Creport/Chapters/Physical%20Description%20Ch3.pdf R.O.I. Rivers Table 3.10 P.38
External links
