Lough Lannagh - the jewel in the crown of Castlebar

By Tom Gillespie

SINCE the opening of the Lough Lannagh loop walk in Castlebar thousands of walkers, runners and cyclists have enjoyed the lakeside amenity. The body of water is known by several names, the most popular being Lough Lannagh.

Samuel Lewis (circa 1782 to 1865) was the editor and publisher of topographical dictionaries and maps of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.

In the 1837 volume he gave a picture of what Castlebar was like pre-Famine and wrote that at the head of Lough Lanark, near the town, is an ancient burial place, commanding a fine view of the distant mountains; and on the other side of the lake are the ruins of a fortified residence.

The lake is also known as Church Lake as there was once a church on the site of the old graveyard which overlooks the lake.

Down the centuries the lake has been a focal point for Castlebar folk. In the 1950s the Castlebar Development Association (CDA) ran carnivals in the military barracks to raise funds to undertake landscaping on the graveyard side of the lake.

Lines of palm trees were planted, many of which are still in place today along the pathway.

The diving board was a focal point for swimming and picnics and was also a popular location for courting couples.

In the late 1950s and early ‘60s I was one of the many who learned to swim at the diving board. The actual ‘diving board’ itself had long since rotted away and fallen into the water, but the steel structures which held the board in place remained.

During the summer months we went swimming there on a daily basis. Once we learned to stay afloat we took turns to dive in. To do so we had to crawl out on the iron frame.

It was safe to dive straight out or to the left, but not to the right, as many years previous the CDA had staged a regatta there. One of the highlights was the diving competition and to accommodate this, scaffolding was erected on the diving board to raise the diving board height.

However, when the event was over the scaffolding was left in place and eventually collapsed into the water, landing to the right of the diving board. Portions of it could still be seen there in the ‘60s so it was best to avoid diving to the right.

We were competent swimmers then and thought nothing of swimming to Gillespie’s Island - over which the new bridge has been erected - on the loop.

From there we would continue our swim to The Point, below the new playground on the loop, and then make our way back to the diving board.

There was a nice swimming spot at The Point. We often walked there along a path over stiles in the fields on the St. Gerald’s College side of the river and lake. Or we would go to the top of Blackfort and down what we called the Castle boreen which comes out at the ruins of an old castle.

At The Point you could swim out to a submerged log, sit on it for a while and then dive off it and back to shore.

Along the path to The Point whitethorn and other bushes grew on the ditches and were ideal for bird nest spotting.

In winter the sloping hills on The Point side were toboggan-perfect locations and youngsters from all around the town enjoyed the activities there.

Today Lough Lannagh is the jewel in Castlebar’s crown. It is a nature reserve, with its resident swans who pay no attention to the young swimmers, canoeists paddle-boarders and others who go out on the water.

One of the most recent groups to use the lake are the Gráine Mhaol Dragon Boat Club.

The club was founded by Louise Rodgers-Killeen of Cashel, Parke, Castlebar, a survivor of breast cancer.

In 2015 she heard of the benefits of dragon boating from a team of cancer survivors. Louise decided to set up a group in Mayo and organised a dragon boat day on Lough Lannagh. This involved making contact via text with around 400 cancer survivors in the county and advertising the event in the media.

She ordered a boat and set up the club, calling it the Gráine Mhaol Dragon Boat Club.

Currently there are up to 60 women training twice weekly on Lough Lannagh in a boat brought in specially from China.

However, the members had no safe landing facility at the lake and they contacted local councillors who helped to fund the purchase of a pontoon.

The link between dragon boating - an activity that started in China over 2,000 years ago - and breast cancer may not be obvious, but dragon boat teams made up of people who’ve had breast cancer have been growing in popularity since the movement began in Canada in 1996.

Set up to challenge the conventional wisdom that after treatment, women should avoid upper body exercise for fear of developing lymphoedema, the dragon boat movement has since spread internationally and is hugely active in Castlebar.

Opposite the diving board are the ruins of Bourke Castle, built in 1580, but never completed or lived in.

The ivy-covered ruins can still be seen adjacent to the north-west shore of Lough Lannagh.