The Shannon In Ireland

The river Shannon is easily the longest river in the British Isles, running through 11 of Ireland’s 32 counties. The river also creates three lakes on it’s path to the Atlantic Ocean, Lough Allen, Lough Ree and Lough Derg. This, interestingly, has made the river a hub for transportation throughout history. In fact, one could argue that the Shannon was one of the main reasons foreigners and invaders were able to spread themselves throughout Ireland. Incredibly, the portion of Ireland around the River Shannon has several hundred years worth of history where non-Irish peoples controlled the area. Due to river access, the Vikings alone controlled western Ireland from the late 8th century to the end of the 10th century. From the most ancient of …show more content…
A seafaring people, the Gangani were originally from the northern edge of Wales. The earliest known evidence of them in Wales dates back to around 350 B.C. However, a few hundred years later, they somehow ended up in western Ireland. As written by Hector MacLean of Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, “The Gangani, in Carnarvon in Wales, and in Clare in Ireland, from Welsh, gaing, ‘a wedge’, and ani (fhienna Veneti), ‘the wedge Veneti’; so called from the shape of the districts in Carnarvon and in Clare which they inhabited.” (47). Interestingly, this Welsh tribe used the Shannon river as a means to migrate to Ireland. Around 100 B.C., the tribe traveled up the Shannon river and claimed the surrounding lands from the tribe already living there. As noted by historyfiles.co.uk, “They force out the original inhabitants, who may be related to the Ordovices, and quickly split into two bodies. The first settles in the peninsula where it is known as the Gangani, …” Overall, the Gangani in Wales were wiped out by the Romans in 390 A.D., while the portion of the tribe that migrated up the Shannon River remained until other tribes finally wiped them out a few hundred years later. For this tribe, the Shannon served as their way of transport into the mainland of Ireland. They settled in the area around the Shannon because of the transportation the river …show more content…
According to Thomas Johnson Westropp’s article, The Normans in Thomond, “Torlough invaded eastern Limerick in full force ‘with his colours in the centre, and gilt shields outside’ : the spearmen on the flanks and the cavalry in the rear, he swept through Uaithne, Coonagh, and Cashel, and burned the walled towns of Cahirconlish and Pallasgrian, ravaged the country round Thurles, and marched north on Latteragh (Leitrach odhrain) and Nenagh.” (381). It’s almost tragic that the Irish had to re-invade Limerick and other areas around the Shannon that once belonged to Ireland. However, once again, the Shannon proved to be a valuable invasion