Overview
Kinlough (Irish: Cionn Locha, ‘head of the lake’) sits at the junction of the R280 and R281 in the north of County Leitrim, about 2 miles from Bundoran and 13 miles from Manorhamilton. It takes its name and its whole character from Lough Melvin, which begins at the edge of the village and runs seven miles west, straddling the border with County Fermanagh. The lake is the reason to come: it is one of the finest wild-salmon and trout fisheries in the country, and it holds a trout you would struggle to catch anywhere else.
Lough Melvin and its islands
Lough Melvin is roughly seven miles long and a mile and a half wide, with four main islands. Woody Island (Inishkeen) is the largest at 32 acres; Inishtemple, 35 acres, carries the ruin of a 14th-century church tied to the MacClancy chieftains, and near the southern shore MacClancy Castle stands on a crannóg, a man-made island.
Two more ruins reward a look. Rossclogher Castle sits on its own island, and the nearby Rossclogher Abbey is bound up with one of the odder episodes in Irish history: after the Spanish Armada wrecked along this coast in 1588, the officer Francisco de Cuéllar sheltered with the MacClancys here and later wrote a vivid account of his months on the run. Boat trips to the islands can be arranged locally, or you can follow the shoreline paths and take the ruins in from the water’s edge.
Fishing and the River Drowes
Anglers come to Lough Melvin for its early-run Atlantic salmon and three native trout, including the rare gillaroo – Giolla Rua, the ‘red fellow’. The River Drowes, which carries the lake’s water the short distance to the Atlantic, is famous for landing the first Irish salmon of the year, and the catch often comes within a day or two of New Year.
The lake is a protected site, and its shores hold the endangered globeflower, molinia meadows and pockets of sessile oak woodland. If you plan to fish, you will need a permit; local tackle shops and community information points can arrange one and advise on conditions.
Mountains and walking
The Dartry Mountains rise straight behind the village. Arroo Mountain (523 m) is the peak directly above Kinlough; the same range carries Ben Bulben (526 m), Truskmore (647 m) and Ben Wiskin (514 m), and its glaciated valleys – Glencar, Glenade and Gleniff – are among the finest in the northwest. The quiet R280 makes for a scenic cycle toward Ballyshannon or Glenade.
History
Kinlough is the modern remnant of the ancient territory of Dartry, seat of the MacClancy chiefs; the name Cenn Locha is recorded as early as the 8th century. The village grew up alongside the Johnston estate, which at its height held more than 12,000 acres spread across four counties. In 1815 the old parish of Rossinver was split to create the modern parishes of Kinlough, Glenade and Ballaghameehan. The population fell steadily from the Famine onward and only began to recover this century, climbing from a few hundred at the turn of the millennium to just over a thousand today.
Nearby
Two oddities are worth the short drive. The Kinlough Folk Museum gathers the everyday history of the district, and up in Glenade the cave of Poll na mBear – ‘the hole of the bears’ – gave up the bones of brown bears, animals long extinct in Ireland.
Getting there and practical
By bus
Public transport is thin. Bus Éireann routes 483 (to Sligo) and 495 (to Manorhamilton) both run on Fridays only, calling at Bundoran and Ballyshannon on the way. On any other day of the week you will need a car.
Eating and staying
For its size the village eats well. Accommodation is mostly family-run B&Bs and guest houses, so it pays to ring ahead – the village website at kinlough.net has been ‘under construction’ for some time and isn’t a reliable source of listings. For dinner, the Courthouse is the pick for a proper sit-down meal (Mediterranean cooking), while Amore Pizza opens most evenings from 6.30 to 9.30pm, any night but Tuesday. The Village Inn, the Anglers Rest and the Kinlough Inn Chinese takeaway fill in the rest.