Overview
Anglers rate the Annalee as one of the finest brown trout fisheries in the Upper Erne system, and that is the main reason to seek it out – wild trout that regularly run to two and three pounds, in water most visitors drive straight past. The river is roughly 67 kilometres long, rising at Lough Sillan near Shercock and flowing west through Lough Tacker and past Cootehill before joining the River Erne below Butlersbridge. Its upper reaches are known as the Annagh. It drains a broad slice of north-central County Cavan, gathering the Bunnoe, Laragh, Dromore, Knappagh, Madabawn and Cavan rivers on the way. The name traces back to the townland of Annaghlee (Eanach Lao) and the old district of An Eoghanach; the Irish is Abhainn na hEoghancha.
Angling and wildlife
The stretches to fish are the water below Knappagh Bridge upstream of Cootehill, and around Deredis near Butlersbridge. Depending on season and conditions you’ll turn up perch, pike, roach, bream and brown trout, the best of the trout topping three pounds. Inland Fisheries Ireland produces a water-resistant fold-out angling guide with the local district clubs – Cavan, Laragh and Bunnoe – mapping access points, regulations and recommended fly patterns; it’s worth picking up before a first visit.
Permit and season rules change, so check what you need with Inland Fisheries Ireland before you fish, and follow any spawning-season restrictions. The quieter, sheltered stretches are good heron water, and if you’re patient and quiet you might catch an otter working the banks.
Walks and heritage
On foot the Annalee is a slow, rural walk: quiet paths near Lough Sillan, past Lough Tacker and into the market town of Cootehill, where the river takes in the Bunnoe and Laragh. Downstream, Butlersbridge gives you a scenic bridge crossing and a clear look at the confluence with the Erne. It’s stone-wall and patchwork-field country, worked land rather than wilderness.
The river carries one sobering piece of local history. In September 1895, Charles Joseph Fay, a former Home Rule League MP, drowned in the Annalee after losing his way in the dark coming home from the Cootehill fair. Flow has been gauged at Butlersbridge for decades: the catchment there is 774 km², average flow about 13.7 m³/s, and the highest reading on record was 107 m³/s on 30 November 1995.
Getting there and practical tips
Bank access is free along the public rights-of-way. The usual entry points are at Knappagh Bridge, Deredis near Butlersbridge, and around the Cootehill bridge, each a short walk from the road. A car is really the only practical way in – public transport is limited to services through Shercock and Cavan town.
- Permits: Check current requirements with Inland Fisheries Ireland; rules differ for coarse and trout fishing.
- What to bring: Sturdy footwear for muddy banks, the IFI angling guide, and a packed lunch – there’s no shop on the bank.
- Conditions: Flow is generally steady but rises quickly after heavy rain.
Nearby stops
- Annagh Lake – calm water for a swim and a crannóg to look at, a short drive north.
- Belturbet – on the Erne, with boat trips, heritage walks and Turbet Island.
- Cavan County Museum – local finds including the Killycluggin Stone.
- Butlersbridge – a quiet village on the lower river, good for a coffee stop.
Arrive early for the pick of the bank, sort your permit position with IFI beforehand, and give yourself time to wander the drumlin country around it – the river rewards a slow day, not a quick one.