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Lough Erne
Lough Erne or Loch Erne〔See Google Books for published examples online.〕 (pronounced , ) is the name of two connected lakes in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is the second-biggest lake system in Northern Ireland and Ulster, and the fourth biggest in Ireland. The lakes are widened sections of the River Erne, which flows north and then curves west into the Atlantic. The smaller southern lake is called the Upper Lough (as it is further ''up'' the river) or South Lough. The bigger northern lake is called the Lower Lough or North Lough. The town of Enniskillen lies on the short stretch of river between the lakes. The lake has 154 islands along with many coves and inlets. When windy, navigation on Lower Lough Erne, running for 26 miles almost to the Atlantic, can be something of a challenge with waves of open-sea dimensions. Shallow Upper Lough Erne, spreading southeast of Enniskillen for about 12 miles, is a maze of islands.〔(【引用サイトリンク】 work=Geographia - Original Official Site of the Northern Ireland Tourist Board )〕 The River Erne is 80ml (129 km)〔(Notes on River Basins: Page 67 )〕 long and drains an area of about 4,350 km².〔http://library.nics.gov.uk/pdf/dard/2011/EBNL.pdf〕
== Name, mythology and folklore ==
Lough Erne (Loch Éirne) appears to be named after an ancient population group called the Érainn, or after a goddess from which the Érainn took their name.〔Roulston, William J. ''Fermanagh: History and Society''. Geography Publications, 2004. pp.577-578.〕 Since tribes were often named after a divine ancestor, T. F. O'Rahilly suggested that the Érainn took their name from a goddess named Érann and that Loch Éirne probably means "lake of (the goddess) Érann".〔 O'Rahilly and other scholars have connected these names to Ériu (modern Éire), the goddess after which Ireland is named.〔 He writes that the earlier forms of these goddess names were Everna/Iverna and Everiu/Iveriu and that both come from "the Indo-European root ''ei-'', implying motion". In his view Érann and Ériu would thus appear to mean "she who travels regularly", explained as "the sun-goddess, for the sun was the great celestial Traveller".〔 Alternatively, John T. Koch suggests that Ériu was a mother goddess whose name comes from an Indo-European word stem meaning "fat, rich, fertile".〔
In Irish mythology and folklore, there are three tales about the lake's origins. One says that it is named after a mythical woman named Erne, Queen Méabh's lady-in-waiting at Cruachan. Erne and her maidens were frightened away from Cruachan when a fearsome giant emerged from the cave of Oweynagat. They fled northward and drowned in a river or lake, their bodies dissolving to become Lough Erne.〔Monaghan, Patricia. ''The Encyclopedia of Celtic Mythology and Folklore''. Infobase Publishing, 2004. pp.160, 319〕 Patricia Monaghan notes that "The drowning of a goddess in a river is common in Irish mythology and typically represents the dissolving of her divine power into the water, which then gives life to the land".〔Monaghan, p.27〕 Another tale says that it was formed when a magical spring-well overflowed,〔Wakeman, William Frederick. ''Lough Erne, Enniskillen, Belleek, Ballyshannon, and Bundoran''. 1870. pp.72-73〕 similar to the tale of Lough Neagh. The third says that, during a battle between the Érainn and the army of High King Fíachu Labrainne, it burst from the ground and drowned the Érainn.〔 In ''Cath Maige Tuired'' ("the Battle of Moytura"), it is listed as one of the twelve chief lochs of Ireland.〔Augusta, Lady Gregory. (Part I Book III: The Great Battle of Magh Tuireadh ). ''Gods and Fighting Men'' (1904) at Sacred-Texts.com.〕 Historically, the lake was also called ''Loch Saimer'' (''Samhaoir''). Folklore says that Partholón killed his wife's favourite hound—Saimer—in a fit of jealous rage, and the lake was named after it.
Lough Erne is the setting of a folk tale known as "The Story of Conn-eda" or "The Golden Apples of Lough Erne", which appears in ''Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry'' (1888). In the tale, Conn-eda goes on a quest to procure three golden apples, a black steed and a supernatural hound from a city underneath Lough Erne. The city is ruled by a king of the Fir Bolg.〔("The Story of Conn-eda; or The Golden Apples of Lough Erne" ). ''Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry'' (1888). Sacred-Texts.com.〕
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