Qualla: Lough Erne

Lough Erne: Introduction

Sun, 24 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Joli, CC BY-SA 4.0. In 1941, a Catalina flying boat lifted off Lower Lough Erne, banked west, and crossed neutral Irish territory in violation of every diplomatic convention. The aircraft was hunting the German battleship Bismarck. Ireland and Britain had quietly agreed that the lake's flying boats could shortcut across County Donegal to reach the Atlantic, saving the two-hour detour their neutrality would otherwise have required. The Catalina found the Bismarck. The Royal Navy sank it three days later. Today, the same lake is a fishing paradise and a tourist destination, but the story of how it got here threads back through ancient Celtic gods, medieval monastic scribes, secret wartime aviation, and the 2013 G8 summit when Obama and Putin walked its shoreline behind a four-mile fence.

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Image: Joli | CC BY-SA 4.0

Lough Erne: The Drowning of a Goddess

Sun, 24 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Sam2453, CC BY-SA 4.0. Lough Erne takes its name from the Érainn, an ancient population group, or possibly from a goddess named Érann from whom the Érainn took their own name. The linguist T. F. O'Rahilly argued that Loch Éirne probably means lake of the goddess Érann. Patricia Monaghan, who wrote abou...

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Image: Sam2453 | CC BY-SA 4.0

Lough Erne: Two Lakes, One River, 150 Islands

Sun, 24 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Joli, CC BY-SA 3.0. Strictly speaking, Lough Erne is two connected lakes formed by widened sections of the River Erne. The smaller southern lake is the Upper Lough, higher up the river. The larger northern lake is the Lower Lough, or Broad Lough. The town of Enniskillen sits on the short stretch of ...

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Image: Joli | CC BY-SA 3.0

Lough Erne: The Donegal Corridor

Sun, 24 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Thomas Roberts (1748 - 1778) – Artist (British) Born in Waterford. Died in Lisbon. Details on Google Art Project, Public domain. During the Second World War, RAF Castle Archdale on Lower Lough Erne was a key flying boat base for the Battle of the Atlantic. Aircraft based there hunted U-boats far out in the western approaches. The problem was geography. Northern Ireland's coast pointed east-southeast, which...

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Image: Thomas Roberts (1748 - 1778) – Artist (British) Born in Waterford. Died in Lisbon. Details on Google Art Project | Public domain

Lough Erne: Annalists on Belle Isle

Sun, 24 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit HeyPascoe, CC BY-SA 4.0. In the late fifteenth century, on Belle Isle in Upper Lough Erne, scribes worked at compiling what would become the Annals of Ulster, one of the most important sources for medieval Irish history. The Erne islands had long attracted monastic communities. Devenish Island, in the Lo...

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Image: HeyPascoe | CC BY-SA 4.0

Lough Erne: The G8 Behind Razor Wire

Sun, 24 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Embassy photograph, Public domain. In November 2012, Prime Minister David Cameron announced that the Lough Erne Resort, a five-star hotel on the southern shore of the Lower Lough, would host the 39th G8 summit. It convened on 17 and 18 June 2013. The choice was deliberate. The British government wanted to demonstr...

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Image: Embassy photograph | Public domain

Lough Erne: Anglers, Sailors, and the Garden Warbler

Sun, 24 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Stephen Ingram, CC BY 4.0. The Lough Erne Regatta is Ireland's oldest sailing event, with a lineage that traces back beyond 1820. The stretch of water alongside the Broadmeadow in Enniskillen has hosted stages of the World Waterski Championships every year since 2005. The Lough Erne Yacht Club operates fro...

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Image: Stephen Ingram | CC BY 4.0