The Barrow is a river in Ireland. It is one of The Three Sisters; the other two being the River Suir and the River Nore. The Barrow is the longest of the three rivers, and at 192 km, the second-longest river in Ireland, behind the River Shannon. The catchment area of the River Barrow is 3,067 km2 before River Nore joins it a little over 20 km before its mouth. The river's long term average flow rate, again before it is joined by River Nore, is 37.4 cubic metres per second. At the merger with the River Suir, its catchment area is ca. 5,500 km2 and its discharge over 80 m3/s.
's Geography described a river called Βιργος ; it could be linked to the Proto-Indo-European *- "to hide, to protect," referring to Waterford Harbour as a place of refuge. The name Berbha is believed to derive from the Proto-Celtic *boru-, and is associated with Borvo, the Celtic god of minerals and spring water. Later spellings include Berba, Birga, Baruwe and Berrowe. The river's name is attributed to the action of Dian Cecht when he slew three serpents found in the heart of The Morrígan's infant son and threw them into the Barrow, thus causing it to boil. The earliest recorded name for the river is Berbha, from an AD 996 entry in the Annals of the Four Masters. Translated: The Barrow historically provided a natural boundary between the kingdoms of Laigin on the eastern shore and Osraige on the western shore. There was a proverb quoted by Sir John Davies that “whoso lives by west of the Barrow, lives west of the law.”
The tidal River Barrow, which together with the tidal reaches of its tributaries, the River Suir and River Nore, constitute 88 km of tidal river navigation.
The non-tidal river navigation featuring 23 locks, continuing 66 km inland from the tidal limit of the Barrow at St Mullin's to Athy.
The Barrow Line of the Grand Canal connects to the river at Athy and continues northwards a further 45 km with 9 locks, connecting to the mainline of the Grand Canal at Lowtown, and so to Dublin.
Recreation
It is common for people to kayak or swim in the Barrow in the summer months. The Barrow Way is a 120 kilometre long distance walk along the Barrow, one of Ireland's National Waymarked Trails. The trail follows the Barrow Line, and then along the towpaths along the non-tidal part of the river, ending in St. Mullins.
