The River Maigue

There was some work carried out to improve the river as far back as 1720 but it doesn’t ever seem to have been a very important navigation. Inland Navigation did some work from 1815 onwards, installing an opening bridge on the coast road (now the N69) at Ferrybridge, between Clarina and Kildimo. The river never had any locks.
Historically, the Maigue was recognised as a salmon fishery. Up to the middle of the 17th century, there were at least seven head weirs in the Maigue estuary below Adare where salmon were taken. There were also two salmon weirs associated with the monastic settlements in Adare up to the dissolution of the monasteries.
The early maps show that the harbour for Adare was not on the river itself: it was at the end of a short canal that started a little way upstream from the quay and that ended near the ruins of the Trinitarian Abbey.

For more information on the River Maigue visit https://irishwaterwayshistory.com/abandoned-or-little-used-irish-waterways/the-lower-shannon/the-piers-quays-and-harbours-of-the-shannon-estuary/the-maigue/