The River Lee is a river in Ireland. It rises in the Shehy Mountains on the western border of County Cork and flows eastwards through Cork, where it splits in two for a short distance, creating an island on which Cork's city centre is built, then passing through Cork Harbour on the south coast, one of the largest natural harbours in the world, to empty into the Celtic Sea. The catchment area of the River Lee is 1,253 km2. The long-term average flow rate of the River Lee is 40.4 cubic metres per second A hydro-electric scheme was built on the river, upstream from Cork City, and this part of the river now contains the Carrigadrohid and Inniscarrareservoirs. The river is crossed by 42 bridges, 29 of which are in Cork City, and one tunnel. The river also provides an stretch of salmon fishing.
Name
's Geography described a river called Δαβρωνα or Λαβρωνα, which is sometimes considered to refer to the River Lee. Though unconfirmed, the Irish name for the river, Laoi, may derive from Corca Luighe, which in turn derives from 'Luighe', the son of a quasi-mythical Milesian noble. There is also the Λουρ which passes through Tralee.
Description
Course
The Lee flows from the lake of Gougane Barra as a fast-paced torrent, but by the town of Ballingeary it eases and flows into Lough Allua. Departing the lough, running east, it again becomes a rapid flow before running into The Gearagh, and Carrigadrohid feeder reservoirs, and then into the large Inniscarra reservoir created by Inniscarra Dam. Moving on, it flows down from the dam, in normal conditions a gentle river until it comes to Ballincollig Weir in Ballincollig Park; here it is dangerous to swimmers when in high water. The Lee then flows into the city under Inniscarra Bridge and flows parallel to the Carrigrohane road. Along this section gauges monitor the water levels from the Inniscarra Dam. The river flows over the Lee weir and then is split into the north and south channels at a sluice. This area is popular for recreation, kayaking and fishing. The two channels join again at the Cork docks and enter the extensive estuary and harbour, south of Glanmire, passing either side of Great Island to fill the outer harbour, and reaching the open sea between Whitegate and Crosshaven.
Tributaries
Upper course (above Inchigeela)
High tributaries include the Owenagariff, the Bunsheelin, the Paudeen and the Garrifowa.
Middle course (to the Dripsey)
Tributaries joining below Lough Allua and Inchigeela include the River Toon, the extensive Sullane River system, from near Ballyvourney via Macroom, the smaller Buinea and Glashagariff Rivers, and the River Dripsey and its tributares the Rylane and the Delaghinagh.
City area tributaries include the combined Maglin and Curraheen Rivers, capturing the Glasheen River also and joining at the western end of the UCC complex, and the Kiln River which joins by the Christy Ring Bridge in the city centre, a little west of St. Patrick's Bridge.
Tidal area
Estuarine tributaries include the Glashaboy River, passing Glanmire, the Douglas or Tramore River which drains parts of the southern city, Owennacurra River, and the Owenaboy River almost at the final mouth of the outer Lee estuary.
Recreation
Recreation activities on the Lee include sailing, from a sailing club based on Inniscarra lake, where people also swim. There is a kayak club based on the Lee Road. Water skiing also takes place on Inniscarra lake and several rowing clubs are based on the Lee including the "Lee Rowing Club", "Shandon Boat Club" and “Cork Boat Club”. Naomhoga Chorcai is also based on the Marina, and is Ireland's largest Currachrowing club. Angling is also common from the banks of the Lee Fields.
Flooding
Tidal considerations, combined with low-lying urban developments, and later dam management contribute to repeated flooding events on the Lee. For example, specific streets in Cork city centre have been affected by floods more than 100 times since the mid-19th century.
2009 flooding
In late 2009 the river flooded, causing some of the most significant damage in Cork city for a number of centuries. The Lee Water Station was forced to shut down after being submerged under six metres of water, and resulted in 40% of Cork City being without running water for over a week. Lower-lying parts of the University College Cork campus were also flooded extensively, resulting in lectures being cancelled throughout the week. There was severe damage to the university's then newly built IT building, the Western Gateway Building, situated next to the river on a known floodplain, where, for example, a 300-seat auditorium was flooded to near ceiling height. To prevent issues upstream, the ESB made a controversial decision to release water from the Inniscarra hydro-electric dam. This released 535 tonnes of water per second into the already flooded river, raising the flood to 1.5 metres in parts of the city centre. The ESB insisted this was an essential move, and if water had not been released, the flooding would have been much worse.
