River Suck

---

title: "River Suck" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["rivers-of-county-galway", "rivers-of-county-roscommon", "tributaries-of-the-river-shannon"] description: "Tributary of the Shannon in central and western Ireland" topic_path: "general/rivers-of-county-galway" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_Suck" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Tributary of the Shannon in central and western Ireland ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox river"]

Field	Value
name	River Suck
native_name	ga
image	RiverSuck2781.jpg
name_etymology	Irish suca, possibly from words meaning "amber" or "juice, sap"
image_caption	River Suck, Athleague
source1_location	Lough O'Flynn, County Roscommon
mouth_location	Shannonbridge, County Offaly
subdivision_type1	Country
subdivision_name1	Ireland
length_km	133
source1_elevation	72 m
discharge1_avg	22.2 m3/s
basin_size_km2	1600
tributaries_right	Smalghrean River, Linbaun River, Shiven River
mouth	River Shannon
::

| name = River Suck | native_name =ga | image = RiverSuck2781.jpg | name_etymology = Irish suca, possibly from words meaning "amber" or "juice, sap" | image_caption = River Suck, Athleague | source1_location = Lough O'Flynn, County Roscommon | mouth_location = Shannonbridge, County Offaly | subdivision_type1 = Country | subdivision_name1 = Ireland | length_km = 133 | source1_elevation = 72 m | discharge1_avg = 22.2 m3/s | basin_size_km2 = 1600 | tributaries_left = | tributaries_right = Smalghrean River, Linbaun River, Shiven River |mouth=River Shannon}}

The River Suck ( ) is a river within the Shannon River Basin in Ireland, 133 km (82.5 mi) in length. It is the main tributary of the River Shannon. It meets the Shannon a kilometre south of the village of Shannonbridge.

Name

The river's name is derived from the Irish suca. The Placenames Branch of the government Department of Culture, Communications and Sport observed that "the root word is wrapped in a web of uncertainty and lost in the mists of time". Edmund Hogan's Onomasticon Goedelicum (1910) records the spellings suġ (sugh), suggesting connections to Old Irish súg ("juice, sap").

Course

The River Suck drains an area of 1599 km2. It forms much of the border between County Roscommon and County Galway, flowing along the western side of County Roscommon. Together with the Shannon on the east, it creates the long narrow form of southern County Roscommon.

The river rises in hills on the border of County Mayo and County Roscommon, and passes from Lough O'Flynn in a general south and south-easterly direction. Settlements along the river include Athleague, Ballinasloe, Ballyforan, Ballymoe, Castlerea, Glinsk, and Tulrush, and it flows into the River Shannon a kilometre south of the village of Shannonbridge.

Geography

The water is clean and unpolluted and the river flows through unspoilt countryside with moorland, water meadows and pastureland. Some stretches are fast-flowing while others are slow and meandering. There are abundant bream, rudd and tench in some parts, and perch and pike are also plentiful. To prevent flooding at Ballinasloe, a weir was erected in 1885 immediately above the four-arch bridge, with draw-doors which can be raised when there is an approaching flood.

Suck Valley Way

The Suck Valley Way is a long-distance trail. It is a 105 km long circular route that begins and ends in Castlerea, County Roscommon. It is designated as a National Waymarked Trail by the National Trails Office of the Irish Sports Council and is managed by Roscommon County Council, Roscommon Integrated Development Company and the Suck Valley Committee.

References

References

1. Ordnance Survey of Ireland: ''Rivers and their Catchment Basins 1958 (Table of Reference)''
2. "Turloughs, Floods and Wells". National Museum of Ireland.
3. "eDIL - Irish Language Dictionary".
4. "DOI: Onomasticon Goedelicum (A)".
5. "SuckWater Management Unit Action Plan".
6. Philip's. (1994). "Atlas of the World". Reed International.
7. "The River Suck". DiscoverIreland.
8. Vernon-Harcourt, Leveson Francis. (2015). "Rivers and Canals". Cambridge University Press.
9. National Trails Office. (2010). "Setting New Directions. A review of National Waymarked Ways in Ireland". [[Irish Sports Council]].

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