The River Brosna is a river in Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

, flowing through County Westmeath

County Westmeath

-Economy:Westmeath has a strong agricultural economy. Initially, development occurred around the major market centres of Mullingar, Moate, and Kinnegad. Athlone developed due to its military significance, and its strategic location on the main Dublin–Galway route across the River Shannon. Mullingar...

 and County Offaly

County Offaly

County Offaly is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Midlands Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe and was formerly known as King's County until the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922. Offaly County Council is...

.

The river rises in Lough Owel

Lough Owel

Lough Owel is a lough in the Midlands of Ireland, situated north of Mullingar, the county town of Westmeath. It is a deep lake, well known amongst anglers, and holds a few char along with brown trout. Water from Lough Owel feeds the Royal Canal, a canal crossing Ireland from Dublin to the River...

 north of Mullingar

Mullingar

Mullingar is the county town of County Westmeath in Ireland. The Counties of Meath and Westmeath Act of 1542, proclaimed Westmeath a county, separating it from Meath. Mullingar became the administrative centre for County Westmeath...

  and is a tributary of the River Shannon

River Shannon

The River Shannon is the longest river in Ireland at . It divides the west of Ireland from the east and south . County Clare, being west of the Shannon but part of the province of Munster, is the major exception...

. It meets the Shannon at Shannon Harbour

Shannon Harbour

Shannon Harbour older name Cluain Uaine Bheag)is a small village on the banks of the Grand Canal of Ireland. There are facilities for boats to park up on the edge of the canal. There are two pubs in the village, McIntyre's and the Canal Bar....

.

Course

The Brosna begins as a small river, flowing from Lough Owel

Lough Owel

Lough Owel is a lough in the Midlands of Ireland, situated north of Mullingar, the county town of Westmeath. It is a deep lake, well known amongst anglers, and holds a few char along with brown trout. Water from Lough Owel feeds the Royal Canal, a canal crossing Ireland from Dublin to the River...

 in a south-south-westerly direction through Mullingar

Mullingar

Mullingar is the county town of County Westmeath in Ireland. The Counties of Meath and Westmeath Act of 1542, proclaimed Westmeath a county, separating it from Meath. Mullingar became the administrative centre for County Westmeath...

, into Lough Ennell

Lough Ennell

Lough Ennell is a lake near the town of Mullingar, County Westmeath, Ireland. It is situated beside the N52 road, off the Mullingar/Kilbeggan road. It is approximately 4.5 miles long by 2 miles wide, with an area of about...

. From Lough Ennell, the river Brosna flows into Kilbeggan

Kilbeggan

-Geography:Kilbeggan is situated on the River Brosna, in the south of County Westmeath. It lies southeast of Lough Ennell, north of the boundary with County Offaly, about 9 kilometres north of Tullamore. Kilbeggan is surrounded by the gently rolling Esker Riada, the linear sand hills that stretch...

, where it still powers the mill at Kilbeggan Distillery

Kilbeggan Distillery

Kilbeggan Distillery is situated on the River Brosna in Kilbeggan, County Westmeath, Ireland....

. The Brosna continues flowing southwest through Clara

Clara

Clara is a town on the River Brosna in County Offaly and is the 10th largest town in the midlands of Ireland. The town has a population of 3001 , however a number of well populated housing estates lie outside the town boundary making the actual population higher...

. East of Ferbane

Ferbane

Ferbane is a small town on the north bank of the River Brosna in County Offaly, Ireland, between Birr and Athlone at the junction of the N62 National secondary road and the R436 regional road...

 it is joined by the Silver River

Silver River (Ireland)

The Silver River flows from the Slieve Bloom Mountains in the south of County Offaly in central Ireland. The village of Cadamstown, on the river, is home of The Silver River Geological Reserve.-Course:...

. From Ferbane it heads to Shannon Harbour

Shannon Harbour

Shannon Harbour older name Cluain Uaine Bheag)is a small village on the banks of the Grand Canal of Ireland. There are facilities for boats to park up on the edge of the canal. There are two pubs in the village, McIntyre's and the Canal Bar....

, north of Banagher

Banagher

Banagher is a town in Ireland, located in the midlands on the western edge of County Offaly in the province of Leinster, on the banks of the River Shannon. The name Banagher comes from its Irish name which translates to English as "the place of the pointed rocks on the Shannon"...

, where it joins the Shannon.

Fishing

The river Brosna is popular for fly fishing and has stocks of brown trout as well as some salmon and grilse. However it has, in recent years, suffered somewhat from pollution problems due to its poor assimilative capacity

Toxic capacity

Toxic capacity can mean the toxicity of a substance, possibly in relation to a specific organism and toxic capacity can mean the capacity of an organism, organic system or ecosystem to contain a toxic substance or a selection of toxic substances without showing signs of poisoning or dying.-Toxic...

 and the discharge of untreated sewage in the Mullingar area during storm conditions. There have also been discharges of pollutants, whether accidental or otherwise, such as one filmed at the bridge of Clonmore industrial estate in Mullingar.

Drainage

Works, to the cost of IR £750,000, were undertaken on the river in the late 1940s and early 1950s to improve drainage in the river’s catchment area. As part of the Arterial Drainage Scheme, designed to tackle poor drainage caused by Ireland’s relatively low lying topography, the river was deepened and widened, leaving the river with the high banks distinctive of many of the rivers in the Irish midlands that received this treatment. More recently, in late 2008 the river was diverted from the N52

N52 road (Ireland)

The N52 road is a national secondary road in Ireland. It links the M7 motorway from just south of Nenagh, County Tipperary to the M1 motorway north of Dundalk in County Louth.The road is long.-Quality of Road:...

road beside Mullingar in order to accommodate a new roundabout and bridge.