The River Eske (also Eask) is a river in the northwest of 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...

, beginning at Lough Eske

Lough Eske

Lough Eske or Lough Eask is a small lake in County Donegal, in the northwest of Ireland. The lake lies to the northeast of Donegal Town, to which it is connected by the River Eske...

 in southeast County Donegal

County Donegal

County Donegal is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Ulster. It is named after the town of Donegal. Donegal County Council is the local authority for the county...

 before flowing mainly westwards to the town of Donegal

Donegal

Donegal or Donegal Town is a town in County Donegal, Ireland. Its name, which was historically written in English as Dunnagall or Dunagall, translates from Irish as "stronghold of the foreigners" ....

 and into the Atlantic via Donegal Bay

Donegal Bay

Donegal Bay is an inlet in the northwest of Ireland. Three counties – Donegal to the north and west, Leitrim and Sligo to the south – have shorelines on the bay, which is bounded on the west by the Atlantic Ocean...

.

The river itself is only 5 kilometers and Donegal Town is the only major settlement through which it flows. Despite its size, the river is well known for fishing, especially for spring salmon, sea trout and char, with the season running from 1 March to 31 September.

The river flows in the Bluestack Mountains

Bluestack Mountains

The Bluestack Mountains or Blue Stack Mountains, also called the Croaghgorms , are the major mountain range in the south of County Donegal, Ireland. They provide a barrier between the south of the county, such as Donegal Town and Ballyshannon, and the towns to the north and west such as Dungloe and...

 which are to the north of Donegal Town. In the town, it passes several tourist attractions, one of which is Donegal Castle

Donegal castle

Donegal Castle is a castle situated in the centre of Donegal town, County Donegal in the northwest of Ireland. For most of the last two centuries, the majority of the buildings lay in ruins but the castle was almost fully restored in the late 1990s....

, the former seat of the O'Donnell

O'Donnell

O'Donnell , which is derived from the forename Domhnaill were an ancient and powerful Irish family, kings, princes, and lords of Tír Chonaill in early times, and the chief allies and sometimes...

 Clan, the ancient rulers of the Lordship of Tyrconnell (roughly similar to modern day County Donegal without the Inishowen

Inishowen

Inishowen is a peninsula in County Donegal, part of the Province of Ulster in the north of Ireland. It is also the largest peninsula in all of Ireland. Inishowen is a picturesque location with a rich history...

 Peninsula). The mouth of the river is directly opposite a former Franciscan

Franciscan

Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....

 Abbey which was built by the O'Donnells but was destroyed by the English following the Flight of the Earls

Flight of the Earls

The Flight of the Earls took place on 14 September 1607, when Hugh Ó Neill of Tír Eóghain, Rory Ó Donnell of Tír Chonaill and about ninety followers left Ireland for mainland Europe.-Background to the exile:...

 in 1607

1607 in Ireland

-Events:* 14 September - Flight of the Earls: Hugh O'Neill, 2nd Earl of Tyrone and Rory O'Donnell, 1st Earl of Tyrconnell flee to Spain to avoid capture by the English crown.*Lifford comes into the possession of Sir Richard Hansard during the Plantation of Ulster....

.

Bridges

Almost as soon as the river parts from Lough Eske, it is crossed by Lough Eske Bridge; the river then flows in a southwest direction towards Donegal Town with the next crossing some two kilometers down stream at what is called Thrushbank Bridge; it continues southwestwards and is crossed by the N56 section of the Donegal Town By-pass by a new concrete bridge.

From this new bridge it heads soutwards were the smaller Drummenny River joins it before it heads westwards into the town, flowing past the Community Hospital. The river flows through three bridges in the actual town: the first and newest of the bridges is at Water Street, there have been several bridges at this sight since at least the 1830s which included wooden and concrete structures, the current bridge was ereted in 2004. From Water Street the Eske flows westwards and is bridged at Tyrconnell Street, this bridge is known as the 'Iron Bridge' for self-explanitory reasons and was constructed in 1895 although drawings show a bridge at the sight from earlier in the century, the bridge is being lined up for replacement because of its worsening state. The river finally flows southwards to Bridge Street, this is a three arched bridge originally constructed in between 1835 and 1840 and is now on the Record of Protected Structures as of 2003, this bridge is close to the sight of the original crossing of the river. After this final bridge the river meets with the sea, flowing into Donegal Bay.