The River Barrow (An Bhearú)

One of the Three Sisters, winding through Carlow's fertile valley.

The Barrow is the second-longest river in Ireland and, with the Nore and the Suir, forms the 'Three Sisters'. Its towpath is now a long-distance walking and cycling trail passing old mills, locks and riverside villages.

At a glance

• Second-longest river in Ireland
• One of the 'Three Sisters' (with Nore & Suir)
• The Barrow Way follows its towpath

In County Carlow

The River Barrow is in County Carlow, Ceatharlach in Irish, which means “four lakes”.

More in Carlow

• Mount Leinster (Stua Laighean): The highest peak of the Blackstairs Mountains, rising on the Carlow-Wexford border.

Other places of this kind

• River Shannon (An tSionainn): The longest river in Ireland, flowing generally southward.
• The River Liffey (An Life): The river that flows through the heart of Dublin, spanned by the city's famous bridges.
• The River Lee (An Laoi): The river that splits to cradle Cork city on an island.
• The River Nore (An Fheoir): One of the Three Sisters, flowing through the medieval city of Kilkenny.

The Irish name

The Irish form of The River Barrow is An Bhearú. You can hear it spoken, and take apart names like it, in the Placename Explorer. The authoritative record for any Irish place-name is logainm.ie.