Lough Sillan

FacilitiesEdit

A mobile home park and a well-equipped playground (open to the public) on the lake, a few hundred metres along the Cootehill Road out of Shercock. And, a log cabin lodge, with roughly 23 houses, a tennis court, a marina and a big field usable as a football pitch. Children play there. The lake is very popular with fisherpeople and water sports enthusiasts alike and is suitable for water skiing, wakeboarding and jet skiing, namely David O'Caoimh. In recent years a children's playground was built beside Lough Sillan.

HistoryEdit

On 25 July 1878, schoolmaster Michael McCabe took his pupils on a boat trip on Lough Sillan. After travelling a short distance the vessel capsized and sank, claiming 17 victims: the school principal, his wife, two school staff, and 13 pupils. It was one of Ireland’s worst inland drowning tragedies.

In July 2004, a plaque was unveiled at the lake shore adjacent to the path used by those who died. To coincide with the launch local historian Rory Stewart launched a book which provided a clearer insight into the events on that day.

There have been numerous reports on a supposed "lake monster", nicknamed the "Lough Sillan Monster" (probably named that because of the Lough Ness Monster). These reports have been treated as a hoax. There is no clear video or photo evidence of the monster.