Dowra

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Dowra (Irish: An Damhshraith, meaning The Shrine of the Ox) is a small village in northwest County Cavan, Ireland. It is the first village on, and marks the most uppermost navigable point of, the River Shannon.

DOWRA - An Damhshraith

DOWRA Bridge - first town on the Shannon

The River Shannon immediately upstream of DOWRA Bridge

On one side of its bridge is County Cavan; on the other is County Leitrim.

Looking east across the bridge toward Leitrim

Looking north - up 'Main Street' - on the Cavan side.

The source of the River Shannon, known as the Shannon Pot is located about 7 miles to the north. The Cavan Way hiking trail starts in the village and the The Leitrim Way passes through it. The Miner's Way is also nearby.

Directions to everywhere!

DOWRA - just about all of it - from above the old Gardai barracks!

The village was formed in the late 1800s after another village close by, Tober, was washed away by land slides. The remains of the Black Pigs Dyke can be seen outside the village.

The main industries in the locality are agriculture, forestry and construction. There is a livestock mart held every Saturday. Dowra has -

4 pubs (Melrose Inn, Shannon House and Keegan's on the Cavan side and Gildea's on the Leitrim side). In the 1960s, the village boasted a population of 80 people and 8 pubs!
3 shops (O'Rourkes Spar, Dolan's (Post Office) in Cavan and P.S. Loughlins in Leitrim)
1 Funeral Undertaker (Keegan)
2 Estate Agent (DM Auctions and Keegan)
1 Health Centre
1 Firestation
1 Community Centre
1 Bank (National Irish Bank) - in process of closure.
1 set of Petrol Pumps located at MelRose Inn
1 Primary School (Cornagee)
1 Garda Station
1 Courthouse (stopped operating in 2006)

The nucleus of the village is situated in the Cavan side. The village church is located approximately 2 miles north and is called the Church of the Immaculate Conception, Doobally. There are also 2 other churches close by in Newbridge and Ballinaglera.

As of the last General Election (May 2007), the three parts of the parish of Ballinaglera (Doobally, Newbridge, Ballinaglera) are each located in a separate constituency, namely: Cavan-Monaghan, Sligo-North-Leitrim and Roscommon-South Leitrim respectively.

[edit] The Dowra Affair

The village achieved prominence in the 1980s when Sean Doherty, (former Fianna Fáil Justice Minister) had the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) via his counterpart in Westminister detain witnesses travelling through Northern Ireland to testify at a trial of his brother in-law.