An Abhainn Dubh
An Abhainn Dubh, the Bracken River, rises from two main sources in the townlands of Ballymore and Knockrobin Upper. The main source can be found at Carrig Rua (Carrigrew), a hill that stands at 200 metres above sea level and overlooks the valley below which is home to the wider Ballyoughter area.
The river meanders in a northerly direction until it reaches the boundary junction of the three townlands of Tullabeg, Whitewell and Ballydaniel. At this point it turns east, eventually joining up with the Ounavarra (Owenavorragh) River at Springmount.
Along the way, two tributaries join the Bracken near Barnadown Wood. The first tributary joins from the north and is familiar to locals as the river at Cain Bridge, north of Tubberneering along the Ballyoughter to Clough road. The second tributary joins a few hundred metres further along the Bracken from the south. This river can be seen at Worlough Bridge and flows to the Bracken via Cranacrower Bridge.
The Ounavarra River, which rises near Enniscorthy, enters the Irish Sea at its mouth at Kiltennel Beach, Courtown.
The Bracken River is approximately 10km in length from source to its confluence with the Ounavarra River, and a further 6km from this confluence before the Ounavarra reaches its mouth at Kiltennel Beach.
You can follow the path of the Bracken River from source to sea by watching the video compiled using Google Earth. You may also wish to discover more and go fully interactive on the customised map project on Google Earth.
The Bracken River on Google Earth
You can take a Virtual Tour of the route of the Bracken River from ‘Source to Sea’ on the customised map on Google Earth.
When the app launches, click on ‘Present’ in the top left corner and then take the tour by clicking the next slide arrow on the bottom left of your screen.
The Bridges of the Bracken River
Recorded Video of the Bracken River on Google Earth
The Bracken River is best viewed using the Virtual Tour on Google Earth (above). However, for those experiencing problems with the Google Earth app on their device, you can view a recorded video of the ‘flight’ below.