Note 1593 — Chapter XII · REGIONAL GEOGRAPHY (continued 2)

Kelly in his notes to the Cambrensis eversus, vol. i, 1848, pp. 117–119, shows how it would have been possible for Giraldus to have made this mistake. From near the Shannon Pot, or source of the River Shannon, other streams flow northward toward Ballyshannon; from Lough Clean (Allen), also very near the Shannon Pot, it is only four miles to the headwaters of the River Bennet, which flows westward into Sligo Bay. These facts might easily give an impression that the Shannon itself branches at its source in two directions, one branch running down towards Ballyshannon or the Bennet, and the other flowing to the southwest. The imperfect drainage development of Ireland would make such an impression seem natural. Lough Hoyle, for instance, is actually drained by two outlets at opposite ends of the lake.