Three Sisters - The Suir (An tSiúr):
The River Suir is one of the Three Sisters rivers which flow
into the Atlantic Ocean at Waterford Harbour after a distance of
184 kilometres (114 miles).The total catchment area is 3,526 sq km.
Popular with anglers, it holds plentiful reserves of brown trout.
While the Suir holds the record for a salmon taken from an Irish
river, (weighing 57 lb/26 kg, taken on a fly in 1874) as is the
case in many other Atlantic rivers, salmon stocks have been in
decline in recent years.
Riverine Head personifying the River Suir as depicted on
the exterior of the Custom House, Dublin.
Rising on the slopes of Devil's Bit Mountain, just north of
Templemore in County Tipperary, the Suir flows south through
Loughmore, Thurles, Holycross, Golden and Knockgraffon. Merging
with the River Aherlow at Kilmoyler and further on with the Tar, it
turns east at the Comeragh Mountains, forming the border between
County Waterford and County Tipperary. It then passes through
Cahir, Clonmel and Carrick-on-Suir before reaching Waterford. Here,
it meets the River Barrow and the River Nore to form a wide
navigable estuary, capable of accommodating seagoing vessels.
Together with the Nore and the Barrow, the river is one of the trio
known as The Three Sisters. The Suir is known in Irish as the Siúr
and it is thought the present spelling in English with the u and i
reversed is due to a mistake. Some people therefore feel that the
spelling in English should be Siur and this spelling is
occasionally seen.
Edmund Spenser author of the The Fairie Queene, in his
writings during the Elizabethan age while domiciled in County Cork,
referred to the 'gentle Shure', probable a most accurate spelling
and the most phonetically correct of the period.
In the early years of this century, the remains of a very large
Viking settlement were found at a bend in the river just upstream
from Waterford. With over 600 features such as house gullies, pits
and fireplaces found, the archaeology points to a densely populated
and affluent settlement. Apart from Woodstown, there is no evidence
of a large 9th century Viking settlement in Western Europe. Further
small excavations, which took place in 2006, identified a structure
which may have been associated with metal-working. Reports on these
excavations have yet to be published
The River Suir
The Cache is located by the bank of the river, approx 400m
upstream from the parking area, it will be pretty overgrown in the
summer. The parking is obvious once you turn off the N24 at the
waypoint below. (Note - sudden turn, not signposted)