An industrial landmark gone dark
The power station
The Lough Ree Power Station was a peat-fired generating station that produced 100 megawatts of electricity. Commissioned in 2004 as a replacement for an ageing eighty-five megawatt station, it ranked as the third-largest peat-fired power station in the country. The building is fifty-seven metres tall. The chimney is eighty metres. For sixteen years it was the thing you saw first coming into Lanesborough. On 18 December 2020, the ESB shut it down. The transition to renewables meant peat plants were not economic. The building stands empty. The town will argue for years about what it means.
A lake holding a record pike
The angling
Lough Ree is the third-largest lake in Ireland and holds bream, tench, rudd, and pike — big pike. The largest pike ever caught in the country was caught in Lanesborough and weighed in at sixty-two point five pounds. The Lough Ree Angling hub was established in 2015 to capitalize on this reputation. It has hosted the World Predator Boat Fishing championships and several other international angling events. You can fish from the shore for free, hire a boat for the day, or arrive with a competition. The fish are there if your cast is true.
Ballyleague and the Longford–Roscommon border
One river, two counties
The River Shannon divides Lanesborough (Longford, on the east) from Ballyleague (Roscommon, on the west). They share a bridge, a postcode, a lock, and a reputation. As a result, they are two separate towns in two separate counties with two separate councils, two separate dioceses, and two separate GAA clubs. The bridge is the border. The river is the division. Both sides argue about which is which and both sides fish from the same shore.
An annual calendar of water events
The Triathlon and Regatta
Lanesborough runs an annual Triathlon (750 metres swim in the lake, 22 kilometres cycling, 5 kilometres run) organised by the Lanesboro Triathlon Club. A Town Regatta was recorded as early as 1927, providing races for yachts and dinghies, including Dublin Bay Water Wags. The regatta stopped and restarted in the 2000s. It now runs every September with Shannon-One-Design dinghy racing. Water is the organising principle of the town's calendar.