River Barrow
| River Barrow (An Bhearú) | |
| River | |
 River Barrow at Muine Bheag, County Carlow
|
|
| Country | Ireland |
|---|---|
| Counties | Laois, Kildare, Kilkenny, Carlow, Wexford, Waterford |
| Part of | Three Sisters |
| Tributaries | |
| - right | River Nore, River Suir |
| Source | Slieve Bloom Mountains |
| - location | Glenbarrow, Laois |
| - elevation | 350 m (1,148 ft) |
| Mouth | Celtic Sea |
| - location | Waterford Harbour, Waterford |
| Length | 192 km (119 mi) |
| Area | 3,067 km2 (1,184 sq mi) |
| Discharge | |
| - average | 37.4 m3/s (1,321 cu ft/s) |
The Barrow (Irish: An Bhearú) is a river in Ireland. It is one of The Three Sisters; the other two being the River Suir and the River Nore. The Barrow is the longest of the three rivers. At 192 km (120 mi), it is the second-longest river in Ireland, behind the River Shannon. The catchment area of the River Barrow is 3,067 km2. The river's long term average flow rate is 37.4 cubic metres per second.
The source of the River Barrow is at Glenbarrow in the Slieve Bloom Mountains in County Laois.
Among the towns that the River Barrow passes through on its way to the sea in Waterford are Portarlington, Monasterevin, Athy, Carlow/Graiguecullen, Muine Bheag ( i.e. Bagenalstown,) Graiguenamanagh, and New Ross.
The river also forms a natural border between, on its right bank, counties Kilkenny and Waterford and, on its left bank, counties Carlow and Wexford.
The river's name is attributed to the action of Dian Cecht when he slew three serpents found in the heart of The Morrígan's infant son and threw them into the Barrow, thus causing it to boil. The earliest recorded name for the river is Berbha, from an AD 996 entry in the Annals of the Four Masters.
Translated:
The name Berbha is believed to derive from the Proto-Celtic *boru- ("boil", "bubble"), and is associated with Borvo, the Celtic god of minerals and spring water. Later spellings include Berba, Birga, Baruwe and Berrowe.
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