The Blackwater or Munster Blackwater (Irish: An Abha Mhór, The Big River) is a river that flows through the counties of Kerry, Cork and Waterford in Ireland. It rises in the Mullaghareirk Mountains in County Kerry and then flows east through County Cork, via Mallow and Fermoy. It then enters County Waterford, where it flows through Lismore, where our friends Ralph, Javier and Ignacio fish, before turning sharply south at Cappoquin, and finally flowing into the Celtic Sea at Youghal Harbour.

 

In total, the Blackwater is 169 km (105 miles) long. The total catchment area of the Blackwater River is 3,324 km2. The long-term average flow rate of the Blackwater River is 89.1 cubic meters per second (m3 /s). The Blackwater is notable for being one of the best salmon fishing rivers in the country. Like many Irish and British rivers, salmon stocks have declined in recent years, but the Irish government banned commercial compensation for salmon off the coast of Ireland in November 2006.

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