I’ve written a lot about my swimming “home”, the River Blackwater, but not much about my other regular training spot, Knockananig Reservoir. This small artificial lake is located near the top of a hill a few kilometres outside the town of Fermoy and was originally used as the main water supply for the town. Dave Mulcahy and I have been swimming here since 2008 and have been making great use of this facility when the River is unswimable.
Knockananig Reservoir, Fermoy as seen from the northern bank.
First, a quick note on that unusual name (for the benefit of readers outside of Ireland). It is pronounced pretty much as it is spelled and is an anglicisation of the Irish. The actual meaning is disputed but there are three main schools of thought. The official Irish name is Cnoc an Eanaigh which means Marsh Hill, this seems plausible as the area is quite badly drained. Locally, including on roadsigns, this is mistaken for Cnoc an Éan(n)aigh which a few claim means Hill of the Birds, but no such construction exists in Irish so it’s probably incorrect. However, the pronunciation of the latter may be a clue as to the true meaning. A native of the area, Ciss Geaney, told my grandfather and others that it was “Fair Hill, ’twas ever known as Fair Hill”. The Irish for Fair Hill (a “fair” as in a market where livestock, etc. is traded) would be Cnoc an Aonaigh and recent work by an Irish place-name etymologist has established that this is most likely the correct name for the area. Ciss, by the way, was 110 years old when she died in St. Patrick’s Hospital, Fermoy in 1996 – she was Ireland’s oldest person at the time.
Dave Mulcahy swimming in Knockananig Reservoir in Summer 2012.
In English, locals refer to the Reservoir itself by a myriad of names including the Water Works and the Res, but to name a few. The lake was converted into a coarse fishery after a new concrete reservoir was built closer to the town, but it has become a popular location for other forms of recreation, especially on those rare summer days! Swimming (as a sport) only started here on New Year’s Day 2008, when Dave Mulcahy and I decided to try swimming around the lake as the Blackwater was in flood. We managed the 500 m circumnavigation of the lake and have been using it is a secondary swimming location since. Blackwater Triathlon Club have also caught the bug. The lake can freeze over in the depths of winter but can soar to over 20ºC after a week of sunshine!
Swallows build their nests under the pump bridge in the Reservoir and are a comforting sign that summer is upon us.
While those of us who use the Reservoir get much enjoyment out of it (even if that involves doing a 17 km training swim), it can be a sad place at times: in August of last year, one of my good school-friends took his own life here, as did his mother the year previous. When swimming here, I always try to remember the enjoyment that he got out of this place in earlier years rather than the pain that it brought him over the last two. The water leaving the lake is called Cregg Stream and this flows down the hill and, before long, finds it’s way into the Blackwater on the banks of Cregg South.
Filed under: Ireland, Open Water Swimming Tagged: Dave Mulcahy, etymology, Fair Hill, Fermoy, Irish, Knockanannig, logainmneacha, open water, place names, reservoir, swimming
