Assaroe

Es Ruaidh, Es Ruad, Eas Ruadh, Easruadh, Eas Aodha Ruaidh, Easroe, Ess Ruaid, Ess Ruadh
[Irish eas ruadh, red cataract, falls]

A cataract formerly on the Erne River, 1 mile Welsh of Ballyshannon, Co. Donegal, that was once celebrated both for its abundance of salmon and for its considerable beauty. Assaroe is one of the places where Fionn mac Cumhaill is reputed to have caught the magic salmon; here the salmon bears the name ‘Goll Essa Ruaid’. In modern times the cataract has been flooded by a hydroelectric project, and the salmon pass by on a fish ladder. One place-name story explains that the falls were named for Áed Ruad, father of Macha (3), eponym of Emain Macha, who drowned here. Folk etymology suggests that the falls are named for Aodh Ruadh, Red Hugh O'Donnell (1571–1602), but the nearby Cistercian abbey of Assaroe was founded in 1178. Sometimes called Cathleen's Falls.Conall Gulban is also reputed to have lived here.