ERNE  , the name of a

river and two lakes in the north-west of Ireland . The river rises in Lough Gowna, county Longford, 214 ft. above sea-level, flows north through Lough Oughter with a serpentine course and a direction generally northward, and then broadens into the Upper Lough Erne, a shallow irregular sheet of water 13 M. long, so beset with islands as to present the appearance of a number of water-channels ramifying through the land . The river then winds past the town of Enniskillen on its island, and enters Lough Erne, a beautiful lake nearly 18 m. long and 5 M. in extreme width, containing many islands, but less closely covered with them than the upper lough . One of them, Devenish, is celebrated for its antiquarian remains (see ENNISKILLEN) . The river then runs westward to Donegal Bay, forming a fine fall at Ballyshannon (q.v.) . Lough Erne contains trout and pike . These waters admit of navigation by small steamers, but little trade is carried on . The area of the Erne basin, which includes a vast number of small' loughs, is about 1600 sq. m., and it covers part of'the counties Cavan, Longford, Leitrim, Fermanagh and Donegal . The length of the Erne valley is about 70 M .