Jetty Hop
Save for offline
Castlefore Lock (Lock 8) seen from its gates, with the stone-edged canal stretching away between a tarmac lockside path and green fields.
Photo: John M · CC BY-SA 2.0
© OpenStreetMap contributors

Lock Co. Leitrim

Castlefore Lock

Lock 8, the first lock down from the summit towards the Erne, closed for maintenance from 2 November 2026.

  • Open now · closes 20:00
  • Smart Card lock

Desk research, not yet checked on site · Position: © OpenStreetMap contributors · Report a change

Lock times

Open now · closes 20:00 Self-operated with a Smart Card

Today – Sat, 31 Oct 09:00–20:00
Sun, 1 Nov 09:00–17:34
Mon, 2 Nov – Thu, 5 Nov Closed until Tue 2 Feb 2027

Notice: Closed for maintenance from 2 November 2026 for about three months: Waterways Ireland closes the waterway between Lock 8 and Lock 10 and has not given a reopening date (Marine Notice 112/2026), so check the marine notices before a February trip. Otherwise: self-operated with a Waterways Ireland Smart Card (1 unit a lock) at the console beside the lock. Nearest patroller listed by Waterways Ireland: Kilclare area, +353 87 260 3663. Lifejackets must be worn at the lock (Marine Notice 35/2026).

Times are worked out on this device and change with the season: check the notice. Check the Waterways Ireland marine notices

Source of the times · Times checked 23 Oct 2026

Moor here

No mooring details yet.

Today

Forecast, warnings and water levels

Weather and water

Loading the latest conditions…

In an emergency 112 999

Call 112 or 999 and ask for the Coast Guard. Both numbers work in Ireland and in Northern Ireland.

About Castlefore Lock

Castlefore is where the descent to the Erne begins: from here eight locks carry the waterway down through Ballinamore and Ballyconnell to the Woodford River and the lakes of Fermanagh. Like the others on this side, it was rebuilt in concrete for the 1994 reopening and faced with stone from the original lock. Below it the route crosses Muckross, St John’s and Kiltybardan loughs, small lakes where the wind can pick up quickly, before Ballyduff Lock about 5.6 km on. Castlefore was also one of the places where English settlers once set up an ironworks. Waterways Ireland closes locks 8 to 10 from 2 November 2026 for about three months of winter maintenance.

Not listed yet: eat & drink, things to do and services. Know one? Tell us

Neighbours by water

Show 3 more

≈ distances are computed along the water, not along the marked channel. Times are our estimate: 5 km/h and 20 minutes a lock. Check the Waterways Ireland marine notices

Also nearby, from OpenStreetMap (8)

Not checked by us. Tap a group to open it. © OpenStreetMap contributors

Things to do (1)
Harbours & marinas from OpenStreetMap — access not checked (1)
Locks & bridges (6)

© OpenStreetMap contributors