River_Shannon The River Shannon (Abha na Sionainne or an tSionna / an tSionainn in Irish) is, at 386river in Ireland. It divides the west of Ireland (principally the province of Connacht) from the east and south (Leinster and most of Munster). County Clare, being west of the Shannon but part of the province of Munster, is the major exception. The river represents a major physical barrier between east and west, with fewer than twenty crossing-points between Limerick city in the south and the village of Dowra in the north.