River Moy

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The River Moy (Abhainn na Muaidhe in Irish) rises in the Ox Mountains in County Sligo in the northwest of Ireland. For the greater part of its length the Moy flows southwestward, entering County Mayo and passing not far from Swinford before turning north near the village of Kilmore and heading for the historic town of Ballina, where it empties into Killala Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. The Moy valley, with its ancient churches and abbeys, is a prominent tourist destination. On the first sunday of June every year the locals bring their new born children to the river to pour some of the water over their heads to keep ghosts away from them as they grow up.^{[citation needed]}

The river is noted as one of the best salmon fisheries in Europe, though in recent times drift net fishing at the mouth of the river has caused a huge decline in salmon. According to central fisheries board statistics, 101231 returning salmon were taken by drift net off the west coast of Ireland in 2005. In the same year, 29% (6675) of all rod caught salmon in Ireland were taken in the Ballina district. Drift netting for Salmon was banned in Nov. 2006. The ban came into force on Jan 1, 2007.^{[citation needed]}(http://www.stopnow.ie/end.html).