The Burrishoole catchment (538560 N, 98350 W) is a sparsely populated area (~100 km²) of extensively grazed upland peatland and coniferous plantation forestry situated in the west of Ireland close to the Atlantic Ocean (Figure 1) The catchment bedrocks are quartzites and schists/gneiss overlain by poorly drained soils. Lough Feeagh, the main lake in the catchment, is a deep, oligotrophic and coloured lake with a maximum depth of 45 m.  It has two main inflows: the Black River and the Glenamong River.  The oceanic climate is characterised by mild winters, cool summers, and high rainfall.  The Burrishoole catchment has been an international index site for diadromous fish since the 1950’s and the Marine Institute owns and runs the research station. The catchment is extensively instrumented with two lake monitoring Automatic Water Quality Monitoring Stations (AWQMS) on Lough Feeagh and on downstream Lough Furnace, and three river monitoring stations on the Black River, the Glenamong River, and the Rough River (a tributary of the Black).