Dobhar is a much older form and cognates are found in other Celtic languages (e.g. Welsh dŵr or dwfr, Cornish Dowrgi 'waterhound/otter' ).

[3] A headstone, found in Conwall cemetery in Glenade, County Leitrim, depicts the Dobhar-chú and is related to a tale of an attack on a local woman by the creature.

It depicts a recumbent animal having body and legs like those of a dog with the characteristic depth of rib and strength of thigh.

The rear of the haunch, and still more the tail, are in exceptionally low relief, apparently due to the loss of a thin flake from the face of the slab.

Some accounts say that her husband, Terrence, rushed to the shore after hearing her scream whilst others say that he went down after she failed to return that evening.

The second beast chased him from the lough, and after a long and bloody battle, which some accounts say he did not face alone, he killed the second Dobhar-Chú.