Lough Gowna is a moraine-dammed lake formed at the end of the last glaciation, and owes its complex indented shape to the underlying drumlin landscape.

The river Erne enters the system in a western direction into the easternmost part of the lake (locally known as Derries Lough) and exits northward through County Cavan.

A fifteenth-century tower bell, reputedly from the monastery, was recovered in the nineteenth century and now hangs in the Roman Catholic church in the nearby village of Aughnacliffe.

Lough Gowna is an important centre for coarse fishing and the shape of the lake, with wooded peninsulas interspersed with bays and inlets, make it attractive for tourism.

[2] The village, which actually sits on the shores of Swan Lake, acts as a service centre for tourism, with hotel accommodation and sizeable numbers of holiday homes in the area.