The river's name in Irish is An Róba, first recorded as Rodba in medieval manuscripts, perhaps from Old Irish rodba, meaning "sharp, aggressive".[5][6]
The river is the longest tributary of Lough Mask and it drains 320 square kilometres of south Mayo.[1]
The Robe flowing through bogland in Keebagh, near its source.
The Robe rises about five kilometres southwest of Ballyhaunis[8] and follows a meandering path southwest through the townland of Keebagh and Brickens village. It turns gently to the west between Tootagh and Garryduff and continues west between Claremorris and Ballindine. It meanders in serpentine coils beside the R331 road, passing Taugheen, from where it begins its southwesterly descent to Hollymount. From there, the river winds in broad loops before descending southwestwards into Ballinrobe (Irish: Baile an Róba, meaning "town of the Robe"). The Robe empties into Lough Mask, four kilometres west of Ballinrobe, near Cushlough (Irish: Cois Loch, meaning "beside the lake").[9]
