The main river flowing into Lough Ennell is the River Brosna, which enters on the Mullingar side of the lake and exits on the opposite side at Lilliput. Lilliput and Lilliput House were frequently used by Jonathan Swift as a holiday home and place to write, local tradition states that Jonathan Swift was in a boat on the lake when he looked back at Lilliput and noticed how small the people looked at that distance, hence the inspiration for his most famous book "Gulliver's Travels". Lilliput at the time was called "Nure" however after the publication of "Gulliver's Travels" locals began to refer to the lakeshore as Lilliput, the name stuck and today the area is known as Lilliput.