Lough Foyle | |
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Loch Feabhail (Irish) | |
![]() From south shore | |
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Location | Republic of Ireland – United Kingdom border |
Coordinates | 55°07′00″N7°05′00″W / 55.116667°N 7.083333°W |
River sources | River Foyle, River Roe, River Faughan |
Ocean/sea sources | Atlantic Ocean, Irish Sea |
Basin countries | Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland |
Settlements | Ballykelly, Derry, Greencastle, Shrove, Magilligan, Moville, Muff |
Designated | 2 February 1999 |
Reference no. | 974 [1] |
Lough Foyle, sometimes Loch Foyle [2] [ full citation needed ] (Irish : Loch Feabhail, meaning 'Feabhal's loch' [3] or "loch of the lip" [4] ), is the estuary of the River Foyle, on the north coast of Ireland. It lies between County Londonderry in Northern Ireland and County Donegal in the Republic of Ireland. Sovereignty over the waters has been in dispute since the Partition of Ireland.
A survey of Lough Foyle was made between March 1937 and June 1939 by Helen Blackler. [5] In this, a map shows the distribution of certain species of algae in the lough and a full annotated list of the algae recorded along with photographs of the different sites. The list included: Cyanophyceae, Chlorophyceae, Phaeophyceae, Rhodophyceae, lichens and two species of Zostera . The marine algae of Lough Foyle are also included in Morton (2003). [6]
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds has a reserve at the lough. [7]
In 1792 the four-mile Strabane Canal was constructed from the tidal waters of Lough Foyle at Leck, to Strabane. The canal fell into disuse in 1962. In June 2006 the Strabane Lifford Development Commission awarded a £1.3m cross-border waterways restoration contract. The project involves the restoration of one and a half miles of canal and two locks to working order. Work began on the Lough Foyle side of the canal in the summer of 2006, but by 2010 the partial restoration was deemed unsatisfactory and the local council refused to continue to maintain the canal. The Broharris Canal was constructed in the 1820s when a cut – some two miles long on the south shore of Lough Foyle near Ballykelly – was made in the direction of Limavady. It served both as a drainage channel and a navigation, with goods being brought from the Londonderry Port, and shellfish and kelp from the sandbanks along the shore.
In the summertime, a ferry service operates between Greencastle and Magilligan across Lough Foyle.
NI Railways runs from Derry~Londonderry railway station along the scenic shore of Lough Foyle – with views of Inishowen in County Donegal as well as the Atlantic Ocean – via Coleraine to Belfast Lanyon Place and Belfast Grand Central. The strategically important Belfast–Derry railway line is to be upgraded to facilitate more frequent trains and improvements to the permanent way, such as track and signalling to enable faster services.
From Londonderry railway station the next stop is Bellarena followed by Castlerock then Coleraine en route to Belfast. Walkers alighting from trains arriving at Castlerock can walk to Mussenden Temple owned by the National Trust and can see the mouth of Lough Foyle and Greencastle some distance away in County Donegal.
The main character of Alfred Bester's famous science-fiction novel, The Stars My Destination , is named Gulliver Foyle. Bester took the names of his characters from various locations in Ireland and Great Britain.[ citation needed ]
The United States Navy established the Naval Air Station Lough Foyle on the Inishowen side of the lough on 1 July 1918 to operate seaplanes during the First World War. The base closed shortly after the First Armistice at Compiègne. [8]
At the end of the Second World War, after the Allied victory, the remainder of the German Atlantic fleet of U-boats used to attack supply lines from North America to Britain during the Battle of the Atlantic were assembled in Lough Foyle and scuttled – as part of Operation Deadlight.
Lough Foyle is a disputed territory between the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom; after the Partition of Ireland in the early 1920s, each side claimed that it was in their own territory. Although this dispute is still ongoing, there are currently no negotiations as to its ownership.
The UK's Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) underlined its view on 2 June 2009 that all of Lough Foyle is in the United Kingdom, a spokesperson stating: 'The UK position is that the whole of Lough Foyle is within the UK. We recognise that the Irish Government does not accept this position...There are no negotiations currently in progress on this issue. The regulation of activities in the Lough is now the responsibility of the Loughs Agency, a cross-border body established under the Good Friday Agreement.' [9]
In November 2016, James Brokenshire, MP, the UK's Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, reiterated the UK's view that all of Lough Foyle is in the UK, [10] whilst Charles Flanagan, TD, the Republic of Ireland's Minister for Foreign Affairs, stated that the Republic of Ireland did not recognise Britain's claim to the entirety of Lough Foyle. [11]
Derry, officially Londonderry, is the largest city in County Londonderry, the second-largest in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest on the island of Ireland. The old walled city lies on the west bank of the River Foyle, which is spanned by two road bridges and one footbridge. The city now covers both banks.
County Donegal is a county of Ireland in the province of Ulster and in the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Donegal in the south of the county. It has also been known as County Tyrconnell or Tirconaill, after the historic territory. Donegal County Council is the local council and Lifford is the county town.
County Londonderry, also known as County Derry, is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland and one of the nine counties of Ulster. Before the partition of Ireland, it was one of the counties of the Kingdom of Ireland from 1613 onward and then of the United Kingdom after the Acts of Union 1800. Adjoining the north-west shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of 2,118 km2 (818 sq mi) and today has a population of about 252,231.
Inishowen is a peninsula in the north of County Donegal in Ireland. Inishowen is the largest peninsula on the island of Ireland.
Lough Swilly in Ireland is a glacial fjord or sea inlet lying between the western side of the Inishowen Peninsula and the Fanad Peninsula, in County Donegal. Along with Carlingford Lough and Killary Harbour it is one of three glacial fjords in Ireland.
The River Foyle is a river in west Ulster in the northwest of the island of Ireland, which flows from the confluence of the rivers Finn and Mourne at the towns of Lifford in County Donegal, Republic of Ireland, and Strabane in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. From here it flows to the city of Derry, where it discharges into Lough Foyle and, ultimately, the Atlantic Ocean. The total length of the River Foyle is 32 km (20 mi). The river separates part of County Donegal from parts of both County Londonderry and County Tyrone. The district of County Donegal that borders the western bank of the River Foyle is traditionally known as the Laggan. This district includes the villages of St Johnston and Carrigans, both of which are nestled on the banks of the River.
Moville is a coastal town located on the Inishowen Peninsula of County Donegal, Ireland, close to the northern tip of the island of Ireland. It is the first coastal town of the Wild Atlantic Way when starting on the northern end.
Binevenagh is a large, steep-sided hill in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It is part of the Keenaght Hills, which mark the western edge of the Antrim Plateau, formed around 60 million years ago by molten lava. Binevenagh and its cliffs overlook the Magilligan peninsula and dominate the skyline over the villages of Bellarena, Downhill, Castlerock and Benone beach. The area has been classified as both an Area of Special Scientific Interest and as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). The total area of the AONB is 138 km2.
The Republic of Ireland–United Kingdom border, sometimes referred to as the Irish border or British–Irish border, runs for 499 km (310 mi) from Lough Foyle in the north-west of Ireland to Carlingford Lough in the north-east, separating the Republic of Ireland from Northern Ireland.
The Londonderry and Lough Swilly Railway Company was an Irish public transport and freight company that operated in parts of County Londonderry and County Donegal between 1853 and 2014. Incorporated in June 1853, it once operated 99 miles of railways. It began the transition to bus and road freight services in 1929. It closed its last railway line in July 1953 but continued to operate bus services under the name Lough Swilly Bus Company until April 2014, becoming the oldest railway company established in the Victorian era to continue trading as a commercial concern into the 21st century. Following a High Court petition by HM Revenue and Customs, the company went into liquidation and operated its final bus services on 19 April 2014.
Derry ~ Londonderry railway station, also known as North West Transport Hub or Waterside railway station, is a railway terminus in Derry, Northern Ireland, on the east bank of the River Foyle, operated by Northern Ireland Railways and its 7th busiest station across the network with 952,126 passengers boarding or alighting at the station in the 2023/24 financial year. It is on the Belfast–Derry railway line, terminating at Belfast Grand Central. Derry/Londonderry has the longest platforms on the NIR Network, at 258.3 metres in length.
The Belfast–Derry line is an intercity railway line, running from Belfast to Derry in Northern Ireland.
The Strabane Canal is a short (6.5 km) canal in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It connected the market town of Strabane to the navigable River Foyle and from there to Londonderry Port on the north coast of Ireland. The canal opened in 1796 and closed in 1962.
Benone is a popular tourist destination in the Causeway Coast and Glens district, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland.
Ulster railways, present and past, include:
Causeway Coast and Glens is a local government district covering most of the northern part of Northern Ireland. It was created on 1 April 2015 by merging the Borough of Ballymoney, the Borough of Coleraine, the Borough of Limavady and the District of Moyle. The local authority is Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council.
Porthall is a village and townland in County Donegal, Ireland. The village is located on the west bank of the River Foyle, in The Laggan district of East Donegal, on the R265 road. The nearest town is Lifford, the county town.
Tirkeeran is a barony in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It connects to the north-Londonderry coastline, and is bordered by four other baronies: Keenaght to the east; Strabane Lower to the south-east; North West Liberties of Londonderry to the west; and Strabane Upper to the south.
The North West Liberties of Londonderry is a barony in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It is bordered by two other baronies in Northern Ireland: Tirkeeran to the east, across Lough Foyle, and Strabane Lower to the south. It also borders two baronies in County Donegal in the Republic of Ireland. It borders Raphoe North, to the south-west; and Inishowen West to the north.
Shrove is a coastal hamlet and townland in Inishowen in the north of County Donegal in Ulster, the northern province in Ireland. The hamlet is located a short distance to the north of Greencastle in the north-east of Inishowen, a peninsula on the north coast of Ireland. The name of both the hamlet and the townland is also sometimes written as Shroove, and is sometimes written as Stroove by some government bodies.