Magilligan
Encyclopedia
Magilligan peninsula
lies in the northwest of County Londonderry
, Northern Ireland
, at the entrance to Lough Foyle
. It is a huge 32 km2 coastal site, part British army
firing range, part nature reserve.
A Martello Tower
was built here in 1812, rather late in the British
sequence, as the original plan for a fort at Magilligan point was impractical due to soft ground. A genuinely round tower mounting two 24 pounder (11 kg) guns, it has been beautifully restored but is normally locked.
It is close to Bellarena railway station
and there is a ferry service which operates all the year around with Greencastle, County Donegal
across the lough.
The famous Irish harpist Donnchadh Ó Hámsaigh
lived in Magilligan.
Peninsula
A peninsula is a piece of land that is bordered by water on three sides but connected to mainland. In many Germanic and Celtic languages and also in Baltic, Slavic and Hungarian, peninsulas are called "half-islands"....
lies in the northwest of County Londonderry
County Londonderry
The place name Derry is an anglicisation of the old Irish Daire meaning oak-grove or oak-wood. As with the city, its name is subject to the Derry/Londonderry name dispute, with the form Derry preferred by nationalists and Londonderry preferred by unionists...
, Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
, at the entrance to Lough Foyle
Lough Foyle
Lough Foyle, sometimes Loch Foyle , is the estuary of the River Foyle in Ulster. It starts where the Foyle leaves Derry. It separates the Inishowen Peninsula in County Donegal, Republic of Ireland from County Londonderry in Northern Ireland.-Transport:...
. It is a huge 32 km2 coastal site, part British army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
firing range, part nature reserve.
A Martello Tower
Martello tower
Martello towers are small defensive forts built in several countries of the British Empire during the 19th century, from the time of the Napoleonic Wars onwards....
was built here in 1812, rather late in the British
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
sequence, as the original plan for a fort at Magilligan point was impractical due to soft ground. A genuinely round tower mounting two 24 pounder (11 kg) guns, it has been beautifully restored but is normally locked.
It is close to Bellarena railway station
Bellarena railway station
Bellarena railway station serves the village Bellarena and the broader Limavady area in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland.Bellarena Railway Station has served several Railway companies since it first saw service on 18 July 1853. It was closed for goods traffic from 4 January 1965. The station...
and there is a ferry service which operates all the year around with Greencastle, County Donegal
Greencastle, County Donegal
Greencastle, County Donegal , is a commercial fishing port located in the north of the scenic Inishowen Peninsula on the north coast of County Donegal, part of the Province of Ulster, in the northwest of Ireland. Nowadays, given the decline in the fishing industry, it resembles more closely a...
across the lough.
The famous Irish harpist Donnchadh Ó Hámsaigh
Donnchadh Ó Hámsaigh
Donnchadh Ó hAmhsaigh, aka Denis Hampsey,aka Denis Hampson Irish harper, 1695 – 5 or 11 November 1807.-Early life and background:Ó hAmhsaigh's was born in Craigmore, County Londonderry in 1695...
lived in Magilligan.