Londonderry Port
Encyclopedia
Port
A port is a location on a coast or shore containing one or more harbors where ships can dock and transfer people or cargo to or from land....
near Derry
Derry
Derry or Londonderry is the second-biggest city in Northern Ireland and the fourth-biggest city on the island of Ireland. The name Derry is an anglicisation of the Irish name Doire or Doire Cholmcille meaning "oak-wood of Colmcille"...
, 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...
. It is the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
’s most westerly port, has capacity for 30,000 ton vessels and accepts cruise ships. The current port is on the east bank of the River Foyle
River Foyle
The River Foyle is a river in west Ulster in the northwest 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...
at the southern end of 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:...
, by the small village of Strathfoyle
Strathfoyle
Strathfoyle is a village in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland, about north east of Derry. It was newly built in different phases between the late 1920s and the late 1930s, with many new recent additions to the village, including Westlake, Butler's Wharf and Old Fort. In the 2001 Census it had...
. It is operated by the Londonderry Port and Harbour Commissioners whose former offices, just north of Derry city walls, are now a museum.
History
Most of the current Londonderry Port is in the townlandTownland
A townland or bally is a small geographical division of land used in Ireland. The townland system is of Gaelic origin—most townlands are believed to pre-date the Norman invasion and most have names derived from the Irish language...
of Lisahally (or Lissahawley); a toponym
Toponymy
Toponymy is the scientific study of place names , their origins, meanings, use and typology. The word "toponymy" is derived from the Greek words tópos and ónoma . Toponymy is itself a branch of onomastics, the study of names of all kinds...
that may be derived from . The port witnessed mass emigration of Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
and Scots-Irish people over the centuries to North America, Scotland, England and Australia.
The port had a thriving shipbuilding business and was known for building clipper
Clipper
A clipper was a very fast sailing ship of the 19th century that had three or more masts and a square rig. They were generally narrow for their length, could carry limited bulk freight, small by later 19th century standards, and had a large total sail area...
ships. Shipbuilding at the port declined after the introduction of iron vessels, and no large ships were built for some decades after 1846. The Foyle Shipyard, founded in 1882, brought shipbuilding back to the port, but it ceased trading in 1892.
The port saw the transport of many goods over the centuries. Seed potatoes were shipped to places as far away as Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
. Cattle were regularly shipped to and from Glasgow by the Burns and Laird steamer until the late 1960s. Manufactured items including linen, linoleum and shirts were exported to Great Britain for onward distribution. The McCorkell Line
McCorkell Line
The McCorkell Line was operated by Wm. McCorkell & Co. Ltd. from 1778, principally carrying passengers from Ireland, Scotland and England to the Americas...
sailed from here.
The waterfront area of the City was redeveloped in the 1990s. The cattle holding pens that used to be near where the current British Telecom building stands were demolished along with the transit sheds in order to create a new road and car parking along the banks of the Foyle. This and with the need for deep water moorings for larger vessels saw the port moved to the docks at Lisahally in 1993. These docks were originally used by DuPont
DuPont
E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company , commonly referred to as DuPont, is an American chemical company that was founded in July 1802 as a gunpowder mill by Eleuthère Irénée du Pont. DuPont was the world's third largest chemical company based on market capitalization and ninth based on revenue in 2009...
to import raw materials for their manufacturing process and by the nearby Coolkeeragh power station
Coolkeeragh power station
Coolkeeragh power station is a power station near Derry in Northern Ireland.The station produces 400 megawatts from a gas fired combined cycle power plant, constructed on the site of the old Coolkeeragh power station...
to import fuel oil for their turbines.
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
in the longest running campaign of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the Battle of the Atlantic. This ended with the surrender of the German
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
U-Boat
U-boat
U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...
fleet at Lisahally on 8 May 1945.
In July 2003 Londonderry Port installed the Foyle Pontoon in the heart of the city. This is a 200 metres (656.2 ft) long berthing facility aimed at small boat owners and yachts visiting the city. In 2005 the port was named "Irish Port of the Year".
Lisahally F.C., which is based at the village of Strathfoyle
Strathfoyle
Strathfoyle is a village in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland, about north east of Derry. It was newly built in different phases between the late 1920s and the late 1930s, with many new recent additions to the village, including Westlake, Butler's Wharf and Old Fort. In the 2001 Census it had...
, was founded by port workers from Lisahally.
External links
- Londonderry Port and Harbour Commissioners
- Convoy Map taken from a U-boat that surrendered at Lisahally, County Londonderry.
- HMS Firedrake
- U-Boats moored at Lisahally
55.042°N 7.263°W