Loughshinny ( ; meaning 'lake of the fox') is a small coastal village in northern
County Dublin
"Action to match our speech"
, image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Dublin.svg
, map_alt = map showing County Dublin as a small area of darker green on the east coast within the lighter green background of ...
,
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
, between
Skerries
A skerry is a small rocky island, usually defined to be too small for habitation.
Skerry, skerries, or The Skerries may also refer to:
Geography
Northern Ireland
* Skerries, County Armagh, a townland in County Armagh
* Skerry, County Antrim, a ...
and
Rush
Rush(es) may refer to:
Places
United States
* Rush, Colorado
* Rush, Kentucky
* Rush, New York
* Rush City, Minnesota
* Rush Creek (Kishwaukee River tributary), Illinois
* Rush Creek (Marin County, California), a stream
* Rush Creek (Mono Cou ...
. Loughshinny's more famous landmarks are the
Martello Tower
Martello towers, sometimes known simply as Martellos, are small defensive forts that were built across the British Empire during the 19th century, from the time of the French Revolutionary Wars onwards. Most were coastal forts.
They stand up ...
on the nearby headland of
Drumanagh
Drumanagh (Irish ''Droim Meánach'') is a headland near the village of Loughshinny, in the north east of Dublin, Ireland. It features an early 19th-century Martello tower and a large (200,000 m²) Iron Age promontory fort which has produced Rom ...
and some unusual rock formations visible on some of the many coastal walks in the area. The village is located in the
townland
A townland ( ga, baile fearainn; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a small geographical division of land, historically and currently used in Ireland and in the Western Isles in Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of Gaelic origi ...
of the same name which is part of the
civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...
of
Lusk.
History
![Loughshinny Harbour - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6f/Loughshinny_Harbour_-_geograph.org.uk_-_625487.jpg)
The headland of Drumanagh contains a major Iron Age fort, where important Roman artifacts have been found. Some
archaeologists
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
have suggested the fort was a
bridgehead
In military strategy, a bridgehead (or bridge-head) is the strategically important area of ground around the end of a bridge or other place of possible crossing over a body of water which at time of conflict is sought to be defended or taken over ...
for Roman military campaigns, while others suggest it was a Roman trading colony or a native Irish settlement that traded with
Roman Britain
Roman Britain was the period in classical antiquity when large parts of the island of Great Britain were under occupation by the Roman Empire. The occupation lasted from AD 43 to AD 410. During that time, the territory conquered was ...
.
[Shawn Pogatchnik]
"Experts Claim Romans May Have Established Colonies in Ireland"
''Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'', 17 November 1996, retrieved 22 July 2009
Famous people associated with Loughshinny include Richard A. Butler, who was a member of the first Seanad and chair of the Irish Farmers' Union.
Richard Delahide,
Chief Justice of the Irish Common Pleas, who died in 1540, lived in Loughshinny.
Loughshinny Beach
Loughshinny Beach has a picnic area, public toilets (summer only), a lifeguard hut (summer only), and a public carpark (year round).
In April 2016, Loughshinny Beach was classified as having a "poor status" of water quality, along with Rush South Beach, by Fingal County Council. This statement was issued during one of Fingal County Council's largest pushes for tourism throughout the Fingal region and in Loughshinny. Also in 2016, Loughshinny Beach was one of six Irish beaches that failed to meet minimum EU standards for clean water. Rush South Beach similarly failed to meet these EU regulations. Tourism has suffered in these regions as a result, but the so-called "Folding Cliffs of Loughshinny" and the Smugglers' Cave along the beach nearby Loughshinny still provide an attraction for tourists.
On 12 July 2022 a 'do not swim' notice was issued for Loughshinny Beach due to high E.coli readings in the water believed to have been caused by contamination from dogs and other animals. Three days later the notice was lifted after a bathing water sample gave a result of ‘excellent’ water quality.
See also
*
List of towns and villages in Ireland
References
External links
Loughshinny Village Online
Towns and villages in Fingal
Articles on towns and villages in Ireland possibly missing Irish place names
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