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Londonderry Port, now operating as Foyle Port, is a
port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...
located on
Lough Foyle Lough Foyle, sometimes Loch Foyle ( or "loch of the lip"), 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 ...
in
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
. It is the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and Nor ...
’s most westerly port and an important northerly port on the island of
Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...
. The current port is at Lisahally,
County Londonderry County Londonderry ( Ulster-Scots: ''Coontie Lunnonderrie''), also known as County Derry ( ga, Contae Dhoire), 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. B ...
, though historically the port was upriver in the city of
Derry Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...
itself. It is operated by the Londonderry Port and Harbour Commissioners, whose former offices, just north of the city's walls, are now a museum.


History

The
River Foyle 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 Ty ...
has been an entryport since before the time of
Saint Columba Columba or Colmcille; gd, Calum Cille; gv, Colum Keeilley; non, Kolban or at least partly reinterpreted as (7 December 521 – 9 June 597 AD) was an Irish abbot and missionary evangelist credited with spreading Christianity in what is to ...
, and was used by the
Vikings Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...
and the
Normans The Normans (Norman: ''Normaunds''; french: Normands; la, Nortmanni/Normanni) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norse Viking settlers and indigenous West Franks and Gallo-Romans. The ...
. At the time the river was wider and more shallow, and as ships grew larger, they would anchor close in to shore and unload by lighter. The
planting Sowing is the process of planting seeds. An area or object that has had seeds planted in it will be described as a sowed or sown area. Plants which are usually sown Among the major field crops, oats, wheat, and rye are sown, grasses and le ...
of the walled city on the west bank of the Foyle necessitated a more efficient approach, and the port of Londonderry was created in 1664 by the charter granted by King Charles II to the
Londonderry Corporation Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest City status in the United Kingdom, city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern ...
making them responsible for its regulation and upkeep. The corporation caused a
quay A wharf, quay (, also ), staith, or staithe is a structure on the shore of a harbour or on the bank of a river or canal where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers. Such a structure includes one or more berths (mooring locatio ...
to be built into the river for loading and unloading; this was the Shipquay, downhill from the city, giving rise to Shipquay Street and the Shipquay Gate. By the end of the 18th century the city had its first bridge across the river, a new quay, and the shoreline below the Water Bastion had been reclaimed. It was reported that in 1771 that the merchants of the city owned 67 ships, with a capacity of 11,000 tons. By 1835 wharves extended from the shipquay back to the bridge, on the slob lands (alluvial deposits) south of the city. By the 1840s the port had a thriving shipbuilding business and was known for building clipper ships, though shipbuilding at the port declined after the introduction of iron vessels, and no large ships were built for some decades after 1846. In 1854 the Derry Port & Harbour Commissioners were established to manage the port and oversee its expansion. The Commissioners were also given full control of the waterways from the city to the mouth of Lough Foyle, allowing for strategic planning of the port. An 1868 report describing the city's expansion mentioned the expenditure on the port: New docks and quays built (at a cost of £126,500), a new graving dock (£25,000), flats deepened (£7,000) leading to an expansion in trade of all kinds. Of coastal traffic the total tonnage handled in 1857 had been 148,291 t (for steamers), and 45,676 t (sailing ships); in 1867 it was 134,368 t and 67,304 t respectively. In foreign trade, 1857 saw 27,637 t entering the port; in 1867 it was 40,397 t, while in 1857 transatlantic traffic was non-existent; by 1867 it had grown to 258,086 t. The total trade figures for port were given as 221,604 t, in 1857, compared to 500,373 t ten years later. The Foyle Shipyard, founded in 1882, brought shipbuilding back to the port, but it ceased trading in 1892. By the 1920s the port boasted two miles of quays, with warehouses, stationary and mobile cranes, and with railways along the entire length connected to the four rail systems serving the city. The port had regular cross-channel services to Great Britain, and steamer services to North America. The Commissioners ensured the channel was dredged and well marked, and also maintained a pilot station at Inishowen Head, and a roadstead at
Moville 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. Location ...
, which was a port of call for transatlantic steamers carrying mail. The port had its own railway yard, under the control of the Derry Port & Harbour Commissioner (LPHC). This railway had connections to the other railways in Derry; The Great Northern and the
Northern Counties Committee The Northern Counties Committee (NCC) was a railway that served the north-east of Ireland. It was built to Irish gauge () but later acquired a number of narrow gauge lines. It had its origins in the Belfast and Ballymena Railway that opened to ...
, both of which were 5ft3 gauge, and thanks to a length of
dual gauge In railway engineering, "gauge" is the transverse distance between the inner surfaces of the heads of two rails, which for the vast majority of railway lines is the number of rails in place. However, it is sometimes necessary for track to c ...
, the
County Donegal Railways Joint Committee The County Donegal Railways Joint Committee operated an extensive narrow gauge railway system serving County Donegal, Ireland, from 1906 until 1960. The committee was incorporated by an Act of Parliament in 1906, which authorised the joint pur ...
and
Londonderry & Lough Swilly Railway The Londonderry and Lough Swilly Railway Company (The L&LSR, the Swilly) 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 on ...
, which were 3 ft. Wagons could be shunted across the Foyle by way of the lower deck of the Craigavon Bridge, which was dual gauge. Two of the LPHC locomotives survived into preservation- No. 1, which is at the
Ulster Folk & Transport Museum The Ulster Folk Museum and the Ulster Transport Museum are situated in Cultra, Northern Ireland, about east of the city of Belfast. The Folk Museum endeavours to illustrate the way of life and traditions of the people in Northern Ireland, past ...
in Cultra, and No. 3, which is owned by the
Railway Preservation Society of Ireland The Railway Preservation Society of Ireland (RPSI) is an Irish railway preservation group operating throughout Ireland, founded in 1964. Mainline steam train railtours are operated from Dublin and Belfast, but occasionally from other locations ...
at Whitehead. The port saw the transport of many goods over the centuries. Seed potatoes were shipped to places as far away as
Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...
. 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 The McCorkell Line was a shipping line operated by ''Wm. McCorkell & Co. Ltd.'' from 1778, principally carrying passengers from Ireland, Scotland and England to the Americas. Notably, the McCorkell Line carried many immigrants who were fleeing the ...
sailed from here. The outbreak of the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, and the German campaign against Allied shipping, saw the establishment of a naval base, on the Foyle, with the use of port facilities in the city, and the building of new quays at Lisahally, at the mouth of the river where it enters the lough. Derry Port and the docks at Lisahally gave vital service to the Allies in the longest running campaign of the Second World War, the
Battle of the Atlantic The Battle of the Atlantic, the longest continuous military campaign in World War II, ran from 1939 to the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945, covering a major part of the naval history of World War II. At its core was the Allied naval blockad ...
. This ended with the surrender of the German U-boat fleet at Lisahally on 14 May 1945. About a dozen boats came alongside for that official surrender, taken by Admiral Sir
Max Horton Admiral Sir Max Kennedy Horton, (29 November 1883 – 30 July 1951) was a British submariner during the First World War and commander-in-chief of the Western Approaches in the later half of the Second World War, responsible for British particip ...
in the presence of US, Canadian and Republic of Ireland commanders; the other U-boats arrived over the next several weeks. Eventually all were dispatched to sea and sunk. 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 BT Group plc ( trading as BT and formerly British Telecom) is a British multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered in London, England. It has operations in around 180 countries and is the largest provider of fixed-line, bro ...
building stands were demolished along with the transit sheds in order to create a new road and car parking along the banks of the River 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 de Nemours, Inc., commonly shortened to DuPont, is an American multinational chemical company first formed in 1802 by French-American chemist and industrialist Éleuthère Irénée du Pont de Nemours. The company played a major role in ...
to import raw materials for their manufacturing process and by the nearby Coolkeeragh power station to import fuel oil for their turbines. In 1995 the port welcomed the
cruise ship Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports-of-call, where passengers may go on tours known as "sho ...
, with 800 passengers, the first to visit for 40 years.


Foyle Port

In recent years Londonderry Port and Harbour Commissioners have established a number of diversified trading divisions marketed under the 'Foyle' brand, including Foyle Port, which incorporates the main cargo handling and general port operations, Foyle Marine Services a division set up to handle the Port's dredging and towage services as well as offering marine services externally to other ports. Foyle Consulting Engineers is a division set up to provide structural and civil engineering services while Foyle Engineering offers a steel fabrication service. Lisahally Terminal has of quay and can facilitate vessels up to 62,000 GT. Primarily a bulk port and major importer of oil, coal, animal feed, fertiliser and plywood the port also accepts cruise ships at the city centre berths, at its commercial port at Lisahally as well as the tender port of Greencastle. In July 2003 Foyle Port installed the first of its two permanent pontoons referred to as the Foyle Port Marina in the heart of the city. The marina facility consists of a -long wooden structure (south), later a second pontoon was established close by adding a concrete structure (north). Overall, the Foyle Port Marina offers more than of secure, deep-water berthing.


General information

Most of the current Londonderry Port is 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 orig ...
of Lisahally (or Lissahawley), a
toponym Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of ''toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage and types. Toponym is the general term for a proper name of ...
that may be derived . Known as ''Lunnonderrie Hairbour'' in Ulster-Scots,2006 annual report in Ulster-Scots
North/South Ministerial Council.
the port has witnessed mass emigration of
Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
and Scots-Irish people over the centuries to North America, Scotland, England and Australia. Lisahally F.C., which is based at the village of Strathfoyle, was founded by port workers from Lisahally.


Arms


See also

*


References


External links


Londonderry Port and Harbour CommissionersConvoy Map taken from a U-boat
that surrendered at Lisahally, County Londonderry.

{{UK Docks Ports and harbours of Northern Ireland Port, Londonderry