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St George's Channel ( cy, Sianel San Siôr, ga, Muir Bhreatan) is a
sea channel connecting the
Irish Sea
The Irish Sea or , gv, Y Keayn Yernagh, sco, Erse Sie, gd, Muir Èireann , Ulster-Scots: ''Airish Sea'', cy, Môr Iwerddon . is an extensive body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Ce ...
to the north and the
Celtic Sea
The Celtic Sea ; cy, Y Môr Celtaidd ; kw, An Mor Keltek ; br, Ar Mor Keltiek ; french: La mer Celtique is the area of the Atlantic Ocean off the southern coast of Ireland bounded to the east by Saint George's Channel; other limits includ ...
to the southwest.
Historically, the name "St George's Channel" was used interchangeably with "Irish Sea" or "Irish Channel" to encompass all the waters between Ireland to the west and Wales to the east.
Some geographers restricted it to the portion separating
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
from
Leinster
Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of ...
,
sometimes extending south to the waters between the
West Country of England and East
Munster;
the latter have since the 1970s come to be called the
Celtic Sea
The Celtic Sea ; cy, Y Môr Celtaidd ; kw, An Mor Keltek ; br, Ar Mor Keltiek ; french: La mer Celtique is the area of the Atlantic Ocean off the southern coast of Ireland bounded to the east by Saint George's Channel; other limits includ ...
. In Ireland "St George's Channel" is now usually taken to refer only to the narrowest part of the channel, between
Carnsore Point in
Wexford
Wexford () is the county town of County Wexford, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the island of Ireland. The town is linked to Dublin by the M11/N11 ...
and
St David's Head in
Pembrokeshire. However, it remains common in Ireland to talk about a cross-channel trip, cross-channel soccer, etc., where "cross-channel" means "to/from Great Britain".
The current (third, 1953) edition of the
International Hydrographic Organization
The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) is an intergovernmental organisation representing hydrography. , the IHO comprised 98 Member States.
A principal aim of the IHO is to ensure that the world's seas, oceans and navigable waters a ...
's publication ''Limits of Oceans and Seas'' defines the southern limit of "Irish Sea and St. George's Channel" as "A line joining
St. David's Head () to
Carnsore Point ()"; it does not define the two waterbodies separately. The 2002 draft fourth edition omits the "and St. George's Channel" part of the label.
A 2004 letter from the St.George's Channel Shipping Company to ''Seascapes'', an
RTÉ Radio
RTÉ Radio is a division of the Irish national broadcasting organisation Raidió Teilifís Éireann. RTÉ Radio broadcasts four analogue channels and five digital channels nationwide.
Founded in January 1926 as 2RN, the first broadcaster in t ...
programme, said that St George's Channel bordered the Irish coast between
Howth Head
Howth Head ( ; ''Ceann Bhinn Éadair'' in Irish) is a peninsula northeast of the city of Dublin in Ireland, within the governance of Fingal County Council. Entry to the headland is at Sutton while the village of Howth and the harbour are o ...
and
Kilmore Quay
Kilmore Quay () is a fishing village near Kilmore, in County Wexford, Ireland. As of 2016, it has a population of 372. It is a fishing village, but its leisure facilities such as sailing, and sea angling charters are also of economic importan ...
, and criticised contributors to the programme who had used "Irish Sea" for these waters.
The name "St George's Channel" is recorded in 1578
in
Martin Frobisher's record of his second voyage. It is said to derive from a legend that
Saint George
Saint George (Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldie ...
had voyaged to
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 wa ...
from the
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
, approaching Britain via the channel that bears his name.
The name was popularised by English settlers in Ireland after
the Plantations.
See also
*
Nicobar Islands; the channel between Little Nicobar and Great Nicobar is also called St George's Channel
*
North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland)
The North Channel (known in Irish and Scottish Gaelic as , in Scots as the ) is the strait between north-eastern Northern Ireland and south-western Scotland. It begins north of the Isle of Man, where the Irish Sea ends, and runs north-west in ...
*
Straits of Moyle
The North Channel (known in Irish and Scottish Gaelic as , in Scots as the ) is the strait between north-eastern Northern Ireland and south-western Scotland. It begins north of the Isle of Man, where the Irish Sea ends, and runs north-west in ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint George's Channel
Bodies of water of the Irish Sea
Channels of Wales
Channels of Ireland
Republic of Ireland–United Kingdom border
International straits
Straits of the British Isles
Bodies of water of the Republic of Ireland
Channels of Europe