Lough Foyle, sometimes Loch Foyle ( or "loch of the lip"), is the

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environm ...

of the River Foyle, on the north coast of Ireland. It lies between County Londonderry in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...

and

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ga, Contae Dhún na nGall) is a county of Ireland in the province of Ulster and in the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Donegal in the south of the county. It has also been known as County Tyrcon ...

in the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. ...

. Sovereignty over the waters has been in dispute since the

Partition of Ireland The partition of Ireland ( ga, críochdheighilt na hÉireann) was the process by which the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland divided Ireland into two self-governing polities: Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland. ...

Derry from the International Space Station 2013-03-17

Flora and fauna

Flora

A survey of Lough Foyle was made between March 1937 and June 1939 by

Helen Blackler Margaret Constance Helen Blackler (1902–1981) was a British phycologist, botanical collector and museum curator. Career Blackler was Assistant Keeper of Botany at Liverpool Museum between 1933 to 1945. She also had some temporary teaching p ...

.Blackler, H. 1951. An

algal Algae (; singular alga ) is an informal term for a large and diverse group of photosynthetic eukaryotic organisms. It is a polyphyletic grouping that includes species from multiple distinct clades. Included organisms range from unicellular micr ...

survey of Lough Foyle, Northern Ireland. ''Proc. R. Ir. Acad.'' 54B(6):97 – 139 In this, a map shows the distribution of certain species of

algae Algae (; singular alga ) is an informal term for a large and diverse group of photosynthetic eukaryotic organisms. It is a polyphyletic grouping that includes species from multiple distinct clades. Included organisms range from unicellular micr ...

in the lough and a full annotated list of the algae recorded along with photographs of the different sites. The list included:

Cyanophyceae Cyanobacteria (), also known as Cyanophyta, are a phylum of gram-negative bacteria that obtain energy via photosynthesis. The name ''cyanobacteria'' refers to their color (), which similarly forms the basis of cyanobacteria's common name, blue ...

, Chlorophyceae,

Phaeophyceae Brown algae (singular: alga), comprising the class Phaeophyceae, are a large group of multicellular algae, including many seaweeds located in colder waters within the Northern Hemisphere. Brown algae are the major seaweeds of the temperate and p ...

Rhodophyceae Red algae, or Rhodophyta (, ; ), are one of the oldest groups of eukaryotic algae. The Rhodophyta also comprises one of the largest phyla of algae, containing over 7,000 currently recognized species with taxonomic revisions ongoing. The majority ...

lichen A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship.Zostera ''Zostera'' is a small genus of widely distributed seagrasses, commonly called marine eelgrass, or simply seagrass or eelgrass, and also known as seaweed by some fishermen and recreational boaters including yachtsmen. The genus ''Zostera'' co ...

''. The marine algae of Lough Foyle are also included in Morton (2003).Morton, O. 2003. The marine macroalgae of County Donegal, Ireland.. ''Bull. Ir. biogeog. Soc.''27: 3 – 164

Fauna

The

Royal Society for the Protection of Birds The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a charitable organisation registered in England and Wales and in Scotland. It was founded in 1889. It works to promote conservation and protection of birds and the wider environment thro ...

has a

reserve Reserve or reserves may refer to: Places * Reserve, Kansas, a US city * Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish * Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County * Reserve, New Mexico, a US ...

at the lough.

Transport

In 1792 the four-mile

Strabane Canal The Strabane Canal is a short (6.5 km) canal in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It connected the market town of Strabane to the navigable River Foyle and from there to the port of Foyle Port on the north coast of Ireland. The canal opene ...

was constructed from the tidal waters of Lough Foyle at Leck, to Strabane. The canal fell into disuse in 1962. In June 2006 the Strabane Lifford Development Commission awarded a £1.3m cross-border waterways restoration contract. The project involves the restoration of one and a half miles of canal and two locks to working order. Work began on the Lough Foyle side of the canal in the summer of 2006, but by 2010 the partial restoration was deemed unsatisfactory and the local council refused to continue to maintain the canal. The Broharris Canal was constructed in the 1820s when a cut – some two miles long on the south shore of Lough Foyle near Ballykelly – was made in the direction of

Limavady Limavady (; ) is a market town in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland, with Binevenagh as a backdrop. Lying east of Derry and southwest of Coleraine, Limavady had a population of 12,032 people at the 2011 Census. In the 40 years betwee ...

. It served both as a drainage channel and a

navigation Navigation is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another.Bowditch, 2003:799. The field of navigation includes four general categories: land navigation ...

, with goods being brought from the

Londonderry Port Londonderry Port, now operating as Foyle Port, is a port located on Lough Foyle in Northern Ireland. It is the United Kingdom’s most westerly port and an important northerly port on the island of Ireland. The current port is at Lisahally, Coun ...

, and shellfish and kelp from the sandbanks along the shore. In the summertime, a ferry service operates between Greencastle and Magilligan across Lough Foyle.

Railway travel

Northern Ireland Railways runs from Londonderry railway station along the scenic shore of Lough Foyle – with views of Inishowen in

as well as the Atlantic Ocean – via Coleraine to Belfast Central and

Great Victoria Street Great Victoria Street in Belfast, Northern Ireland, is a major thoroughfare located in the city centre and is one of the important streets used by pedestrians alighting from Belfast Great Victoria Street railway station and walking into shopping ...

. The strategically important Belfast–Derry railway line is to be upgraded to facilitate more frequent trains and improvements to the permanent way, such as track and signalling to enable faster services. From Londonderry railway station the next stop is

Bellarena Bellarena (derived from French ''belle'' "beautiful" + Latin ''arena'' "sand, strand"; is a small village and townland in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It is on the A2 coastal road between Limavady and Coleraine, north of Limavady. T ...

followed by Castlerock then Coleraine en route to

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

. Walkers alighting from trains arriving at Castlerock can walk to

Mussenden Temple Mussenden Temple is a small circular building located on cliffs near Castlerock in County Londonderry, high above the Atlantic Ocean on the north-western coast of Northern Ireland. History Perched on the cliffs overlooking Downhill Stran ...

owned by the

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

and can see the mouth of Lough Foyle and Greencastle some distance away in

Literature

The main character of Alfred Bester's famous science-fiction novel, '' The Stars My Destination'', is named Gulliver Foyle. Bester took the names of his characters from various locations in

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 ...

and

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It ...

First World War

The

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

established the Naval Air Station Lough Foyle on the Inishowen side of the lough on 1 July 1918 to operate

seaplane A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their technological characteri ...

s during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. The base closed shortly after the First Armistice at Compiègne.

Second World War

At the end 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 opposi ...

, after the Allied victory, the remainder of the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

Atlantic fleet of

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare ro ...

s used to attack supply lines from

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and th ...

to Britain during the Battle of the Atlantic were assembled in Lough Foyle and scuttled – as part of

Operation Deadlight Operation Deadlight was the code name for the Royal Navy operation of November 1945 – February 1946 to scuttle German U-boats surrendered to the Allies after the defeat of Germany near the end of World War II. Operation Of the 156 U-bo ...

Disputed status

Lough Foyle is a disputed territory between the

and 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 ...

; after the

in the early 1920s, each side claimed that it was in their own territory. Although this dispute is still ongoing, there are currently no negotiations as to its ownership. The UK's Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) underlined its view on 2 June 2009 that all of Lough Foyle is in the United Kingdom, a spokesperson stating: 'The UK position is that the whole of Lough Foyle is within the UK. We recognise that the Irish Government does not accept this position...There are no negotiations currently in progress on this issue. The regulation of activities in the Lough is now the responsibility of the Loughs Agency, a cross-border body established under the Good Friday Agreement.' In November 2016, James Brokenshire, MP, the UK's Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, reiterated the UK's view that all of Lough Foyle is in the UK, whilst

Charles Flanagan Charlie Flanagan (born 1 November 1956) is an Irish Fine Gael politician who has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Laois–Offaly constituency since 2020, and previously from 1987 to 2002, 2007 to 2016 and from 2016 to 2020 for the Laois con ...

, TD, the Republic of Ireland's Minister for Foreign Affairs, stated that the Republic of Ireland did not recognise Britain's claim to the entirety of Lough Foyle.

References

External links

* {{County Londonderry Royal Society for the Protection of Birds reserves in Northern Ireland Ramsar sites in Northern Ireland Important Bird Areas of Northern Ireland Republic of Ireland–United Kingdom border Protected areas of County Londonderry Foyle Bodies of water of Northern Ireland Estuaries of Ireland Estuaries of the United Kingdom Landforms of County Londonderry Sea loughs of the Republic of Ireland Disputed waters