Gawley's Gate (From Irish ''Geata Mhic Amhlaí'') is a small

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, ) is one of six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and has a population o ...

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. North ...

. It is situated on the south-eastern shore of

Lough Neagh Lough Neagh ( ) is a freshwater lake in Northern Ireland and is the largest lake in the island of Ireland, the United Kingdom and the British Isles. It has a surface area of and supplies 40% of Northern Ireland's water. Its main inflows come ...

, seven miles to the north of

Lurgan Lurgan () is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland, near the southern shore of Lough Neagh. Lurgan is about south-west of Belfast and is linked to the city by both the M1 motorway and the Belfast–Dublin railway line. It had a populatio ...

and ten miles west of

Lisburn Lisburn (; ) is a city in Northern Ireland. It is southwest of Belfast city centre, on the River Lagan, which forms the boundary between County Antrim and County Down. First laid out in the 17th century by English and Welsh settlers, with th ...

. It has a jetty and picnic areas, popular amongst many boating enthusiasts on the Loug

It consists of a small number of houses in close proximity; however, it is a focal point for much of the countryside on the shore of Lough Neagh from

Glenavy Glenavy () is a village and civil parish in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, 17 kilometres north west of Lisburn on the banks of the Glenavy River. In the 2011 Census it had a population of 5,697 people. In early documents it was known as Lena ...

Aghagallon Aghagallon () is a small village and Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is about three miles northeast of Lurgan and had a population of 824 in the United Kingdom Census 2001, 2001 Census. Aghagallo ...

. The rural location means that much of the community is involved in farming in some capacity as well as fishing. The landscape is quite wet with marshland in places and dense woods giving way to cleared hillocks or 'islands' where settlements have developed. It also a popular destination with wildfowlers and birdwatchers due to the habitat which exists particularly around the RSPB sanctuary at nearby Portmore Loughbr>
The name "Gawley's Gate" is attributed to the family that controlled the toll gate when this section of the road was first constructed in the 17th Century. The quay and picnic area at Gawley's Gate was constructed with funding from the European Peace Programme and was opened by the First Minister

David Trimble William David Trimble, Baron Trimble, (15 October 1944 – 25 July 2022) was a British politician who was the first First Minister of Northern Ireland from 1998 to 2002, and leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) from 1995 to 2005. He was ...

and Agriculture Minister Bríd Rodgers on 7 May 2007. There has been ongoing residential development in the area in recent years with three separate developments being constructed: Loughview, Bayview and James Lodge. In total these three developments would have about 100 houses. Until recently there was a small shop, a post office and a petrol station beside the Gate Inn; However the Post Office closed in the late 1990s and the shop closed shortly afterwards.

External links

Villages in County Antrim {{Antrim-geo-stub

See also

External links