:Carlingford Lough
{{Short description|Glacial fjord or sea inlet in Ireland}}
{{EngvarB|date=October 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox body of water
|name = Carlingford Lough
|other_name = Loch Cairlinn (Irish)
Carlinford Loch (Ulster Scots)
|image = Carlingford Lough.jpg
|alt = Image of Carlingford Lough in the distance with the Newry River in the foreground. The town of Warrenpoint sits in the center of the image.
|caption = Looking east, with Warrenpoint at centre
|image_map =Carlingford Lough locator.jpg
|location = Republic of Ireland – United Kingdom border
|coords = {{coord|54.0733|N|6.1994|W|source:placeopedia|display=title,inline}}
|rivers = Newry River
|oceans = Irish Sea
|countries = Northern Ireland,
Republic of Ireland
|length =
|width =
|area =
|depth =
|max-depth =
|pushpin_map=island of Ireland
|pushpin_label_position = right
|pushpin_map_alt = A map of Ireland with the location of Carlingford Lough marked
|volume =
|shore =
|salinity =31.31–33.99 psu
|frozen =
|islands =
|cities = Carlingford, Greencastle, Greenore, Killowen, Newry, Omeath, Rostrevor, Warrenpoint
|extra = {{Designation list
| embed = yes
| designation1 = Ramsar
| designation1_date = 9 March 1998
| designation1_number = 936{{Cite web|title=Carlingford Lough|website=Ramsar Sites Information Service|url=https://rsis.ramsar.org/ris/936|access-date=25 April 2018}}}}
|reference =
}}
Carlingford Lough ({{lga|Loch Cairlinn}},{{citation|url=http://www.logainm.ie/1689.aspx |title=Carlingford |work=Placenames Database of Ireland |access-date=8 December 2011 }}. Ulster Scots: Carlinford Loch{{cite web|url = http://www.northsouthministerialcouncil.org/annual_report_2010_ulster_scots.pdf | title = North-South Ministerial Council: 2010 Annual Report in Ulster Scots | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130227120523/http://www.northsouthministerialcouncil.org/annual_report_2010_ulster_scots.pdf |archive-date=27 February 2013 }}) is a glacial fjord or sea inlet in northeastern Ireland, forming part of the border between Northern Ireland to the north and the Republic of Ireland to the south. On its northern shore is County Down, the Mourne Mountains, and the town of Warrenpoint; on its southern shore is County Louth, the Cooley Mountains and the village of Carlingford. The Newry River flows into the loch from the northwest.
Name
The English name Carlingford and the Irish name Loch Cairlinn come from the Old Norse Kerlingfjǫrðr, meaning "narrow sea-inlet of the hag" or old woman. This may have referred to the three mountain tops, locally called The Three Nuns, frequently used as pilot points on entering the lough.{{cite web |title=Carlingford Lough |url=https://www.placenamesni.org/resultdetails.php?entry=16188 |publisher=Place Names NI |access-date=6 December 2021 |archive-date=6 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211206141432/https://www.placenamesni.org/resultdetails.php?entry=16188 |url-status=dead }} Its earlier Irish name was Snámh Aighneach, meaning "swift sea-channel". It could also mean "swift swimming-place", referring to a crossing point which could be swum by horses, probably Narrow Water.
An older English name was Nury (Newry) Bay.{{cite web|url = http://www.logainm.ie/1166336.aspx | publisher = Placenames Database of Ireland| title = Carlingford Lough (Click the archival records button)}}
Geography
The Newry River and the Newry Canal link the lough to the nearby city of Newry (the canal continues on towards the River Bann and Lough Neagh; the river, under the name River Clanrye, loops around County Down). The only other glacial fjords in Ireland are Lough Swilly and Killary Harbour.{{cite book | last = Whittow| first = J.B. | title = Geology and Scenery in Ireland | publisher = Penguin| date = 1974}}
On the northern coast, in County Down, are the coastal towns of Warrenpoint and Rostrevor, backed by the Mourne Mountains. On the southern coast are Omeath, Carlingford and Greenore backed by the Cooley Mountains, all on the Cooley Peninsula in County Louth.
Tourism
The area has been a tourist destination since Victorian times when the railway between Dublin and Belfast was opened. Situated approximately halfway between the two cities, the access to the area combined with its scenery and sheltered location are still factors in its popularity today.{{citation needed|date=May 2020}}
Flora and fauna
The northern shores have extensive mudflats and salt marshes which provide winter feeding areas for the pale-bellied brent goose (Branta bernicla hrota).{{cite web|url = https://www.npws.ie/sites/default/files/publications/pdf/004078_Carlingford%20Lough%20SPA%20Supporting%20Doc_V1.pdf | publisher = National Parks & Wildlife Service | website = npws.ie | title = Report – Carlingford Lough Special Protection Area (Site Code 4078) – Conservation Objectives | date = August 2013 | access-date = 29 May 2020 }} At the mouth of the lough are several small rock and shingle islands which are breeding areas for terns that feed in its shallow waters.
Protected areas
The lough is designated as an Important Bird Area.{{cite web| title = BirdLife International (2015) Important Bird Areas factsheet: Carlingford Lough | url = http://www.birdlife.org |website = birdlife.org |access-date=2012-10-20 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070630122358/http://www.birdlife.org/ |archive-date=30 June 2007 }}
The Carlingford Lough Ramsar site (wetlands of international importance designated under the Ramsar Convention), is 830.51 hectares in area, at latitude 54 03 00 N and longitude 06 07 00 W. It was designated a Ramsar site on 9 March 1998. It is a cross-border site, with the northern shore lying within Northern Ireland (including the lough's more extensive mudflats and a salt marsh), and the southern shore lying in the Republic of Ireland (where the Carlingford Lough Special Protection Area falls within the scope of the National Parks and Wildlife Service).{{cite web | title=Designated and Proposed Ramsar sites in Northern Ireland | work=Joint Nature Conservation Committee | url=http://www.jncc.gov.uk/pdf/RIS/UK12004.pdf | access-date=7 July 2008 | archive-date=20 August 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120820015452/http://jncc.defra.gov.uk/pdf/RIS/UK12004.pdf | url-status=dead }}{{cite web|title=Carlingford Lough Ramsar site |work=NI Environment Agency |url=http://www.ni-environment.gov.uk/biodiversity/designated-areas/ramsar/ramsar_carlingfordough.htm |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121223193534/http://www.ni-environment.gov.uk/biodiversity/designated-areas/ramsar/ramsar_carlingfordough.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=23 December 2012 |access-date=7 July 2008 }}{{cite web|url = https://www.npws.ie/protected-sites/spa/004078 | publisher = National Parks and Wildlife Service | website = npws.ie | title =Carlingford Lough SPA | accessdate = 23 May 2021 }}
Transport
= Ferry =
The Greencastle-Greenore ferry crossing opened in 2017. It is used by local and by tourists, particularly in the summer months.{{citation needed|date=February 2024}}
= Railway =
{{stnlnk|Newry}} is the nearest station located on the Dublin-Belfast railway line with trains running on the Enterprise between Belfast Grand Central, Portadown and Dublin Connolly, whilst other trains may call at additional stations en route to Bangor.{{citation needed|date=May 2020}}
Until its closure in the early 1950s, the southern side of the lough was served by the Dundalk, Newry and Greenore (DNG) railway line. Sections of this line now form part of the Carlingford Lough greenway.{{cite web|url = http://nigreenways.com/newry-to-dundalk-greenway/ | website = nigreenways.com| publisher = Northern Ireland Greenways | title = Great Eastern Greenway / Carlingford Lough Greenway | access-date = 29 May 2020 }}{{cite web|url = https://www.newrymournedown.org/the-carlingford-lough-greenway | website = newrymournedown.org | publisher = Newry, Mourne and Down District Council | title = The Carlingford Lough Greenway – Phase 1 Completed | access-date = 29 May 2020 | quote = Louth County Council has already constructed 6.2 km of Greenway from Omeath to Carlingford Marina and this [..] opened in 2014}}
=Navigation=
The lough is navigable, and its seaward entrance is marked by the Haulbowline Lighthouse, which was built in 1824.
There is a deep water cargo port at Greenore, and a smaller fishing harbour at Carlingford.{{cite web|url = https://greenore.ie/location-2/ | publisher = Greenore Port Ltd | website = greenore.ie | title = Location | access-date = 29 May 2020 }}{{cite web|url = https://eoceanic.com/sailing/harbours/108/carlingford_harbour | publisher = eOceanic | website = eoceanic.com | title = Carlingford Harbour | access-date = 29 May 2020 }} A commercial marina lies north of Carlingford town, close to the start of the greenway.{{cite web|url = https://www.carlingfordmarina.com/greenway | website = carlingfordmarina.com | title = Carlingford Marina – Greenway | access-date = 29 May 2020 }}
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category}}
- [http://www.carlingford.ie Carlingford.ie - Carlingford and Cooley Tourism Association]
- [http://www.bbc.co.uk/northernireland/yourplaceandmine/down/A724385.shtml BBC.co.uk - Information on Carlingford Lough Disaster (1916)]
{{County Down}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Special Protection Areas in Northern Ireland
Category:Sea loughs of the Republic of Ireland
Category:Ramsar sites in Northern Ireland
Category:Republic of Ireland–United Kingdom border
Category:Transboundary protected areas
Category:Important Bird Areas of Northern Ireland
Category:Important Bird Areas of the Republic of Ireland
Category:Protected areas of County Down
Category:Sea loughs of Northern Ireland
Category:Landforms of County Louth