Magilligan Point
Magilligan Point is the headland of the acute-angled peninsula known as Magilligan in the north-west of County Londonderry, at the entrance to Lough Foyle. The peninsula is a huge, 79,000 acre coastal site, part army firing range, part nature reserve.
The peninsula gets its name from "MacGilligans country", which formed a major part of the Barony of Keenaght.
The name of the place is from the Irish Gaelic Ard Mhic Giollagáin, meaning 'Magilligan's height'[1])
A defensive gun platform, the Magilligan Martello Tower, was begun here in 1812, rather late in the Napoleonic Wars: the soft ground prevented earlier work. Across the lough at Greencastle, County Donegal is another Martello tower.
There is a ferry service which operates all the year around with Greencastle across the lough.
Ordnance Survey of Ireland
Magilligan served as the base line for triangulation for the Ordnance Survey's mapping of Ireland in the 19th century. Thomas Colby chose Magilligan due to the flatness of the strand and its proximity to Scotland which, along with the rest of Britain, had been accurately mapped in previous decades. A straight line precisely 30,533 feet was measured from North Station to Ballykelly in 1828 from which all other references were measured. The survey finished in 1846 when County Kerry was mapped.
Location
- Location: 55°11’13"N, 6°57’29"W
Outside links
- Magilligan Sand Dunes virtual field trip
- Magilligan Martello Tower
- The Lough Foyle Ferry Company
- History of Magilligan 1600-1800
References
- ↑ Placenames NI - Magilligan