Greenore

Greenore (Irish: An Grianfort) is a small town, townland and deep water port on Carlingford Lough in County Louth, Ireland. The population of Greenore and the surrounding rural area (electoral area) was 898 in the 2002 Irish census.

Greenore has the only privately owned port in Ireland. It has three berths and can handle vessels of up to 39,999 gross tons. In 1964 the port was used to fit out the ships used for the pirate radio stations Radio Caroline and Radio Atlanta (later Radio Caroline South). In the 1970s there was regular freight shipping from the port to Bristol. In 2005 Greenore was Irelands's 10th largest port in terms of tonnage handled with 649,000 tonnes of goods handled.

Economy

Greenore is also a brand of whiskey produced by the nearby Cooley Distillery.

Transport

• A lighthouse was built on Greenore Point in the early 19th century.
• The Dundalk and Greenore Railway Act of 1863 authorised the construction of the port and railway. The port was constructed in 1867 to provide links to Heysham and Fleetwood. The village was constructed to provide homes for the dock and railway workers of the Dundalk, Newry and Greenore Railway.
• From 1873 to 1951 there was a ferry service between Greenore and Holyhead. The London and North Western Railway constructed a substantial hotel and railway station to serve passengers using the ferry. The original railway line ran from Dundalk to Greenore and the first service was 1 May 1873 when the station opened. In 1876 the railway line was extended to Newry. In the 19th century there was a ferry from Greencastle to Greenore. The railway and the station closed on 1 January 1952^[1] and was replaced by bus services to Dundalk and Newry.
• Bus Éireann route 161 links Greenore to Dundalk, Carlingford, Omeath and Newry. There are four weekday journeys to Dundalk and four to Carlingford, three of which extend to Omeath and Newry. On schooldays there is an additional morning journey to Newry. There is no service on Sundays. ^[2]

Sport

In 1896 the Greenore Golf Club was founded. As of 2009 it is a 6,647 yard course, with a par of 71.

Notable residents

• Archbishop Michael Desmond Hynes OMD PhD^[3]
• Jimmy Magee, sports commentator

See also

• List of towns and villages in Ireland

References

1. ^ "Greenore station" (PDF). Railscot - Irish Railways. http://www.railscot.co.uk/Ireland/Irish_railways.pdf. Retrieved 2007-10-15. 
2. ^ http://www.buseireann.ie/pdf/1291382290-161.pdf
3. ^ http://ordermaterdei.webs.com

External links

• Radio Caroline - The Early Years.
• Dáil Éireann, Committee on Finance, Debate on 21 February, 1952. Includes discussion of Greenore Port and Hotel.
• DUNDALK, NEWRY AND GREENORE RAILWAY (ABANDONMENT) WARRANT, 1953. 22 Dec 1953. [1]
• Dundalk and Greenore Railway Act, in Acts of the Parliaments of the United Kingdom Part 53 (1863) [2]
• Greenore Golf Course [3]
• Photograph of Greenore school in 1881, from the National Railway Museum in UK. This is now the local pub (public house). [4]
• The Chester and Holyhead Railway Co, & London and North Western Railway Co Rail & Shipping History [5]. Describes services from Greenore.
• The Dundalk, Newry and Greenore Railway. [6]
• Dundalk 2000 and Beyond - a vision for economic development, Dundalk Chamber of Commerce. [7]
• A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland, Samuel Lewis, 1837. [8]
• Statistics of Port Traffic, Central Statistics Office / An Phriomh-Oiig Staidrimh, 29 June 2006 [9]
• Census 2002, Volume 1 Population Classified by Area. Central Statistics Office, Dublin, July 2003. ISBN 0-7557-1507-1