Londonderry Port at Lisahally is a port near Derry, Northern Ireland. It is the United Kingdom’s most westerly port, has capacity for 30,000 ton vessels and accepts cruise ships. The current port is on the east bank of the River Foyle at the southern end of Lough Foyle, by the small village of Strathfoyle. It is operated by the Londonderry Port and Harbour Commissioners whose former offices, just north of Derry city walls, are now a museum.
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Most of the current Londonderry Port is in the townland of Lisahally (or Lissahawley); a toponym that may be derived from from Irish: Lios a' Chalaidh meaning "ringfort of the landing place".[1] The port witnessed mass emigration of Irish and Scots-Irish people over the centuries to North America, Scotland, England and Australia.
The port had a thriving shipbuilding business and was known for building clipper ships.[2] Shipbuilding at the port declined after the introduction of iron vessels, and no large ships were built for some decades after 1846. The Foyle Shipyard, founded in 1882, brought shipbuilding back to the port, but it ceased trading in 1892.[3]
The port saw the transport of many goods over the centuries. Seed potatoes were shipped to places as far away as Egypt. Cattle were regularly shipped to and from Glasgow by the Burns and Laird steamer until the late 1960s. Manufactured items including linen, linoleum and shirts were exported to Great Britain for onward distribution. The McCorkell Line sailed from here.
The waterfront area of the City was redeveloped in the 1990s. The cattle holding pens that used to be near where the current British Telecom building stands were demolished along with the transit sheds in order to create a new road and car parking along the banks of the Foyle. This and with the need for deep water moorings for larger vessels saw the port moved to the docks at Lisahally in 1993. These docks were originally used by DuPont to import raw materials for their manufacturing process and by the nearby Coolkeeragh power station to import fuel oil for their turbines.
Londonderry Port and the docks at Lisahally gave vital service to the Allies in the longest running campaign of World War II, the Battle of the Atlantic. This ended with the surrender of the German U-Boat fleet at Lisahally on 8 May 1945.
In July 2003 Londonderry Port installed the Foyle Pontoon in the heart of the city. This is a 200 metres (660 ft) long berthing facility aimed at small boat owners and yachts visiting the city. In 2005 the port was named "Irish Port of the Year".
Lisahally F.C., which is based at the village of Strathfoyle, was founded by port workers from Lisahally.
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