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

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

in County Antrim,

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

. 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 on the island of Ireland and in the British Isles. It has a surface area of and is about long and wide. According to Northern Ireland Water, it supplies 4 ...

, seven miles to the north of

Lurgan Lurgan () is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland, near the southern shore of Lough Neagh and roughly southwest of Belfast. The town is linked to Belfast by both the M1 motorway (Northern Ireland), M1 motorway and the Belfast–Dublin rail ...

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 t ...

. It has a jetty and picnic areas, used by boating enthusiasts on the Lough. 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. It is approximately 11 miles west of Belfast and eight miles north-west of Lisburn, and sits on the banks of the Glenavy river. In the 2011 census it had a population ...

Aghagallon Aghagallon () is a small village and civil parish in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is about northwest of Moira, County Down, and had a population of 824 in the 2001 census. Aghagallon has mainly developed along Aghalee Road in a lin ...

. 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 destination for wildfowlers and birdwatchers due to the habitat which exists particularly around the RSPB sanctuary at nearby

Portmore Lough Portmore Lough () is a small lake in southwest County Antrim, Northern Ireland that drains water into nearby Lough Neagh. It is roughly circular and covers an area of . The Lough and its shoreland is designated a Ramsar Convention, Ramsar site, ...

.http://www.rspb.org.uk/reserves/guide/p/portmorelough/ 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 Northern Irish politician who was the inaugural First Minister of Northern Ireland from 1998 to 2002 and leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) from 1995 to 20 ...

and Agriculture Minister

Bríd Rodgers Bríd Rodgers (; born 20 February 1935) is an Irish nationalist former politician. She was born and raised in Gweedore in the west of County Donegal, Ireland. Although born and brought up in a ''Gaeltacht'' area within the Republic of Ireland ...

in May 2007.

References

Villages in County Antrim {{Antrim-geo-stub

See also

References