Greenore () is a village,

townland A townland (; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a traditional small land division used in Ireland and in the Western Isles of Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of medieval Gaelic origin, predating the Norman invasion, and mo ...

and deep water port on

Carlingford Lough Carlingford Lough (, Ulster Scots dialects, Ulster Scots: ''Carlinford Loch'') is a glacial fjord or sea inlet in northeastern Ireland, forming part of Republic of Ireland – United Kingdom border, the border between Northern Ireland to the nor ...

County Louth County Louth ( ; ) is a coastal Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Louth is bordered by the counties of County Meath, Meath to the ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

History

A lighthouse was built on Greenore Point in 1830. Several decades later, the Dundalk and Greenore Railway Act 1863 authorised the construction of the port and railway. The port was constructed in 1867 to provide links to

Heysham Heysham ( ) is a coastal village in the Lancaster district of Lancashire, England, overlooking Morecambe Bay. It is a ferry port, with services to the Isle of Man and Ireland, and the site of two nuclear power stations. History Of historic ...

and

Fleetwood Fleetwood is a coastal town in the Borough of Wyre in Lancashire, England, at the northwest corner of the Fylde. It had a population of 25,939 at the 2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 census. Fleetwood acquired its modern character in the 1830 ...

. The village was constructed to provide homes for the dock and railway workers of the

Dundalk, Newry and Greenore Railway The Dundalk, Newry and Greenore Railway (DNGR, DN&GR) was an Irish gauge () railway in Ireland. It was conceived as the Dundalk and Greenore Railway in the 1860s to provide a link between the towns in its title and the London and North We ...

Economy

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 then disused port was used to fit out the ships used for the

pirate radio Pirate radio is a radio station that broadcasts without a valid license, whether an invalid license or no license at all. In some cases, radio stations are considered legal where the signal is transmitted, but illegal where the signals are rec ...

stations

Radio Caroline Radio Caroline is a British radio station founded in 1964 by Ronan O'Rahilly and Allan Crawford, initially to circumvent the record companies' control of popular music broadcasting in the United Kingdom and the BBC's radio broadcasting monopol ...

and

Radio Atlanta Radio Atlanta was an offshore commercial station that operated briefly from 12 May 1964 to 2 July 1964 from a ship anchored in the North Sea, three and a half miles off Frinton-on-Sea, Essex, England. The radio broadcasting vessel was owned, at th ...

(later Radio Caroline South). The port was owned by Aodogan O'Rahilly (1904–2000) - father of Radio Caroline founder Ronan O'Rahilly from 1958 until 2000. In the 1970s there was regular freight shipping from the port to

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

. In 2005 Greenore was Ireland's 10th largest port in terms of tonnage handled with 649,000 tonnes of goods handled. ''Greenore'' is also a brand of

whiskey Whisky or whiskey is a type of liquor made from Fermentation in food processing, fermented grain mashing, mash. Various grains (which may be Malting, malted) are used for different varieties, including barley, Maize, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky ...

produced by the nearby

Cooley Distillery Cooley Distillery is an Irish whiskey distillery on the Cooley Peninsula in County Louth, Republic of Ireland, Ireland established in 1987 and owned by Suntory Global Spirits, a subsidiary of Suntory Holdings of Osaka, Japan. The distillery ...

Transport

On 21 July 2018 a ferry service commenced operations from Greenore, County Louth to Greencastle, County Down. The Scenic Carlingford Ferry operates a year round service using its vessel, the Frazer Aisling Gabrielle. From 1873 to 1951 there was a

ferry A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus ...

service between Greenore and

Holyhead Holyhead (; , "Cybi's fort") is a historic port town, and is the list of Anglesey towns by population, largest town and a Community (Wales), community in the county of Isle of Anglesey, Wales. Holyhead is on Holy Island, Anglesey, Holy Island ...

. The

London and North Western Railway The London and North Western Railway (LNWR, L&NWR) was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. In the late 19th century, the LNWR was the largest joint stock company in the world. Dubbed the "Premier Line", the LNWR's main line connec ...

constructed a substantial hotel and railway station to serve passengers using the ferry. The original railway line ran from

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ) is the county town of County Louth, Ireland. The town is situated on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the north-east coast of Ireland, and is halfway between Dublin and Belfast, close to and south of the bor ...

to Greenore and the first service was 1 May 1873 when the station opened. In 1876 the railway line was extended to

Newry Newry (; ) is a City status in Ireland, city in Northern Ireland, standing on the Newry River, Clanrye river in counties County Down, Down and County Armagh, Armagh. It is near Republic of Ireland–United Kingdom border, the border with the ...

. In the 19th century there was a ferry from Greencastle to Greenore. The railway and the station closed on 1 January 1952 and was replaced by bus services to Dundalk and Newry. Bus Éireann route 161 links Greenore to

, Carlingford, Omeath and

. There are four weekday journeys to

and four to Carlingford. On schooldays there is an additional morning journey to

. There is no service on Sundays.

Sport

Greenore Golf Club was founded in 1896. It is a 6,647 yard course, with a par of 71.

Notable residents

* Jimmy Magee, sports commentator

References