North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland)

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Map of the North Channel
Relief map of the Irish Sea. The North Channel lies to the north of the Irish Sea, and the St George's Channel to the south. (Major ports shown as red dots. Freight-only ports as blue dots)

The North Channel (known in Irish and Scottish Gaelic as Sruth na Maoile, in Ulster-Scots as the Noarth Channel and alternatively in English as the Straits of Moyle or Sea of Moyle) is the strait which separates north-eastern Ireland from south-western Scotland.[1] It is part of the marine area officially classified as the "Inner Seas off the West Coast of Scotland" by the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO).[2] In the nineteenth century, Alexander Keith Johnston's suggested name St Patrick's Channel had currency, but it was rejected by the hydrographic department.[3]

The deepest part is called Beaufort's Dyke. The Channel connects the Irish Sea with the Atlantic Ocean, and Bowers was thus a favourite haunt of privateers preying on British merchant shipping in wars up to the 19th century; in 1778, during the American Revolutionary War it was also the site of a naval duel between American captain John Paul Jones's Ranger and the Royal Navy's Drake. It is crossed by a large number of ferry services. In 1953, it was the scene of a serious maritime disaster, the sinking of the ferry Princess Victoria.

Unionist Northern Irish political leaders for decades lobbied the British government to construct a rail-link tunnel under the North Channel to better to integrate Northern Ireland with the rest of the United Kingdom. In August 2007 the Centre for Cross-Border Studies proposed the construction of a 34-kilometre (21 mi) long rail bridge or tunnel, estimating that it may cost approximately £3.5 billion.[4] In the Victorian era, engineers proposed a rail tunnel between Stranraer and Belfast.[5]

This channel was formerly known as the Irish Channel.[6][7][8]

Contents

Swimming [edit]

The Irish Long Distance Swimming Association (ILDSA) has provided authentication observers for swimmers attempting to cross the approximately 35-kilometre (22 mi) span between Northern Ireland and the Mull of Galloway. According to the ILDSA, this was first accomplished in 1947 by Tom Blower. Since that time, only 14 additional solo-swim attempts have been successful, accomplished by 10 different individuals, and only 7 relay teams.[9][10]

Solo [edit]

Date Name From Direction Duration
28/7/1947 Tom Blower England Ireland to Scotland 15 hrs 26 mins
11/9/1970 Kevin Murphy England Ireland to Scotland 11 hrs 21 mins
29/8/1971 Kevin Murphy England Ireland to Scotland 14 hrs 27 mins
11/8/1973 Ted Keenan Ireland Ireland to Scotland 18 hrs 27 mins
22/8/1988 Alison Streeter England Ireland to Scotland 9 hrs 53 mins 42 secs
23/8/1988 Margaret Kidd Scotland Ireland to Scotland 15 hrs 26 mins 03 secs
25/8/1989 Alison Streeter England Scotland to Ireland 10 hrs 04 mins
7/9/1989 Kevin Murphy England Scotland to Ireland 17 hrs 17 mins 48 secs
18/8/1997 Alison Streeter England Scotland to Ireland 10 hrs 02 mins12 secs
27/7/1999 Paul lewis England Scotland to Ireland 14 hrs 28 mins
21/7/2000 Stephen Price England Scotland to Ireland 16 hrs 56 mins
31/7/2004 Colm O Neill Ireland Scotland to Ireland 11 hrs 25 mins 05 secs
12/9/2008 Colleen Blair Scotland Ireland to Scotland 15 hrs 23 mins 59 secs
31/8/2010 Stephen Redmond Ireland Scotland to Ireland 17 hrs 17 mins 01 sec
1/9/2010 Ann Marie Ward Ireland Ireland to Scotland 18 hrs 59 mins 26 secs
27/7/2011 Craig Lenning U.S.A. Ireland to Scotland 14 hrs 44 mins 50 secs
2/8/2011 Howard Keech England Ireland to Scotland 13 hrs 25 mins

Relay teams [edit]

Date Team Name Direction Duration
27/8/1990 Ireland One Ireland to Scotland 12 hrs 03 mns 01 sec
14/8/1993 City of Liverpool Ireland to Scotland 10 hrs 39 mins 42 secs
23/6/1996 City of Dublin Ireland to Scotland 12 hrs 44 mins 56 secs
20/8/1999 The All American Scotland to Ireland 13 hrs 11 mins 39 secs
26/8/2002 City of Liverpool Scotland to Ireland 12 hrs 47 mins 41 secs
6/7/2004 The Swilly Trio Scotland to Ireland 14 hrs 41 mins 14 secs
22/8/2011 Team Camlough Ireland to Scotland 12 hrs 21 mins 12 secs

References [edit]

  1. ^ 2007 annual report Tourism Ireland. Retrieved 9 August 2012.
  2. ^ "Limits of Oceans and Seas, 3rd edition". International Hydrographic Organization. 1953. Retrieved 7 February 2010. 
  3. ^ Andrews, John Harwood (1997-01). Shapes of Ireland: maps and their makers 1564-1839. Geography Publications. p. 88. ISBN 978-0-906602-95-9. Retrieved 18 September 2010. 
  4. ^ "Bridge to Northern Ireland mooted". BBC News (BBC). 22 August 2007. Retrieved 9 October 2011. 
  5. ^ McKenzie, Steven (9 October 2011). "Scotland-Ireland undersea rail link plan 'a surprise'". BBC News (BBC). Retrieved 9 October 2011. 
  6. ^ A Friend (1824). Glympses Across the Irish Channel. 
  7. ^ Old Sailor (1820). A view of the British and Irish fisheries:. p. 74. 
  8. ^ Rooke, John (1838). Geology as a science applied to the reclamation of land from the sea. p. 41. 
  9. ^ "Irish Long Distance Swimming Association". 
  10. ^ "Bangorboat". 

See also [edit]

Coordinates: 55°03′27″N 5°37′19″W / 55.05750°N 5.62194°W / 55.05750; -5.62194

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