Greencastle, Donegal is a commercial fishing port in County Donegal in the northwest of Ireland. It is located a few miles from Moville and is about 20 miles from Derry. It is likely the Greencastle name comes from the castle/fort in the area, which in turn, may have its name from the green freestone with which it was built.

The first proper pier was built in 1813³ and has been added to several times since. Today, as well as being a tie up for trawlers and salmon boats and the home of the Greencastle Fishermen's Co-Op, the pier also has a very different 'catch'. Visitors disembark from the Magilligan-Greencastle ferry which was inaugurated in 2002⁴. The official website advertises the fact that this saves 78km (or 49 miles) of driving, which would be through Derry. The Lough Foyle Ferry Company has also recently (2004) begun a Lough Swilly ferry service that runs between Buncrana and Rathmullan seasonally. The pier also contains a newly built pilot office to replace the decomissioned pilot office at Carrickarory Pier.

The fort at Greencastle has been linked [1] with the fort in the background of the Derry crest [2]. According to Beattie¹ the fort is known as the de Burgo castle, which was built in 1305 to provide a base for Norman power in the North West. This building was named "Northburg" ² and was actually built on the site of a much older fortress.

The National Fisheries College (NFC) is located also located in Greencastle. The NFC recently completed a €1.1 million extension funded under the INTERREG 11 Initiative, thus providing better facilities including a realistic simulator bridge deck.

Further Reading

• ¹³ (Ireland in Old Photographs series)

External Links

• Greencastle Fort Information
• History of Greencastle church
• Greencastle golf club
• Donegal Library Information ²
• Greencastle - Magilligan Ferry
• Foyle Ferries Info ⁴

See also: List of towns in the Republic of Ireland