What's the story here?

Carlingford is situated on the southwestern shore of Carlingford Lough, about 5 miles from Haulbowline Light House, which marks the entrance to the Lough, and 2 miles to the northwestward of Greenore Point with Slieve Foy mountain as a backdrop, sometimes known as Carlingford Mountain. It is the main town of the Cooley Peninsula and is fronted by a small pretty tidal harbour. The harbour is made conspicuous from a distance by the ruins of an old castle that stands at its northern end. Two piers enclose the harbour that are both used by fishing boats and leisure craft.




The westernmost of the harbour's enclosing piers, the most convenient for the town, is called the Quay. It is 2.7 metres at HW and has a bottom of deep, soft mud.




The eastern 'Pier' has a depth of 3.4 metres at MHWS and a firmer bottom that is reportedly the best option for those choosing to dry out.




Between the piers, the silted harbour exposes soft black mud at the bottom of the tide which dries to 1.5 to 2 metres and is not suitable for drying.




The local Carlingford Sailing Club provides eight complimentary visitor moorings that are available by arrangement.




The club may be contacted by Ch. 16 [Carlingford Sailing Club], +353 (0) 42 937 3238, +353 (0) 87 980 7774, info@carlingfordsailingclub.net and have a web site for further information www.carlingfordsailingclub.

How to get in?

Seaward approaches are detailed in eastern Ireland's coastal overview for Strangford Lough to Dublin Bay . Navigating Carlingford Lough provides a tide timer for the entrance and sailing directions for the run-up the Lough.




Continue up the lough to the No.18 port hand Channel Buoy Fl R (4) 8s. Visibly, this carries a vessel past Carlingford Harbour, situated on the southern shore that will be seen about two miles west by northwest of Greenore Point. It is readily recognisable by the town; its piers, on which the ruins of King John’s Castle sit, are at the foot of the Cooley Mountains. However, it is nonetheless essential to continue as far as buoy No.18 and approach the harbour from the north to avoid the Carlingford Bank.




This bank lies in front of the town, between it and the channel, and terminates before the buoy. The bank's outer edge dries and is steep-to. Between it and the shore, there are extensive shallows reducing from 1.7 to 1.6 metres of water in the area to the east of the marina until it dries at low water springs outside the harbour’s pier heads.


Once round the northwest end of the Carlingford Bank, taking the No.18 buoy to port, steer a course of about 170° T for a mile to the east pierhead at the harbour entrance.



The north-facing entrance lies between the pierheads and is 180 metres wide. At night the pierheads are lit with the northwest Quay Fl.G.3s3M, and the eastern Pier OcR.4s.3M.

Providing prior arrangement has been made with Carlingford Sailing Club shallow draft yachts can make use of the four visitor moorings located about 400 metres to the north of the harbour. Deeper drafted vessels may find four visitor moorings 800 metres out near the marina.




The anchorage area is situated between the town and the marina, approximately 500 metres beyond the pierheads to the north-northwest of Carlingford. The area will make itself readily known by private moorings situated there. Good mud holding is to be found here with depths of 2 to 3 metres clear of the established small craft moorings and shellfish beds. At neaps, a draft of 1.7 metres can be had 300 metres north of the east pier or 1.4 metres 200 metres north.

Why visit here?

Carlingford derives its name from the Old Norse 'Kerlingfjǫrðr' of the Viking sailors who raided and patrolled these coasts in the Middle Ages. The name is the conjunction of 'kerling' meaning 'hag' and 'fjörthr', later fjord, meaning a 'narrow sea inlet', so 'fiord of the hags'.




In this case, the hags probably refer to the mountain stacks known as the 'Three Nuns'. These panicles were most likely used as pilot points to pass the many rocks and pinnacles of the narrow entrance into the Lough where many vessels have met their end. So, the name means 'sea inlet between the cliffs or steep slopes'. As is common with Norse names, it was not adopted into the Irish name and Cairlinn, a shortened form of Cathair Linn, directly translates to 'city of the pool'.

Although commonly attributed to the Vikings, the true founders of the town of Carlingford were the Normans. It was not until 1184 that John de Courcy’s army made its way to Carlingford, and he then claimed this part of Louth for himself. However, de Courcy did not hold these lands for more than two decades as powerful men make potent enemies. De Courcy backed King Richard in his power struggle with John and when John succeeded Richard, he quickly dismissed de Courcy from office. The insecure King John continued to be mean and vindictive, sending Hugh de Lacy to capture de Courcy in 1204. Hugh de Lacy, the younger son of Hugh de Lacy 'Lord of Meath', eventually captured de Courcy by a cowardly targeted ambush when de Courcy was in a church. In May 1205, King John made Hugh the 'Earl of Ulster', and assigned him the territories that Henry II had granted de Courcy "as John de Courcy held it on the day when Hugh defeated him".

De Lacy and his Norman command recognised the Lough's strategic significance as the vital stretch of water to the 'Gap of the North' and inland Ulster. They were determined to secure it by constructing two castles at its mouth on the southern and northern shores, at Carlingford and at Greencastle to guard the narrow entrance channel to the Lough and the ferry crossing between the two. A further measure of their determination to control the vital waterway was the construction of a fort at the present-day site of Narrow Water Castle. The three castles physically protected their respective harbours and controlled both marine and terrestrial access to the Lough.




Carlingford Castle was probably built in the early part of the 13th century with a twin-towered gateway and four square towers on its curtain wall. King John spent the summer of 1210 in the castle, which became known as King John's castle. The town, which gradually rose to the southeast of the castle consisted chiefly of castellated buildings. Arising from its situation on the frontier of the pale, these were subsequently walled and Carlingford became a trading centre as well as the defensive English stronghold on the Cooley Peninsula. The castle and town buildings were not entirely military in function, or solely for the display of power and social status. These were also working buildings, oriented toward a marine economy.




During the Middle Ages, rich fisheries off Carlingford attracted hundreds of ships from Wales, southwest England, and Spain. The fishing grounds, warmed by climatic change, were being harvested by these foreign fishing fleets sometimes to the detriment of the home market. It was noted in 1515 that "merchants convey out of this land into France, Brittaine and other strange parts, salmonds, herrings, dry lings, haaks and other fish, so abundantly that they leve none within the land to vitall the King’s subjects.




Huge numbers of men were employed in this fishery, 6,000 on one occasion in 1535 when a fleet of 600 English boats was recorded to be fishing off Carlingford. Situated and oriented towards the sea, Carlingford would most likely have had vast fish catches hauled up on its waterfront and a brusque trade running here.




The nearby Taaffe's Castle, which stood in the town's old harbour area, is an example of such a trading past. Such fortified townhouses were a popular form of residence amongst the wealthy merchant classes of medieval Ireland. Situated on the old harbourfront, the building was most likely the residence and trading depot of an important member of this merchant class. The business was conducted on the bottom floor, and the upper floors contained the living quarters. The building derives its name from the Taaffe family who became Earls of Carlingford in 1661. The family acquired extensive properties in and around Carlingford during the 17th-century restoration land settlement. Nicholas Taaffe fell at the battle of the Boyne in 1690 and his family subsequently emigrated to Austria.




Carlingford town and castle continued to remain in English hands during the post-mediaeval period, although Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone, tried to take the castle in a surprise attack in 1596. The castle changed hands several times over the following centuries. Some of the castle’s damage is thought to be the result of shelling by the Cromwellian commander Colonel Venables. He landed to the south of the town in 1649 and his arrival coincided with the arrival of a man-of-war. Although the castle’s garrison fired some salutary shots it chose not to take on Venables forces. News of Cromwell's Drogheda massacre was common currency by then so they surrendered under articles and marched away to Newry. The castle was later to be fired upon by retreating Jacobite forces in 1689 and functioned as a hospital during the period leading up to the Battle of the Boyne.

Throughout all this Carlingford prospered mainly from war-related trade into southeast Ulster. It was, however, the construction of the Newry Ship Canal, 1731 through to 1741, that was to mark the end of the town’s prosperity.

The canal was built to link the Tyrone coalfields via Lough Neagh and the River Bann to the Irish Sea at Carlingford Lough. The hope was that a good transport route from the Tyrone coalfields to Dublin could have made the city self-sufficient in coal. The capital had always relied upon intermittent imports from mainland Britain. Up until the completion of the canal passengers and cargo had to be transhipped at Carlingford Harbour for the trip up the lough and onward to Newry. But once the canal was built, ships were able to bypass the port and Carlingford went into decline. The later arrival of the 'Dundalk Newry & Greenore Railway' in 1876 transformed the town into a popular tourist resort that it remains to this day.

Today, Carlingford is a picturesque fishing village and one of Ireland's most important heritage towns. It is, by some measure, one of the nation’s best-preserved medieval towns, with much of this heritage and atmosphere remaining palpable to its visitors to this day. This can be experienced in pretty whitewashed cottages and ancient stone buildings clustered along narrow medieval alleyways, lanes, and squares that entice visitors to discover the various shops and craft outlets in the walled town.




Specific highlights include; 'The Mint' wherein in 1467, Carlingford was granted a charter to mint its own coinage. The 'Tholsel' is a two-storey building where town laws were passed and where it is possible to see the cramped prison cell in which criminals were held before their execution. Central to any visit is 'The Holy Trinity Heritage Centre', situated within a restored medieval church that traces the port's history from Anglo-Norman times. But these are only a few locations amongst many that are there to be explored. Most important of all these is, of course, the town’s founding stone, King John’s Castle, which dominates the medieval town to this day. A walk around the ruins of the castle, particularly impressive in the evening, hosts magnificent views over the Lough that separates the Republic and Northern Ireland and across the majestic Mourne Mountains beyond.




In addition to medieval history, the village hosts plenty of festivals and events during the summer months. Carlingford’s party atmosphere peaks in August during its famous Oyster Festival. The town also provides a tranquil, intimate base from which to enjoy the Cooley Peninsula. Walkers will find the view from Slieve Foye, 3.2km from Carlingford, simply breathtaking.




From a strict boating perspective, Carlingford is a very good berth to visit this delightful heritage town. It also is at the heart of Louth's most beautiful northern area, encompassing the Cooley Mountains and Cooley Peninsula.




The town can also provide almost any provisioning needed and is an ideal stepping stone to exploring the other anchoring locations in the Lough itself.

What facilities are available?

Carlingford town, although hardly bigger than a village, has a surprising array of excellent facilities such as hotels, restaurants, pubs, a post office, a reasonably good supermarket, newsagent, launderette, water, fuel, gas and a host of tourist attractions. A launching slip is available at high tide on the east pier.

Dundalk Sailing Club telephone +353 42 937 3238 is active during the season at weekends providing limited meals, showers and a bar. Carlingford is just over an hours’ drive from Belfast and Dublin.

Useful transport contacts in this area:
Dundalk Train Station + 353 42 933 5521
Dundalk Bus Station + 353 42 9334075
Newry Bus Station + 44 28 30623531
Newry Train Station + 44 28 30269271

Any security concerns?

Never an issue known to have happened off Carlingford.

With thanks to:

Thomas Cunningham - Harbour Master for 'Carlingford and Irish Lights Commission'.