Dates of Leading Events - Taken from "Twixt Foyle and Swilly"
By J.J. Brady (Page 2)

1850. Trady Embankment completed (fresh-water rampart at Tooban.)

1854. Beacons (red and black) erected in Lough Foyle by Londonderry Harbour Commissioners.

1855. October. Inch Embankment completed.

1855-60. Many well-known hymns and poems composed in Fahan Rectory by Mrs. Cecil Frances Alexander.

1856. April. Farland Embankment completed.

1858. The wharf constructed at Moville.

1860. Building of Moville Main Street completed.

1861. First sewing machine to reach Inishowen arrived in Buncrana. During the night it was wrecked by tailors and garment workers who feared loss of employment.

1863. December 31st. Opening of L. & L.S. Railway from Derry to Farland Point in Lough Swilly.

1864. September 10th. Opening of railway extension from Tooban Junction to Buncrana.

1866. Anchor Line steamers began to call regularly at Moville.

1867. Lough Swill Hotel, Buncrana, built.

1867. Publication of Inishowen: its History, Traditions, and Antiquities by Maghtochair.

1868. Removal of ferry boat terminus from Farland Point to Fahan Point.

1870. October. Railway communication between Derry and Buncrana suspended for almost a week owing to flooding of line near Burnfoot. Main road bridge between Buncrana railway station and town also swept away.

1874. Buncrana New Pier constructed.

1874-8. Grianan of Aileach restored by Dr. Walter Bernard of Londonderry and Buncrana.

1875. Buncrana springboard erected by Local Committee.

1876. Richardson's Spinning Mill, Buncrana, closed down.

1877. Hill's Plantation in Ulster mentions the existence close to the shore of Inch Island of a valuable oyster bed.

1890. Lough Swilly Hotel taken over by a limited liability company.

1891. North-west Golf Links at Lisfannon laid out and opened for play.

1893. William J. Doherty, C.E., St. Mura's, Fahan (author of Inishowen and Tirconnell, published 1894) elected High Sheriff of Dublin City.

1894. December 22nd. Most destructive hurricane in Inishowen since "Night of the Big Wind" (January 5th 1839).

1894. Field Marshall Viscount Wolseley inspected Lough Swilly Defence; new Fortification Scheme launched.

1898. Inishowen Agricultural Society revived after suspension since 1874.

1899. Extended visit of H.M.S. Crescent to Lough Swilly with H.R.H. the Duke of York in command.

1899. March. Inishowen and Derry No. 2 Rural District Councils instituted under Local Government Act 1898.

1900. Bond's Iodine Factory at Fahan ceased working.

1900. Coast defences of Lough Swilly completed.

1901. Badminton Club formed in Buncrana (Heron's Ballroom) claimed to be the first such club in Ireland.

1901. July 1st. Opening of Railway Line from Buncrana to Carndonagh.

1902. January. First radio communication between Malin Head.

1902. First Commercial radio message passed between Malin Head and an Atlantic steamer (s.s. Lake Ontario) off the Irish coast.

1903. July 28th. Over 10,000 visitors came to Buncrana for the visit of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra to Buncrana on their way to and from Londonderry.

1903. Irish Land Act passed. First of many local estates to be sold thereunder to the tenants was that of Mrs. Catherine M. Harvey, Desertegney.

1904. October 22nd. H.M.S. Camperdown, last permanent Lough Swilly guardship, withdrawn by the Admiralty.

1905. 400 tons lead ore produced at Glentogher mines (value £4,800) from which 2,000 ounces of silver were obtained.

1906. Buncrana main drainage initiated by Buncrana Public Health Committee.

1907. National Telephone Company's service extended to Buncrana from Derry.

1910. Post Office took over control from the Marconi Company at Malin Head, and station moved from Lloyd's Signal Tower to Ballygorman, where new mast erected.

1912. First motor omnibus service established between Derry and Moville by Mr. David R. Roberts, Fort James, Drumahoe.

1914. October 27th. H.M.S. Audacious sunk outside Lough Swilly by a German mine.

1914. Buncrana Urban Council instituted, the only body of its kind in Inishowen.

1914. The British Grand Fleet under Admiral Jellicoe (H.M.S. Iron Duke) made its headquarters in Lough Swilly pending new defences at Scapa Flow.

1916. Lough Doo Waterworks Scheme, Buncrana, carried out by British Admiralty.

1917. January 31st. 68 victims of Laurentic disaster buried at Fahan. Funeral unique in the district in that the Roman Catholic, Episcopalian and Presbyterian clergymen in turn officiated at the one graveside.

1922. March 27th (Monday). R.I.C. vacated Buncrana Police Barracks, the last occupied in Inishowen.

1924. Recovery completed of 3,168 (out of a total of 3,211) gold bars from the wreck of H.M.S. Laurentic outside Lough Swilly. Valued at £4,958,708.

1925. June. Inishowen Rural District Council abolished and duties transferred to County Board of Health, Stranorlar

1926. June 21st. Road omnibus services supplemental the passenger train service between Derry and Buncrana.

1931. Hosiery factory established in Buncrana.

1932. May 20. Amelia Earhart, first woman to fly the Atlantic.

1935. November 30th. Last passenger train between Buncrana and Carndonagh.

1936. Industrial alcohol factory established at Carndonagh.

1938. August 9th. L. and L.S. Railway carried the record number of 1,350 passengers from Derry to Buncrana in the "Sixpenny train."

1938. October 3rd. Forts Dunree and Lenan handed over to Irish military.

1940. December 29. Eire anti-aircraft guns went into action for the first time against unidentified aeroplane flying over forts on Lough Swilly.

1941. July 10. Record catch of salmon for any one day (503 salmon) at Crana estuary. Largest single fish weighed 31lbs.

1942. May 4th. Road omnibus service suspended and train service substituted between Derry and Buncrana for duration of war 1945 Dedication of the new church of the Sacred Heart, Carndonagh. The largest church in Inishowen.

1945. Dedication of the new church of the Sacred Heart, Carndonagh. The largest church in Inishowen.

1945. October 24th. Cloudburst destroyed five Inishowen bridges costing over £40,000 for repairs.

1945. November 28th. 24 German U-boats towed through Lough Foyle from Lishally to Rockall Deep, 100 miles north-west of Malin Head, and sent to the bottom. (1,000 fathoms).

1946. May. - Lenan Fort closed.

1947. Public tennis courts opened at Buncrana.

1948. May 2nd. New nine-hole golf links opened for play at Ballyliffen.

1948. July 13th. Buncrana visited by his Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh. (Unofficial).

1948. Six new shelters erected on Moville shore front and an 19 hold putting green provided.

1948. August 3rd. 1,146 passengers carried by evening train from Buncrana to Derry. A post-war record on this line for any one train.

1948. September 6th. First double-decker buses to run on Derry-Buncrana Road.

1948. October 10th. Pageant at Buncrana commemorating the Battle of Lough Swilly, 1798.

Back