Glenshane Pass

The Glenshane Pass (from Irish Gleann Seáin 'Shane's valley') is a major mountain pass cutting through the Sperrin Mountains in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It is in the townland of Glenshane Pass on the main Derry to Belfast route, the A6.

The Sperrin mountains from the Glenshane Pass road

A large wildfire broke out in Glenshane Pass in late June 2018, burning more than 600 acres of dry gorse in the pass by 27 June.

Features

It is a Special Area of Conservation. Carn/Glenshane Pass is a large area of intact blanket bog, characterised by undulating topography and including a large, well-developed hummock and pool system within a thick mantle of blanket peat.^[1] It is also classed as an Area of Special Scientific Interest.^[2] The Ponderosa is the second highest public house on the island of Ireland, situated 288 metres (945 feet) above sea level.^[3]

History

The Glenshane Pass derives its name from the townland of Glenshane. It is erroneously claimed as being named after Shane Crossagh O'Mullan a notorious rapparee, or highwayman, who roamed the highways of County Londonderry and County Tyrone in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth century.^[4] However earlier forms of the name exist as far back as the 14th-century long before O'Mullan or rapparrees existed.

The Troubles

• On 24 June 1972, three British Army soldiers were killed by a landmine explosion on the Glenshane Pass.^[5] Their Land Rover was destroyed by two IEDs consisting of 120 lbs of explosive packed in milk churns.^[6]
• On 17 March 1978, a British Army soldier was shot dead in a gun battle with IRA gunmen near the Glenshane Pass. Some reports said he was involved in a covert observation post when he spotted two suspected gunmen. He stood up to challenge the men and was fatally wounded, but he shot back wounding one man.^[6]

References

1. "Carn – Glenshane Pass". Joint Nature Conservation Committee. Archived from the original on 28 July 2008. Retrieved 26 June 2008.
2. "Carn/Glenshane Pass". Environment and Heritage Service. Retrieved 26 June 2008.
3. Brankin, Una (13 September 2019). "Patrons of Ireland's highest pub travel to see Kerry back on Top". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 15 January 2021. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
4. Deeney, Niall (5 February 2013). "The bandit who escaped 'the Devil's Claws' – Shane Crossagh O'Mullan". The Londonderry Sentinel. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 28 October 2013.
5. "Members of the Army Air Corps killed as a result of the Troubles in Northern Ireland from 1958". Palace Barracks Memorial Garden. Archived from the original on 7 December 2002. Retrieved 26 June 2008.
6. "Members of The Parachute Regiment killed as a result of the Troubles in Northern Ireland from 1971". Palace Barracks Memorial Garden. Archived from the original on 12 January 2003. Retrieved 26 June 2008.

54.88006°N 6.79084°W / 54.88006; -6.79084