Glenshane Pass

File:Sperrin Mountains near Glenshane Pass - geograph.org.uk - 929003.jpg

The Sperrin mountains from the Glenshane Pass road

The Glenshane Pass (from Irish Gleann Seáin, meaning "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.

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. It is also classed as an Area of Special Scientific Interest. The Ponderosa is claimed as being the highest public house in the island of Ireland, situated 947 ft (305 meters) above sea level.

History

The Glenshane Pass is claimed as being named after Shane Crossagh Ó Maoláin a notorious rapparee, or highwayman, who roamed the highways of County Londonderry and County Tyrone in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth century.

The Troubles

• On 24 June 1972, three British Army soldiers were killed by a landmine explosion on the Glenshane Pass. Their Land Rover was destroyed by two landmines consisting of 120 lbs of explosive packed in milk churns.
• 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.