page_title: North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland)
hierarchical_section_title: North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland)
caption_attribution_description: English: Torr Head and Mull of Kintyre in distance.
context_page_description: The North Channel or Irish Channel is the strait between north-eastern Northern Ireland and south-western Scotland. It connects the Irish Sea with the Atlantic Ocean, and is part of the marine area officially classified as the "Inner Seas off the West Coast of Scotland" by the International Hydrographic Organization.
  The Straits of Moyle or Sea of Moyle is the name given to the narrowest expanse of sea in the North Channel between northeastern Northern Ireland and southwestern highlands of Scotland. The distance between the two shores is approximately 12 miles at its closest point, and thus it is possible to see across in clear weather conditions. The Straits gave their name to Moyle District Council, a local government area in Northern Ireland, and are famed in Irish Celtic mythology through their association with the Children of Lir.
  This strait was formerly known as the Irish Channel. In the 19th century, Alexander Keith Johnston's suggested name St Patrick's Channel had currency, but it was rejected by the hydrographic department.
  The southern boundary of the strait is a line joining the Mull of Galloway and Ballyquintin Point.
context_section_description: The North Channel or Irish Channel (known in Irish and Scottish Gaelic as Sruth na Maoile, in Scots as the Sheuch) is the strait between north-eastern Northern Ireland and south-western Scotland. It connects the Irish Sea with the Atlantic Ocean, and is part of the marine area officially classified as the "Inner Seas off the West Coast of Scotland" by the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO).
  The Straits of Moyle (Sruth na Maoile in Irish and Scottish Gaelic) or Sea of Moyle is the name given to the narrowest expanse of sea in the North Channel between northeastern Northern Ireland (County Antrim) and southwestern highlands of Scotland (Mull of Kintyre). The distance between the two shores is approximately 12 miles (19 km) at its closest point, and thus it is possible to see across in clear weather conditions. The Straits gave their name to Moyle District Council, a local government area in Northern Ireland, and are famed in Irish Celtic mythology through their association with the Children of Lir.
  This strait was formerly known as the Irish Channel. In the 19th century, Alexander Keith Johnston's suggested name St Patrick's Channel had currency, but it was rejected by the hydrographic department.
  The southern boundary of the strait is a line joining the Mull of Galloway and Ballyquintin Point. The northern boundary is a line joining Portnahaven and Benbane Head. The narrowest part of the strait is between the Mull of Kintyre and Torr Head where its width is 21 kilometres (13 mi; 11 nmi). The deepest part is called Beaufort's Dyke.
  The Channel was a favourite haunt of privateers preying on British merchant shipping in wars until the 19th century; in 1778, during the American Revolutionary War it was also the site of a naval duel between American captain John Paul Jones's USS Ranger and the Royal Navy's HMS Drake. It is crossed by many ferry services. In 1953, it was the scene of a serious maritime disaster, the sinking of the ferry Princess Victoria.
  In Northern Ireland, Unionist political leaders for decades lobbied the British government to construct a railway tunnel under the Channel, to better link Northern Ireland with the rest of the United Kingdom. In August 2007 the Centre for Cross-Border Studies proposed the construction of a 34-kilometre-long (21 mi) long rail bridge or tunnel, estimating that it might cost about £3.5 billion. In the Victorian era, engineers proposed a rail tunnel between Stranraer and Belfast.
caption: View from Torr Head, County Antrim to the Mull of Kintyre, looking over the Straits of Moyle.
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