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QUIGLEY'S POINT

CO. DONEGAL · IE

Quigley's Point
Rinn Uí Choigligh, Co. Donegal

The Inishowen Peninsula
STOP 08 / 08

Rinn Uí Choigligh · Co. Donegal

A roadside village on the Foyle, a junction more than a destination, and the place locals call Carrowkeel.

Quigley's Point is a small village on the eastern shore of the Inishowen Peninsula, looking out across Lough Foyle to County Derry. The 2022 census counted 213 people, down a little from 227 a decade before. The Irish name is Rinn Uí Choigligh - Quigley's headland - though locals as often call the place Carrowkeel, after the townland it sits in. It is about ten minutes north of Derry city and a short run south of Moville.

It is, in plain terms, a roadside village and a junction. The R238 from Derry to Moville runs straight through it, and this is where traffic for the north of Inishowen sorts itself out. The Inishowen 100, the long signposted scenic drive around the peninsula, comes through here on the Foyle-side leg. There is no museum, no big heritage site, no town to speak of - a cluster of houses, a bridge over the Cabry river built around 1780, and a standing stone in the Cabry townland for the deep-history hunters.

What there is, mostly, is the water and the view across it. The Foyle is wide and calm on this shore, the far bank is Northern Ireland, and the light comes off the lough in a way that the Inishowen people never stop talking about. Marketing literature likes to call Quigley's Point the first step on the Wild Atlantic Way coming up from Derry. That is true in the technical sense, though the Atlantic proper is still a good drive away over the top of the peninsula. Treat this as a place you pass through on the way to Moville, Greencastle and the open coast - and stop, if you stop, for the view.

Population

213 (2022 census)

Coords

55.1250° N, 7.1972° W

01 / 08

At a glance.

Three things every local will eventually mention. Read these and you've already understood more than most day-trippers do.

01 Lough Foyle

The eastern shore of Inishowen, water on your right.

Quigley's Point sits on the inner Lough Foyle shore with Derry behind you and Moville ahead. The water is wide and flat here, the far bank is County Derry, and the road hugs the edge of it the whole way.

Stories & lore → 02 The junction

A key turn on the Derry-Moville road.

The R238 runs straight through, and Quigley's Point is the point where traffic for north Inishowen sorts itself out. The Inishowen 100 scenic drive passes through on its way round the peninsula. Most people are passing. That is honest.

Getting there → 03 Carrowkeel

The townland name the locals actually use.

The village is officially Quigley's Point but the townland is Carrowkeel, and that is the name you will hear in conversation and see on some signs. A standing stone in nearby Cabry and an 18th-century bridge over the Cabry river are the oldest things here.

Stories & lore →

02 / 08

The pubs.

None of these are themed Irish pubs, because they don't need to be. A few that earn the trip:

The Point Inn

Closed - check before relying on it

Former bar & restaurant, R238

For years the one pub-and-restaurant in the village, on the main road by the Foyle, with bar food and live music at weekends and a few rooms upstairs. It closed at the end of September 2025, the owners citing the cost of running a hospitality business. Listed here for honesty: as of writing, Quigley's Point has no open pub. For a pint you are heading to Moville or back toward Derry.

03 / 08

Where to sleep.

Place	Type	Local note
The Meadows B&B	B&B, near Quigley's Point / Moville	A rural B&B on the Foyle-side road with mountain and water views, used by walkers and golfers working the Inishowen courses. Peaceful, simple, well placed for the eastern shore. Confirm exact location and availability when booking - this stretch of road runs between Quigley's Point and Moville.

04 / 08

Stories & lore.

The reason to come back. The things every local will eventually tell you about, usually after the second pint.

Townland, river, bridge

Carrowkeel and the Cabry

The village proper is Quigley's Point but it sits in the townland of Carrowkeel, and that older name is still in everyday use. The Cabry river runs down off the Inishowen hills and into Lough Foyle here, crossed by a stone road bridge dating to the late 18th century, around 1780. A standing stone survives in the neighbouring Cabry townland; a cromlech once recorded in Carrowkeel had already been removed by the time of the Ordnance Survey in the 1840s. These are the oldest marks on a quiet place.

A Gothic-influenced church of 1862

Greenbank and the Presbyterian shore

Greenbank Presbyterian Church, built in 1862 in a Gothic-influenced style, serves the area and is a reminder that this corner of Inishowen, close to Derry and the plantation lands, has a long Presbyterian as well as Catholic history. The church hall was badly damaged by fire in 2003, in a suspected arson, and afterwards restored. It is a working congregation, not a visitor attraction, but it tells you something about the mixed religious grain of the eastern Foyle shore.

05 / 08

Things to do outside.

Wear waterproofs. Bring a sandwich. Tell someone where you're going if it's the mountain.

The Foyle shore road There is no formal looped walk in the village itself, but the stretch of shore road along Lough Foyle gives flat, open walking with the water on one side and the County Derry bank across it. Best on a still evening. Watch the traffic on the R238 - this is a working road, not a promenade.

Variabledistance

30-60 minutestime

Moville Shore Path (nearby) For a proper waterside walk, the Moville Shore Path is a short drive north - a flat, scenic shoreline route between Moville and Greencastle. Closer to a real walk than anything in Quigley's Point itself.

1.6 kmdistance

25 minutestime

06 / 08

When to go.

There is no bad time. There are different times.

Spring

Mar-May

Long light returning, the Foyle calm, the Inishowen 100 traffic still light. Good for a quiet drive-through with stops for the view.

◉ Go

Summer

Jun-Aug

The peak of the scenic-drive season. More cars on the R238 and more visitors heading for Moville and the north coast. The water is at its most inviting, the evenings long.

◉ Go

Autumn

Sep-Oct

Big skies over the Foyle and changing light off the water. Quiet again as the summer traffic thins. A good time to pass slowly.

◉ Go

Winter

Nov-Feb

Short days and wind coming up the lough. Little is open in the village itself. Fine to drive through, less rewarding to linger.

◐ Mind yourself

07 / 08

What to skip.

Honestly? Don't bother.

If a local was sitting beside you, this is the bit where they'd lean in.

Coming for the village itself

There is no town centre, no museum, no must-see site - and since the Point Inn closed in 2025, no pub. Quigley's Point is a junction and a view, not a destination. Set your expectations to match and you will not be disappointed.

Expecting the Atlantic here

The literature calls this the first step on the Wild Atlantic Way out of Derry, which is true on paper. But you are on the sheltered inner shore of Lough Foyle. The open Atlantic surf is a full drive away over the top of Inishowen. Lovely water, but it is a lough, not the ocean.

Getting there.

By car

On the R238, the main Derry-to-Moville road. From Derry/Londonderry it is roughly 15 km north, about 15-20 minutes. Moville is about 10 minutes further north. The village also sits on the Inishowen 100 scenic drive.

By bus

TFI Local Link route 957 (Derry to Greencastle via Moville and Redcastle) stops in the village - look for the stops at and opposite the old Point Inn on the R238. Services run Monday to Saturday with limited frequency; check current timetables before you travel.

By train

No railway. The nearest station is Derry/Londonderry (Waterside), about 15 km south, with onward NI Railways services to Coleraine and Belfast.