HM Prison Magilligan

Coordinates: 55°04′44″N 6°54′00″W / 55.079°N 6.900°W / 55.079; -6.900

Magilligan Prison is a prison run by the Northern Ireland Prison Service situated near Limavady, County Londonderry. It was first opened in May 1972 and comprised eight Nissen huts on the site of an army camp. The prison was divided into compounds to house the various paramilitary factions and was manned by British Army dog handlers and prison staff on detached duty from Scotland, England and Wales as well as some staff from Northern Ireland.

The temporary accommodation was later replaced by three H-blocks similar to those at the Maze prison each containing 100 cells.

In 1976 the prison wall was built and the prison began to house other prisoners who had been convicted of non-terrorist offences as well some young prisoners including Borstal trainees.

In 1977 the trainees were transferred to Woburn House in Millisle and prisoners convicted of scheduled terrorist offences transferred to the Maze. This left Magilligan operating as a 'normal' prison in the context of Northern Ireland prisons. The regime was consequently developed to reflect this.

Magilligan

Magilligan (from Irish: Ard Mhic Giollagáin, meaning "Magilligan's height") is a peninsula that lies in the northwest of County Londonderry, Northern Ireland, at the entrance to Lough Foyle. It is a huge 79,000 acres (32,000 ha) coastal site, part British army firing range, part nature reserve. It gets its name from "MacGilligans country", which formed a major part of the barony of Keenaght.

A Martello Tower was begun here in 1812, rather late in the British sequence, as the original plan for a fort at Magilligan point was impractical due to soft ground. A genuinely round tower mounting two 24 pounder guns, it has been beautifully restored but is normally locked. It was built at the same time as the more unusual double-gunned tower across the lough at Greencastle. It was not completed until 1817, two years after Napoleon, against whose invasion it was built to protect, had been exiled to St. Helena. The garrison stationed here never fired a shot at any enemy. During World War II the top of the tower was fitted out with a pill-box. Since the tower was built, deposits of sand have extended the peninsular by several hundred metres and the tower is now located a considerable distance from the sea.