Foynes
village in County Limerick, Ireland
Foynes (; Irish: Faing) is a town and major port in County Limerick in the midwest of Ireland, located at the edge of hilly land on the southern bank of the Shannon Estuary. The population of the town was 512 as of the 2022 census.
Foynes's role as seaport
Foynes as a port has a long history, being first surveyed in 1837, and is now the location of a major deep water seaport operated by the Shannon Foynes Port Company, an amalgamation under the Harbours Act 2000 of the agencies operating the ports of Limerick and Foynes with the Shannon Estuary Ports Company (which had responsibility for the other areas of the Estuary). Shannon Foynes Port Company is the second largest port facility in Ireland, handling over 10 million tonnes of cargo annually through the six terminals currently operational. Planning permission has been granted for an LNG import terminal at Ballylongford, County Kerry, within SFPC's jurisdiction; once constructed it will add considerably to throughput.
As Limerick portlands are redeveloped as commercial and residential properties, it is anticipated that more traffic will be diverted to Foynes Port. The railway line from Limerick via Patrickswell and Raheen is being rebuilt. Iarnród Éireann's former policy of concentrating on what it saw as more profitable passenger operations meant the Port's traffic is, up to year 2026, entirely served by road.
Foynes's role in aviation
During the late 1930s and early 1940s, land-based planes lacked sufficient flying range for Atlantic crossings. Foynes was the last port of call on the Atlantic's eastern shore.
“Foynes” enters the record as village in County Limerick, Ireland. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Foynes, village and County can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Foynes” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Foynes, village and County provides the most credible route into that argument.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 20, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q671401. VIAF identifies the subject as 315944985. Authority coordinates are 52.605, -9.111. 2 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2022, 1837, 2000 and 2026.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Foynes”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Foynes primary sources, Foynes archive and Foynes research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Foynes”?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Foynes” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.