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Killary Harbour, Co. Galway

Killary Harbour is a Fjord situated on the Galway/Mayo border. Surrounded by mountains it is an excellent "safe weather" diving location. To get there, travel 5km West from Leenaun on the T71 towards Letterfrack, take the second right and follow signs for the Youth Hostel. Diving is usually limited to the Mouth of Killary and can be dived in most weather conditions except in strong Easterly gales. Freshwater runoff from the mountains after rain produces two distinct detractions. The first is the early absorbency of light, leaving even shallow depths almost black and secondly, surface water can be much colder than the underlying seawater, particularly in winter or early spring. Typically the halocline reaches a depth of 2-5m. however, in the summer  season, light penetration to depth is very good.
Launching a boat at Rossroe is not easy as there is no proper slip at the pier. Smaller inflatables can easily be manhandled in and out of the water but larger inflatables and semi-rigids are best launched and recovered at the slip at Leenaun and brought down. Beware of the rocks 30m off the corner of the pier. Alternatively if you have a four wheel drive you may launch above mid water in Little Killary where the stream flows into it.

The Shore Dive
The dive can be approached as a shore dive or boat dive. Shore diving is usually done in a West East direction at a depth of 15-25m. In this direction there are several small reefs with a variety of flora and fauna. There are exit points East of the pier, if required, walking back to the pier over the hills. Diving North from the pier leads to the centre of a V-shaped valley with depths in excess of 40m. However there is very little to see at depths greater than 25m. The more interesting way to dive Killary is by boat with several good sites within 20 minutes from the pier.

1. The North Shore
The dive is directly opposite the Pier under Mweelrea, the highest mountain in Connacht. Start the dive at Rusheen Point where a spit of land runs into the water. Follow the rock face underwater to depth of 15m and continue along the rock face. Keep off the bottom as the silt will very quickly limit visibility!

2. The Island Dives
There are several islands at the mouth, Inis Barna being the largest, conditions around these islands are superior to those inside the harbour, but the variety of marine life is not as good. The islands can be dived on either side depending on the prevailing weather conditions. Depths of 30m+ are easily achievable but there is very little to see when deeper than 25m. For the more adventurous there are several off shore Crump and Inis Degil which can be dived using Rossroe as a sheltered base, particularly if mooring boats overnight.