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Mullaghmore, Co. Sligo

The Mullaghmore headland is situated in North West Ireland, on the south of Donegal Bay. It is a couple of km from the main road linking Sligo and Donegal (N15). The final approach depends on whether one is coming from the North or the South. Follow the signpost either from Cliffony village on the Main Road or from a junction a couple of miles to the north of Cliffony.

There is a beautifully built stone harbour on the East side of the headland. At the end of the harbour, below the Pier Head Hotel, there is a slipway which allows launching and retrieval at all but very low spring tides. The slope of the slip is quite gentle and depending on the trailer, the wheels may need to be submerged. Do not obstruct the slip area with unattended trailers.

Car parking is not permitted on the Northern part of the pier that lead to the break water. the running of compressors near the harbour has raised objections from other users, so please locate them well out of ear shot.

A stroll along the road around the headland at low tide can show many of the features needed to find the dives and identify some of the features on the map.

In good conditions, a 10 minute boat journey will bring you to one of the most distant dive locations. The area outside the harbour mouth and along and beyond the breakwater is often very busy, with water-skiers, sail boats, fishermen, etc., so slow speeds and a watchful eye are needed here.

Many of the dives may be reached from shore by the energetic, but keep in mind the possible difficulties in exiting which can be difficult in swells, especially with tiring legs! Currents are not usually a problem in the area. The main route for boats between the harbour and the Head passes over the deep end of Thumb and Crumb, so care is required when diving here.

1. Thumb Rock
The Thumb Rock area is about 500m from the harbour, see map. This rock runs roughly perpendicular to the shore. At low tide the top of the shallow end can be seen breaking. A descent can be made down a steep slippery slope from the road near the old post office. Care is required, and a safety rope attached to a car and dangling over the steep step at the bottom can be useful.

After crossing the rocks, a fin of about 100m will bring you to the top of the rock. The direction to follow to the rock is roughly that of the shallow gullies that you will see below you. The depth of the bottom of the rock is about 10m. The South side of the rock is a slope rising from a sandy bottom, fairly gradually, and the North side is vertical, and the main attraction.

Approximately 100m to the North of Thumb is a very similar, but smaller, rock known locally as Crumb Rock. The area between the two rocks is a boulder field that runs out to a sandy bottom to the East.

At high tide at the deep outer end of these rocks one will be in nearly 30m of water.

2. Pigeon's Cove
To the North of Crumb there is an interesting area of quite broken bottom with small reefs, and one quite large reef with a wall a bit lower than Thumb, and not as long.

Unless a long fin out and back is acceptable, this area is best accessed by boat. The dominant feature from the boat is a large cave in the cliffs below the road.  Enter the water about 75m out from this cave. The depths here tend to be about 10-25m. There is a deep depression a bit further out where depths in excess of 30m can be found.

3. The Head
The Head is the area of the rock island, offshore from the North of the headland, that is split by gullies running perpendicular to the shore.

This area can be dived from either shore or by boat. These gullies vary in width and depth. In the larger ones the feeling is as if one were passing through a street of two storey houses. The walls are cracked, with cracks of varying depths. At the shore end the depth can be as shallow as 6m, while the outer end 25m can be reached.

It is possible to travel out one gully, turn 90º at the end and intercept an adjoining gully and return by that.

This area is more exposed to swells than the previous two, and can sometimes only be dived from a boat.

At the Western end greater depths can be reached, 30m approx., and the gullies are not as regular in shape, but open out into large bowls. The BISHOP'S POOL at high tide and in good conditions can provide an ideal sheltered nearly enclosed area for Snorkellers and novice divers.

4. Beyond the Head
A few hundred metres beyond the Head there is a rocky spur that runs down from the top of the cliff. there is a gully out from the bottom of this spur. access can be gained from the road, parking cars in the lay-by beside the cliff.

Apart from this gully, the bottom around this area tends to be fairly shallow and uninteresting, compared to other areas.

There is a headland further over to the West beyond Classiebawn Castle. This is Rosskeeragh Point and is not dived very often as there is better diving closer to the harbour. The bottom is rocky and may be worth a visit in good conditions.