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North Donegal

The Neighbouring villages of Gortahork and Falcarragh lie in the centre of Cloughaneely Gealtacht (Irish speaking area) in NW Donegal. An area of unsurpassed beauty, notable for it's numerous mountains and jagged coastline which combine to present some of the most spectacular coastal scenery in Europe.

This is an area of particular appeal to divers with young families and to accompanying non-divers. There are miles of safe sandy beaches as well as many points of interest in close proximity. These include the resort areas of Portnablagh, Marble Hill, Dunfanaghy, Doe Castle, Ards Forest Park and Sheep Haven Bay. Tory Island (see map) some 14km off the coast is clearly discernable from the shore.

Along the entire length of this coastline the diver enters a world of giant caves and sheer cliff faces. Even though it is necessary to dive from a boat, any point of entry offers a dive site worthy of exploration. The unusual variety of sea life one encounters includes seals, squid, shark and porpoises as well as exquisite plants and sea anemones.

The principal diving area extends from Dunfanaghy in Sheep Haven Bay to Bloody Foreland, including Horn Head, where the spectacular cliffs rise out of the sea to a height of 180m. Within this span of 16km there are innumerable diving venues a few of which are listed below.

The area's weather is dominated by the North Atlantic depression and receives the full force of the strong Westerly winds preceding these depressions. Gales are frequent and can blow up in a short space of time. There is also a strong tidal flow, thus good dive planning is necessary. Well equipped boats with VHF radios and SMB's are essential.

1. Carricknaherwy
This site is located, off Pollaguill Bay, some 10-15 min from Ballyness Pier. It consists of a rocky bottom with deep gullies and good sea life including many species of fish and shell fish. This area is also very interesting as there is a large variety of bird life and porpoises to be seen.

2. White Vein Point
Off Micky's Hole (ask directions locally) on Horn Head. Conditions here include a tidal race which makes for a good drift dive. The bottom is sand and rock with a depth of 25m and the visibility is usually 6-10m. Flat fish, Dogfish and porpoises are frequently seen.

3. Toberglassan Bay
Located on the North side of Inishbofin, this site is not as good as could be expected but is sheltered from Westerly winds. The bottom, which reaches a depth of 12m at the mouth of the bay, is broken rock with sandy gullies.

4. Doon Beg Rocks
Located on Southern end of Inishdooey this area is quite shallow with a maximum depth of 10m. The bottom is rocky with gullies, sand and kelp. Sea life is plentiful and varied and there is a small beach on which to land.

5. Binlahan Bay
Situated on the West side of Inishdooey. Entry is at the south side of the bay which has a depth of 15m. This is an excellent dive as the terrain is most interesting with underwater caverns, arches and holes. Sea life is plentiful and many species can be found here. Of particular note are the seals which can be seen underwater. The vision of huge seals darting swiftly and gracefully through the rocky crevices is truly magnificent.

6. Carricknacruboge
This is a reef located on the North side Inishdooey. It is a good area for a snorkel or shallow dive, on the South side the rocks deepen to the east. This is a good area where two or three seals may be seen swimming along together.

A very fast tidal race exists between the reef and Inishdooey. Caution must be observed but it should be diveable during slack water.

Tory Island
Tory is the most remote and exposed of all the inhabited Irish Islands. it lies about 14km off the coast. Its outline provides a striking contrast against the background of the Atlantic Ocean, this unsheltered isle suffers the destructive effects of the wind and sea and it is because of these elements that Tory is so barren.

the island itself is only about 5km long by 1.5km wide and being mainly composed of granite. the shelving nature of it's coastline allows extensive rock beaches to be exposed in the sheltered bays of the northern side of the Island. On the more "sheltered" southern side, sandy beaches appear at low tide and these can be utilised as landing places - Camusmore Bay and Port Doon are two of Tory's few landing places.

The Northern and North-Eastern coastline is more regular, being carved into a multiplicity of minor headlands and many inlets, gullies and coves. To dive the Island it is best to hire a half decker for the day and use inflatables to ferry divers to and from the dive sites.
this can be done quiet easily from Portnablagh, which is approximately 20km from the island, where several half deckers are available for hire.

The local community is a close knit one living in two main villages, East Town and West Town, and fishing is one of the Island's principal industries and for this reason the Islanders are rather suspicious of divers - unfortunately rightly so, in some cases! please don't strain relations any further by taking the abundant lobster and crayfish. Look and photograph, but do not touch!

Tory's insular position and distance from the mainland explains the retention of many aspects of a life similar to that practised on the mainland several decades ago.
The diving around Tory is a matter of preference as to where you dive, because Tory is one of these unique places that has no poor dive sites. The Island is virtually undived and the marine life is breath-taking. Lobster and Crayfish are in abundance, fish are inquisitive and too numerous to try and catalogue here. A photographer can happily spend hours in these waters.

7. Scoltgar-Hyancaul
Particularly spectacular dive sites are at Scoltgar-Hyancaul which has some of the most amazing underwater scenery, alternating deep gullies with long sloping plains all covered in exquisite marine life and sloping off to 30m.

8. Port Doon
Another site warranting particular mention is between Port Doon and Tormore. This site provides some of the most extensive gully systems on the Island, some of these sheer walls are 15-20m high and only a couple of metres wide, all covered in marine life and providing truly "exotic" diving.