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North Mayo
Starting at Ballycastle, a small village of 14 pubs overlooking Bunatrahir Bay, the North Mayo coast is one of Ireland's last unknown diving areas. As you look out to sea, Doonbristy (a spectacular sea stack) on Downpatrick Head, rises from the ocean and promises an exceptional dive that completely lives up to expectations.
Downpatrick Head is about 3km from Ballycastle on the R314 from Ballina. 1.5km outside Ballycastle on the Belmullet road, a side road signposted for "Stella Maris" guest house leads down to a wide slipway with plenty of parking. Please do not block the laneway as it is used by local farmers and fishermen.
Boats may be launched at any time, all diving is by boat and North
winds can cause problems. It is advisable to watch out for fishing nets
here and all along this coast.
It takes about 30 minutes to get to Downpatrick Head by inflatable.
1. Doonbristy
Doonbristy, a sea stack, starts at 3-4m on the inland edge, a flat kelpy
plateau with plenty of swell. In the immediate area of Doonbristy there
are 4-5 superb dives, generally cliffs covered with anenomes.
DIVE 1
Start at the outside of the Head and work your way in towards the land;
compass SW, depth 35m+. At the start of the dive go down the Head wall,
keeping the wall to your right which will bring you to s split in the
cliff. The wall continues for another 100m. The height of the walls
varies between 10m and 24m and there are gullies and ridges.
DIVE 2
This dive is on the inner side of Downpatrick Head. Start on the second
finger and again go in a SW direction to a maximum depth of 30m. Descending
down the wall you will see the ridge go to the right, this will lead
you to a very large opening which will bring you into the cliff under
the headland. Coming back out, keep a straight course and your dive
will finish at the Northern tip of the Head.
DIVE 3
Start at the beginning of the third finger, which is a good sheltered
place for kitting up. Dive down the wall where you will find many openings
in the cliff and kelp down to 15m with some very large rocks.
At the bottom, depth 28m, go along the wall in a Southerly direction and you will come to an amphitheatre. It is very hard to describe it's beautiful smooth rock, it is as if someone designed it! As you exit keep your left which will bring you along another ridge. This is a suitable dive for advanced novices.
Behind Doonbristy there are a number of caves that go right through the cliff and come out up to 200m away. However, they are very shallow, boulder filled, so they are not suitable for diving.
Immediately to the East of Doonbristy there are a series of headlands with deep cut bays. These cliffs offer spectacular diving, the biggest wall has a window from the bay to the sea at 18m. At the point nearest Doonbristy a large wall has a number of caves with very large boulders at 12m through which it is possible to dive.
The depth is in the 20-25m range, but the Point of Doonbristy goes down to 40m plus. Just around the corner from Doonbristy in the Bay there is a dive which can be reached by car. It goes down by a series of large steps to a depth of 25m. As this area gets the full brunt of all the NW storms, the rock faces have been scoured of marine life but there is always plenty of fish.
2. Benaderren Head
Just 3km to the West is Benaderren Head, one of the best dives in the
area. A cliff rises 60m straight out of the water, is 300-400m
long, and drops vertically to a sandy bottom at 20-25m. This cliff is
composed of deep horizontal cracks, it has abundant plant and fish life.
As you head out to sea the bottom is covered with large rocks. One sea
cave through the cliff terminates in a huge open pool and in another
the water appears to flow up hill. Visibility here is generally good.
It is possible to see a boat on the surface from 20m.
3. Horse Island
Leaving Ballycastle on the Belmullet road the next hamlet is Belderg,
a crossroads with an inn and grocery shop and telephone - recently modernised.
just after the Inn a road on the right leads down to Belderg Harbour,
which is a small pier with crowded parking.
Heading out of the harbour Horse Island, to the West, has good diving
on more stepped terrain. Plenty of seals around here and a sea cave
large enough to hold a few trawlers. From here to Porturlin the coast
is only accessible by boat.
The road out of Belderg swings inland along the beautiful, barren valley of the Glenamoy River. turning off at Glenamoy you cross Annie Brady bridge after a few km and then you are in one of the remotest parts of Ireland. Follow the road to Carrowteige and turn right for Portacloy. A beautiful fjord like bay about 1km deep, a silver beach, 2 piers, loads of parking and camping and the best diving in Ireland. Up to a few years ago this place was deserted, except for the odd tourist.
4. The Stags of Broadhaven
Go straight out of Portacloy and the Stags of Broadhaven rise majestically
about 2km offshore. A group of 7 rocks rising over 100m above sea level.
Any of the seaweed sides of the Stags provides superb diving. As you
approach from Portacloy a large white quartzite patch on one face is
a landmark for a 40m+ dive. Directly below in about 10m is a very large
cave.
On the Eastermost reef there is a spectacular canyon dive 10m deep going for 200m or more but it is very hard to find the entrance, you are usually so overawed by the rest of the reef you miss the entrance. The Westernmost Stag has a face which is looking towards Portacloy, which has the most spectacular display of jewel anemones, whose profusion and colour is breath-taking.
To the West out of Portacloy as far as Benwee Head there are a huge choice of divers, none of which disappoint. However, the mouth of Portacloy under spectacular 600m high cliffs is the only disappointing dive of the area - 12m of kelp that just goes on and on.
5. Benwee Head
The terrain towards Benwee Head is very varied. the cliffs and bottoms
have deep gullies 5-6m with crests 2-3m apart. When the weather blows
in from the N or NW, Porturlin, a few km to the East, offers dives on
Pig Island, 20-30m on a stepped bottom with a profusion of Devon cup
coral. As always, lots of fish and plant life.
Further out on the Belmullet peninsula apparently the diving out of French Port and Scotch Port surpasses anything described above. These are truly remote dive sites to which only the very well equipped and intrepid will venture. The area is barely touched by the outside world and divers have a responsibility to respect and tolerate local customs.