Dundrum Bay (

Old Irish Old Irish, also called Old Gaelic ( sga, Goídelc, Ogham script: ᚌᚑᚔᚇᚓᚂᚉ; ga, Sean-Ghaeilge; gd, Seann-Ghàidhlig; gv, Shenn Yernish or ), is the oldest form of the Goidelic/Gaelic language for which there are extensive writt ...

''Loch Rudraige'') is a

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a Gulf (geography), gulf, sea, sound (geography), sound, or bight (geogra ...

located next to

Dundrum, County Down Dundrum () is a village and townland in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is beside Dundrum Bay, about 4 miles outside Newcastle, County Down, Newcastle on the A2 road. The village is best known for its ruined Norman architecture, Norman Dundru ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. It is divided into the Outer Bay, and the almost entirely landlocked Inner Bay. They are separated by the dune systems of Ballykinler to the north and Murlough to the south. Walter Harris, a surveyor, wrote in 1744 that the 'North and South Tides meeting off this Bay and breaking upon St John's Point occasion a greater eddy or suction inwards than in other places; for many ships have found themselves embayed.' Local historian John W Hanna described in the 1860's how 'not a foot of the shore from St John's Point to

Annalong Annalong () is a seaside village in County Down, Northern Ireland at the foot of the Mourne Mountains. It is situated in the Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish of Kilkeel and the historic Barony (geographic), barony of Mourne (barony), Mou ...

but has from time to time been strewn with the broken masts and timbers of Royal and merchant ships.' The bay was home to the for a year having run aground on a

sandbar In oceanography, geomorphology, and Earth science, geoscience, a shoal is a natural submerged ridge, bank (geography), bank, or bar that consists of, or is covered by, sand or other unconsolidated material and rises from the bed of a body o ...

in 1846. The worst lost of life was 74 crew and 11 fishing boats on 13 January 1843. The Dundrum Coastal Path, a part of the larger Lecale Way, is a

hiking Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...

trail that winds along the fronts of the bay; the trek is often visited by birdwatchers. The Blackstaff River, Ardilea, Moneycarragh and the Carrigs River all empty into the bay. The inner bay comprises extensive tidal mud and sand flats and is important for wintering wildfowl.

References

Bays of Northern Ireland {{Down-geo-stub