The Mullaghmore Peninsula (), also referred to as Mullaghmore Head, is a small peninsula in the north of

County Sligo County Sligo ( , gle, Contae Shligigh) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the Border Region and is part of the province of Connacht. Sligo is the administrative capital and largest town in the county. Sligo County Council is the local ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. The coastal village of

Mullaghmore Mullaghmore may refer to the following places in Ireland: General * Mullaghmore, County Clare, a limestone hill * Mullaghmore Peninsula, a peninsula in County Sligo ** Mullaghmore, County Sligo, a village on the Mullaghmore Peninsula * Mullaghmore, ...

is the peninsula's sole settlement. The village has 136 year-round residents according to the 2016 Census; however, its population is significantly higher during summer months. The peninsula is bounded by two large beaches on either side, and sports panoramic views of

Ben Bulben Benbulbin ( ga, Binn Ghulbain), sometimes Benbulben or Ben Bulben, is a large flat-topped nunatak rock formation in County Sligo, Ireland. It is part of the Dartry Mountains, in an area sometimes called " Yeats Country". Benbulbin is a prote ...

and the

Dartry Mountains The Dartry Mountains ( ga, Sléibhte Dhartraí) are a mountain range in the north west of Ireland, in the north of counties Sligo and Leitrim. They lie between Lough Melvin, Lough Gill and Lough MacNean. The highest point is Truskmore at . O ...

, making it one of Sligo's most popular seaside destinations. The skyline of Mullaghmore is dominated by

Classiebawn Castle Classiebawn Castle is a country house built for The 3rd Viscount Palmerston (1784–1865) on what was formerly a estate on the Mullaghmore Peninsula near the village of Cliffoney, County Sligo, in the Republic of Ireland. The current castle wa ...

, which was designed by

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

architect James R. Carroll for The 3rd Viscount Palmerston. However, the castle was not completed until 1874, long after Lord Palmerston's death. Following its completion, the fishing village of ''Mullach Gearr'' was demolished to make room for the castle's 3,000 acre estate. The last surviving evicted resident of ''Mullach Gearr'', Freddy McHugh, died in the 1960s. A memorial to the "lost village" was unveiled along Mullaghmore Head in 2017. The castle was left empty from 1916 to 1950, when it came into the possession of the Mountbatten family.

Louis Mountbatten Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (25 June 1900 – 27 August 1979) was a British naval officer, colonial administrator and close relative of the British royal family. Mountbatten, who was of German ...

spent his summers at Classiebawn until his death in August 1979, when his boat was blown up in Mullaghmore harbour by the Provisional IRA. In recent years, Mullaghmore has become a

big wave surfing Big wave surfing is a discipline within surfing in which experienced surfers paddle into, or are towed into, waves which are at least 20 feet (6.2 m) high, on surf boards known as "guns" or towboards. Sizes of the board needed to successfully su ...

destination that attracts surfers and windsurfers from around the world.

Billabong Billabong ( ) is an Australian term for an oxbow lake, an isolated pond left behind after a river changes course. Billabongs are usually formed when the path of a creek or river changes, leaving the former branch with a dead end. As a result ...

hosted Ireland's first ever big-wave surf contest in Mullaghmore in 2011. In March 2012, surfers rode waves up to high off Mullaghmore Head. These waves were about five metres less than the tallest wave ever recorded in Ireland in

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ga, Contae Dhún na nGall) is a county of Ireland in the province of Ulster and in the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Donegal in the south of the county. It has also been known as County Tyrconne ...

in December 2011, which was high. In October 2020 Mullaghmore came even closer to the record, as a wave measuring was recorded off its coast, which was ridden by Donegal big wave surfer Conor Maguire.

Places of interest

*Bunduff Lough *Bunduff Strand (''Mullaghmore Beach'') *

*Kilkilloge Ringfort *Mullach Gearr Memorial *Mullaghmore Harbour *Mullaghmore Head sea cliffs *Mullaghmore Lobster Sea Farm *Mullaghmore Sailing Club *Offshore boat tours *

Promontory fort A promontory fort is a defensive structure located above a steep cliff, often only connected to the mainland by a small neck of land, thus using the topography to reduce the ramparts needed. Although their dating is problematic, most seem to da ...

s *Trawalua Beach *The Watchtower

Gallery

File:Mullaghmore Head Cliffs.jpg, Sea cliffs File:Big Wave Surfer at Mullaghmore.jpg, Big wave surfer at Mullaghmore File:Dartrys from Mullaghmore.jpg, Trawalua Beach File:Mullaghmore Sailing Club - geograph.org.uk - 826546.jpg, Bunduff Strand File:Bunduff Lough, Co. Sligo.jpg, Bunduff Lough File:Classiebawn Castle, Mullaghmore.jpg, Classiebawn Castle File:Mullaghmore Harbour August 2020.jpg, Mullaghmore Harbour File:Classiebawn and Ben Bulben.jpg, Mullaghmore Head

Places of interest

Gallery

See also