Donegal Bay () is an

inlet An inlet is a typically long and narrow indentation of a shoreline such as a small arm, cove, bay, sound, fjord, lagoon or marsh, that leads to an enclosed larger body of water such as a lake, estuary, gulf or marginal sea. Overview In ...

(or

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'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...

) in the northwest of Ireland. Three

counties A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

– Donegal to the north and west, Leitrim and

Sligo Sligo ( ; , meaning 'abounding in shells') is a coastal seaport and the county town of County Sligo, Ireland, within the western province of Connacht. With a population of 20,608 in 2022, it is the county's largest urban centre (constituting 2 ...

to the south – have shorelines on the bay, which is bounded on the west by the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

. The town of Donegal and the River Eske lie at the head of the bay. Donegal Bay is Ireland's largest bay, and also contains

Ulster Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...

's highest (and Ireland's's second-highest) sea cliffs at Slieve League, which tower 1972 ft (601 m) above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...

. Donegal Bay's beaches have some of Europe's finest

surfing Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suita ...

, caused by a combination by a direct west-facing location and the funnel-shape of Donegal Bay (the westerlies of the Atlantic Ocean get funnelled into a relatively small area, which increases the size of the swell). Rossnowlagh and

Bundoran Bundoran () is a town in County Donegal, Ireland. The town is located near the N15 road near Ballyshannon, and is the most southerly town in Donegal. The town is a tourist seaside resort, and tourism has been at the heart of the local economy s ...

are recognised by the European surfing community as among Ireland's finest surf beaches with good facilities and excellent water quality.

Towns on the Bay

Ballyshannon Ballyshannon () is a town in County Donegal, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located at the southern end of the county where the N3 road (Ireland), N3 from Dublin ends and the N15 road (Ireland), N15 crosses the River Erne. The town was inc ...

* Coolmore * Donegal *

Killybegs Killybegs () is a town in County Donegal, Ireland. It is the largest fishing port in the country and on the island of Ireland. It is located on the south coast of the county, north of Donegal Bay, near Donegal Town. Its Irish name means 'littl ...

Mountcharles Mountcharles () is a village and townland (of 650 acres) in the south of County Donegal in Ulster, the northern province in Ireland. It lies 6 km from Donegal Town on the Killybegs road ( N56). It is situated in the civil parish of Inver ...

* Mullaghmore * Rossnowlagh * Tullaghan

Rivers that empty into the bay

* River Drowes (between Bundoran and Tullaghan) *

River Erne The River Erne ( , or ''An Éirne'') in the northwest of the island of Ireland, is the second-longest river in Ulster, flowing through Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, and forming part of their border. Course The Erne rises on ...

(at Ballyshannon) * River Eske (at Donegal Town)

Islands in the bay

* Isle of St Ernan * Belle's Isle * Rotten Island

Geographical coordinates

* Latitude: 54° 40' N ''(54.67)'' * Longitude: 9° 04' W ''(-9.07)'' * NWS buoy: 62093 M4

References

External links

Donegal Bay Visitors site

Donegal Bay Weather Buoy

Other projects

Bays of County Donegal Bays of County Sligo Landforms of County Leitrim {{Donegal-geo-stub