Blacksod Bay ( ga, Cuan an Fhóid Duibh) is a bay of the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

Erris Erris is a barony in northwestern County Mayo in Ireland consisting of over , much of which is mountainous blanket bog. It has extensive sea coasts along its west and north boundaries. The main towns are Belmullet and Bangor Erris. The name ...

, north County Mayo,

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 long and wide bay is bounded on its western side by the

Mullet Peninsula The Mullet Peninsula ( ga, Leithinis an Mhuirthead)—also known as the Mullet (''an Mhuirthead'') and sometimes as the Erris Peninsula—is a peninsula in the barony of Erris in County Mayo, Ireland. As of 2016 it has a population of 3963. I ...

. Its eastern side includes

Kiltane Kiltane ( Irish: ''Cill tSéadhna'') is a parish in Erris, North County Mayo, Ireland. Origins Kiltane derives its name from Cill tSéadhna, or Seadhna's church, which was in the townland of Kiltane by the banks of the Owenmore River. The name ...

Parish, which extends southwards from

Belmullet Belmullet (, IPA: �bʲeːlənˠˈwʊɾˠhəd̪ˠ is a coastal Gaeltacht town with a population of 1,019 on the Mullet Peninsula in the barony of Erris, County Mayo, Ireland. It is the commercial and cultural heart of the barony of Erris, wh ...

towards

Gweesalia Gweesalia or Geesala () is a small village situated on the Gweesalia peninsula in the Electoral Division of Rathhill, in the Civil Parish of Kilcommon, in the Barony of Erris in western County Mayo, Ireland. The village has a national school, ...

and

Doohoma Doohoma or Doohooma () is a townland, peninsula and (since 2016) a census town in County Mayo, Ireland. It is located on Ireland's Atlantic coastline overlooking Achill Island and the Mullet Peninsula. Geography Doohoma is situated on the nort ...

Geography

Blacksod Bay, which contains many little islets, opens to the

. The granite found in this area as most of the rest of the substrate consists of ancient

gneiss Gneiss ( ) is a common and widely distributed type of metamorphic rock. It is formed by high-temperature and high-pressure metamorphic processes acting on formations composed of igneous or sedimentary rocks. Gneiss forms at higher temperatures a ...

and

schist Schist ( ) is a medium-grained metamorphic rock showing pronounced schistosity. This means that the rock is composed of mineral grains easily seen with a low-power hand lens, oriented in such a way that the rock is easily split into thin flakes ...

. The Mullet peninsula is covered with fairly flat

sand Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural class o ...

dunes. Blacksod Bay is wide at its mouth and is a safe place for anchorage. At its northern end, Blacksod Bay is connected to

Broadhaven Bay Broadhaven Bay ( ga, Cnocán na Líne) is a natural bay of the Atlantic Ocean on the northwestern coast of County Mayo, Ireland. The opening of the bay faces northward, stretching 8.6 km between Erris Head in the west and Kid Island/Oileá ...

by an 18th-century

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flo ...

through Belmullet.

Lighthouses

Blacksod Lighthouse, which was completed in 1862, occupies the southern end of the

. It was built from locally cut granite taken from the quarry at Termon Hill. It is famously the lighthouse the Allies used for the weather forecast on D-day 1944, and the landing was delayed by a day because of an inclement forecast. Blackrock Lighthouse lies offshore on Blackrock Island. Eagle Island lighthouse lies off the northwest tip of the Mullet Peninsula.

Transport

Bus Éireann route 446 links the area with

Bangor Erris Bangor Erris () is a town in Kiltane parish in Erris, County Mayo, Ireland with a population of over 300. It is on the banks of the Owenmore River and is a "gateway" to the Erris Peninsula linking Belmullet with Ballina and Westport. It is ...

Bellacorick Bellacorick or Bellacoric () is a townland in County Mayo in Ireland. It is in the Electoral Division of Glenco, in Civil Parish of Kilcommon, in the Barony of Erris, in the County of Mayo. Bellacorick has an area of: 2,789,440 m2 / 278.94 hecta ...

Crossmolina Crossmolina is a town in the Barony of Tyrawley in County Mayo, Ireland, as well as the name of the parish in which Crossmolina is situated. The town sits on the River Deel near the northern shore of Lough Conn. Crossmolina is about west o ...

and Ballina. There is one service a day in each direction, including Sundays. On Friday evenings an extra journey operates from Ballina. Onward bus and rail connections are available at Ballina.

Tourism

Throughout the summer, boat trips to the

Inishkea Islands The Inishkea Islands (Irish: ''Inis Cé'') are situated off the coast of the Belmullet peninsula in Ireland. The islands are believed to be named after a saint that lived on the island called Saint Kea. There are two main islands - Inishkea Nor ...

, Inishglora, where the Children of Lir are reputed to be buried, and Duvillaun off the North Mayo coastline leave from Blacksod. Elly Bay is a popular location for many

watersports Water sports or aquatic sports are sport activities conducted on waterbodies, and can be categorized according to the degree of immersion by the participants. On the water * Boat racing, the use of powerboats to participate in races * Boatin ...

and the location o
Colaiste Uisce Adventure Centre
which teaches watersports and other sports through the medium of the

Irish language Irish ( Standard Irish: ), also known as Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, which is a part of the Indo-European language family. Irish is indigenous to the island of Ireland and was ...

to schoolchildren and adventure groups from across Ireland.

References

{{reflist

External links

Depth map

Gallery

File:Elly Bay - geograph.org.uk - 12388.jpg, A sail boat at Elly Bay,

, County Mayo File:Ellybaywintererris pen belmullet.JPG, Blacksod Bay with

Achill Island Achill Island (; ga, Acaill, Oileán Acla) in County Mayo is the largest of the Irish isles, and is situated off the west coast of Ireland. It has a population of 2,594. Its area is . Achill is attached to the mainland by Michael Davitt Br ...

to the south File:Kiteboard.JPG,

Kite boarding Kiteboarding or kitesurfing is a sport that involves using wind power with a large power kite to pull a rider across a water, land, or snow surface. It combines aspects of paragliding, surfing, windsurfing, skateboarding, snowboarding, and wak ...

at Claggan beach, part of Blacksod Bay Bays of County Mayo Ramsar sites in the Republic of Ireland Erris