Blacksod Bay ( ga, Cuan an Fhóid Duibh) 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, sea, sound, or bight. A cove is a small, circular bay with a na ...

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 County Mayo (; ga, Contae Mhaigh Eo, meaning "Plain of the yew trees") is a county in Ireland. In the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, it is named after the village of Mayo, now generally known as Mayo Abbey. Mayo County Counci ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

. 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 A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on a ...

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 ...

dune A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, f ...

s. 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 f ...

through Belmullet.

Lighthouses

Blacksod Lighthouse Blacksod Lighthouse (Gaelic: ''Fód Dubh'') is a lighthouse at the southern end of the Mullet Peninsula, Erris, County Mayo, at the entrance to Blacksod Bay. It is made of local granite blocks, which are believed to have come from Termon Hill, a ...

, 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 The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

1944, and the landing was delayed by a day because of an inclement forecast. Blackrock Lighthouse lies offshore on Blackrock Island.

Eagle Island lighthouse The Eagle Island lighthouses were a pair of lighthouses on Eagle Island, County Mayo, Ireland, of which only one remains. Two lighthouses were commissioned in 1830 in response to requests from the Coastguards who were concerned at the sea con ...

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 hectar ...

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, Inishglora, where the

Children of Lir The ''Children of Lir'' ( ga, Oidheadh chloinne Lir) is a legend from Irish mythology. It is a tale from the post-Christianisation period that mixes magical elements such as druidic wands and spells with a Christian message of Christian faith ...

are reputed to be buried, and

Duvillaun Duvillaun (English: Black Island; Irish: Dubhoileán) is the name of a cluster of islands lying south to the Inishkea Islands and Inishglora in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of North Mayo. The main island is known as Duvillaun More (Big Bla ...

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,

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 Brid ...

to the south File:Kiteboard.JPG, Kite boarding at Claggan beach, part of Blacksod Bay Bays of County Mayo Ramsar sites in the Republic of Ireland Erris