Culleenamore strand is located on the south side of the half-promontory of

Strandhill Strandhill or occasionally Larass () is a coastal town and townland on the Coolera Peninsula in County Sligo, Ireland. , the population was 1,753, an increase of 10% from the 2011 census. The old name appears to be ''Ros Dragnige'' (see Killa ...

, at the mouth of

Ballysadare Ballysadare (), locally also Ballisodare, is a town in County Sligo, Ireland. It is about south of Sligo town. The town developed on an important crossing of the Owenmore River. Ballysadare is in a townland and civil parish of the same name. ...

Bay,

County Sligo County Sligo ( , ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Northern and Western Region and is part of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht. Sligo is the administrative capital and largest town in ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. Culleenamore is a diverse animal habitat, and also a

seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, also called "true seal" ** Fur seal ** Eared seal * Seal ( ...

sanctuary.

Horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...

at Culleenamore''Briggs, Brenna'', ''The horse races at Culleenamore''
/ref> dates back to the early 1800s, and it is possible the tradition originated much earlier; the surrounding sand hills form a natural grandstand for spectators. The races were annually held, with a few lapses, up until 1954. But in recent decades owing to the popularity of the Culleenamore course, racing has been revived again by the local people.''McGoldrick, Seamus''. ''Culleenamore history''
/ref>

Early history

The

oyster Oyster is the common name for a number of different families of salt-water bivalve molluscs that live in marine or brackish habitats. In some species, the valves are highly calcified, and many are somewhat irregular in shape. Many, but no ...

beds at Culleenamore are said to be the oldest in the county and the exquisite oysters were a staple in the diet of the people in the area. Buried under the soil and sand are huge mounds of oyster shells. The sides of some of these banks close to the shore have been worn away to reveal piles of shells antiquarians call Kitchen-middens''discoverireland.net, kitchen middens''
/ref> These remarkable artifacts show that ancient people gathered oysters along the shore at Culleenamore then cooked and ate them at these sheltered spots behind the ‘sandy fields’ thousands of years ago.

Gallery

File:Culleenamore Beach - geograph.org.uk - 824472.jpg, Culleenamore Beach, looking southwest File:Ox Mountains.jpg, sunset over Ox Mountains, as seen from Culleenamore

References

{{Reflist

External links

Go Strandhill - Culleenamore walks

''Ballysadare Bay (Culleenamore) tide times''
Beaches of County Sligo