Enniscrone – also spelt Inniscrone and officially named Inishcrone () – is a small seaside town in

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 ...

. Its sandy beach, tourist campsite, and golf course all attract visitors. As of the 2022 census, the town had a population of 1,291 people.

Name

The majority of the local population know this village as Enniscrone, though some local school teachers and historians use the official name of "Inishcrone". Sligo County Council has neglected the official version in favour of "Enniscrone" which appears on their website, and at least one local newspaper does not use the official name. Locally, the road signs are one of the few places "Inniscrone" can be seen. Up until the late 1970s the name "Enniscrone" was used by local teachers. It was taught as being a derivative of the Irish ''Inis Eascar Abhann'', meaning "the island on the sandbank in the river". An entry in the

Placenames Database of Ireland The Placenames Database of Ireland (), also known as , is a database and archive of place names in Ireland. It was created by Fiontar, Dublin City University in collaboration with the Placenames Branch of the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, ...

suggests that there is no evidence for this derivation, and notes that the name may derive from ''Eiscir Abhann'', meaning "esker of the river".

Geography

Enniscrone is in

on Ireland's

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

coast, overlooking Killala Bay. The R297 regional road passes through the town. The area around Enniscrone includes the

townland A townland (; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a traditional small land division used in Ireland and in the Western Isles of Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of medieval Gaelic origin, predating the Norman invasion, and mo ...

s of Muckduff, Lacken, Lacknaslevia, Frankford, Carrowhubbock North and Carrowhubbock South. Carrowhubbock South townland () is approximately in area and spans much of the centre and north of the town. Residential development plans in this part of Enniscrone met community opposition in 2007.

History

Evidence of ancient settlement in the area includes a number of

ringfort Ringforts or ring forts are small circular fortification, fortified settlements built during the Bronze Age, Iron Age and early Middle Ages up to about the year 1000 AD. They are found in Northern Europe, especially in Ireland. There are ...

sites in the townlands of Muckduff, Frankford, and Carrowhubbock North and South. The ruins of a

fortified house A fortified house or fortified mansion is a type of building which developed in Europe during the Middle Ages, generally with significant fortifications added. During the earlier Roman Empire, Roman period it was common for wealthy landowner ...

, known as Inishcrone Castle and built c.1650, lie just north of the town centre. The local

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland (, ; , ) is a Christian church in Ireland, and an autonomy, autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the Christianity in Ireland, second-largest Christian church on the ...

church was built c.1829, and a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

church followed in 1892. The latter remained in use by the local Catholic congregation until a new church was built in 1965. The Cliff Baths at Inishcrone - geograph

The Cliff Baths at Inishcrone - geograph

In ''

A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland Samuel Lewis (c. 1782 – 1865) was the editor and publisher of topographical dictionaries and maps of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The aim of the texts was to give in 'a condensed form', a faithful and impartial description ...

'', published by Samuel Lewis in 1837, Enniscrone is described as having "a coast-guard station .and..constabulary police station". This coast-guard station was destroyed in August 1920 following an IRA attack during the

Irish War of Independence The Irish War of Independence (), also known as the Anglo-Irish War, was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (1919–1922), Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and Unite ...

. There were no casualties in the attack, in which a small garrison of British Royal Marines were forced to surrender the building, arms and ammunition. Reflecting the town's development as a seaside resort, a number of bathhouses were built in the town in the late 19th century and early 20th century.

Amenities

Amenities in the area include a number of shops, pubs, restaurants, holiday accommodation and a

pitch and putt Pitch and putt is an amateur sport very similar to, and derived from, golf, where the hole length is typically up to and just 2–3 clubs are normally used. The game was organised and developed in Ireland during the early 20th century, before ...

course. The local primary school is a co-educational Catholic national school, which had an enrollment of over 120 pupils as of 2020. The local Kilglass/Enniscrone Soccer Club play their home games at Michael McGowan Park. As of 2018, local man David McGowan had begun construction of a " glamping" village, with the main focus being the

Boeing 767 The Boeing 767 is an American wide-body airliner developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The aircraft was launched as the 7X7 program on July 14, 1978, the prototype first flew on September 26, 1981, and it was certified ...

he bought to convert into accommodation.

Beach

Enniscrone's public sandy beach stretches over a long area of shoreline, and is split near the lower part of the village by a small crossable river. Part of the beach is overseen by lifeguards in the summer period. The "Valley of Diamonds" is one of the hidden features along the beach, and is the largest of the "volcano-like" compositions among the long-grassed sand

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, flat ...

Sligo County Council Sligo County Council () is the local authority of County Sligo, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for housing and community, roads and transportation, urban planning and de ...

fenced off the sand dunes as part of their "Dune Restoration Works Programme". Other county council restrictions include limiting road access to the beach, a measure taken to maintain Enniscrone's

Blue Flag beach The Blue Flag is a certification by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) that a beach, marina, or sustainable boating tourism operator meets its standards. The Blue Flag is a trademark owned by FEE, which is a Not-for-profit organi ...

status.

References

External links

Enniscrone.ieDiscover EnniscroneKilglass, Church of IrelandEnniscrone Golf Course
{{Authority control Beaches of County Sligo Golf in Connacht Towns and villages in County Sligo