Muckross Head is a small

peninsula A peninsula is a landform that extends from a mainland and is only connected to land on one side. Peninsulas exist on each continent. The largest peninsula in the world is the Arabian Peninsula. Etymology The word ''peninsula'' derives , . T ...

in the parish of Kilcar about 10 km west of

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 ...

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county of the Republic of Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is the northernmost county of Ireland. The county mostly borders Northern Ireland, sharing only a small b ...

, in north-western Ireland. It contains a popular

rock-climbing Rock climbing is a climbing sports discipline that involves ascending routes consisting of natural rock in an outdoor environment, or on artificial resin climbing walls in a mostly indoor environment. Routes are documented in guidebooks, and ...

area, noted for its unusual horizontally layered structure.

Overview

Muckross Head has two beaches, one of which is popular with surfers. That beach (''trá na nglór'' in Irish, or "beach of the noise") has a rip tide, coming in at both sides and sucking out in the middle, but is not particularly dangerous. The other beach (''trá bán'', meaning "white beach" in Irish) some hundreds of metres away is a popular family beach which is safe for swimming but has a risk of rockfall. That beach also has a public car park and toilets in summer. The area is referred to in a 1732 survey of the Murray-Hamilton estate, of which it was a small part (see public records office Belfast). The survey referred to a house "on the point" occupied by a Mr Murray (probably the principal tenant who would have had many peasant subtenants not referred to in the survey) but there are no traces today of the house. The Head has a public monument on its extreme tip. The plaque warning against interference has rusted away, leaving an ugly concrete base. The monument consists of a

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

wall which ran across the headland and was possibly defensive in character, but little of it is left as its stones were useful in building farmhouses and outhouses on the headland. The monument is known locally as The Market House. The origin of the name is not known for certain, but it was a location for selling local farm produce and livestock such as sheep, pigs and cattle. This is probably why was given this name. The headland has a rich fauna and also a small area of exposed limestone karst. In some places along the headland there are deposits of fossils, mainly of seaweeds and shellfish. The headland is at the base of a c. 250 m hill known locally as Muckross Hill. The nearest village is Kilcar, which is approx 3 km to the west. The island of Inisduff (Irish - Black Island) is situated about 5 km south east of Muckross Head, in Donegal Bay. It is a small uninhabited island and featureless but is a prominent sight from the coast road between Killybegs and Kilcar.

Climbing

The Muckross

crag Crag may refer to: * Crag (climbing), a cliff or group of cliffs, in any location, which is or may be suitable for climbing * Crag (dice game), a dice game played with three dice * Crag, Arizona, US * Crag, West Virginia, US * Crag and tail, a ...

is small and remote from major population centres, but it is quite popular because of the unusual climbing encountered there. It is a sea-cliff, situated above a partly tidal rock platform, and access is quite convenient. The rock consists of horizontally layered

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

with intervening thin layers of

mudstone Mudstone, a type of mudrock, is a fine-grained sedimentary rock whose original constituents were clays or muds. Mudstone is distinguished from ''shale'' by its lack of fissility.Blatt, H., and R.J. Tracy, 1996, ''Petrology.'' New York, New York, ...

which have been

eroded Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is disti ...

away to produce horizontal breaks and overhangs. The climbs are all single- pitch, between 10 m and 20 m in height. The overhanging nature of much of the rock makes climbing there quite strenuous, and yields some spectacular roof-climbing. The current

guidebook A guide book or travel guide is "a book of information about a place designed for the use of visitors or tourists". It will usually include information about sights, accommodation, restaurants, transportation, and activities. Maps of varying det ...

, published in 2015, lists over 60 climbs at Muckross, ranging in

grade Grade most commonly refers to: * Grading in education, a measurement of a student's performance by educational assessment (e.g. A, pass, etc.) * A designation for students, classes and curricula indicating the number of the year a student has reach ...

up to E6/6b. Climbing of all grades is available, but the higher grades predominate. In accordance with Irish climbing ethics, only traditional

protection Protection is any measure taken to guard something against damage caused by outside forces. Protection can be provided to physical objects, including organisms, to systems, and to intangible things like civil and political rights. Although ...

clean climbing Clean climbing is rock climbing techniques and equipment which climbers use in order to avoid damage to the rock. These techniques date at least in part from the 1920s and earlier in England, but the term itself may have emerged in about 1970 dur ...

") is used, medium-to-big

cam Cam or CAM may refer to: Science and technology * Cam (mechanism), a mechanical linkage which translates motion * Camshaft, a shaft with a cam * Camera or webcam, a device that records images or video In computing * Computer-aided manufacturin ...

s being very useful.

References

* Iain Miller (editor), ''Rock Climbing in Donegal'' (

Mountaineering Ireland Mountaineering Ireland is the representative association for hikers and mountaineers on the island of Ireland. It is recognized by both Sport Ireland, the Irish authority for sport, and Sport Northern Ireland, the corresponding authority of the G ...

, 2015)

External links

Muckross Head Guidebook
{{Irish Rock Climbing Climbing areas of Ireland Peninsulas of County Donegal Gaeltacht places in County Donegal