Irish Coastal Walks

54 walks around Ireland’s beautiful, raw and rugged 3500 mile coastline. All parts of Ireland, including Northern Ireland and its Giant’s Causeway, are covered. Detailed coverage on the south-west and west (Galway).

Ireland is a small country, but its coastline measures around 3,500 miles (5,600km). The western seaboard is incredibly convoluted, breaking into fine headlands and a spread of islands. While many parts of Ireland’s coastline are well known, such as the Giant’s Causeway and the Cliffs of Moher, few have heard of the Wexford Coastal Path, the Sheep’s Head or Inishturk. This guide covers over fifty coastal walks around Ireland, taking in broad beaches, towering cliffs, battered headlands and a score of lovely islands. There is a huge amount of variety, astounding scenery, plenty of history and heritage, with a good system of transport, accommodation and other services. In sunshine or storm, many of these coastal walks exhibit a raw, rare beauty.

Geology

The geology of a coastline stretching for thousands of miles is not a subject which can be adequately discussed in a few words. However, there are some sweeping generalisations which can be made. Ireland is saucer-shaped, with a broad, rolling central plain. All around this, and so all around the coast, are ranges of hills and fine mountains. As a result, the coastline often features cliffs, hills and mountains. Generally, the western coast is more rugged than the eastern coast. The cliffs are often composed of igneous or metamorphic rocks, with some ancient sedimentary strata. It is often the case that sedimentary strata feature parallel banded layers, which may be tilted or even tightly folded. Igneous and metamorphic rocks generally present a more fluid, amorphous structure.

A more recent occurrence has shaped the Irish coastline, and that is the Ice Age. Ice covered much of Ireland and glaciers scoured great troughs from the mountains and smoothed much of the rock around the coast. It also dumped masses of crushed rock and boulders which has since been shaped by the action of the sea into bouldery, cobbly and sandy beaches. The end of the Ice Age brought a rise in the sea level, which separated Ireland from Britain and the rest of Europe. The lifting of the weight of ice from the land also resulted in the shifting of Ireland’s bedrock, which actually ‘floats’ in the deeper and slightly plastic mantle of the Earth. This shifting is called ‘isostatic recovery’ and has resulted in Ireland having a definite north-south tilt. The practical upshot is that the northern coasts feature raised beaches and the southern coasts feature drowned river valleys. Strangely enough, this influences access in an important way. Southern landscapes can be farmed practically down to the sea, while northern landscapes generally end with a cliff-line, or a rugged raised beach unsuitable for cultivation.

History

In the ancient epic legends of most countries there is a creation myth, but not so in Ireland. In the beginning Ireland was already there; already an island awaiting its first inhabitants. Naturally they came off the sea; wave after wave of invaders, slaughtering and conquering each other. Leabha Gabhala Eirinn or the Book of the Takings of Ireland is full of stirring stuff and contains many coastal references. Ireland was an island before it was colonised by people. Two things are for certain: anyone colonising Ireland came from the sea, and their first experience of the country was of its coast. Other things are less certain: Did Amergin the Poet really chant Ireland into existence from the sea? Was the sea really black with the ships of the King of the World before the Battle of Ventry Strand? Did Brendan the Navigator, a native of Kerry, really discover America before Columbus?

‘Ireland is a melting pot of conquered cultures, stone men and bronze men and iron men, of Celts and Vikings and Anglo-Normans, driven remorselessly westwards by a volcano of European history, pressed finally together against the rim of the Atlantic in their promontory forts, between the devil of the new weapon and the deep sea. Their Gods go with them. Duk Duk dancers and Druids, Fir Bolg and Tuatha De Danann, Baal and Beltaine, Crom Cruach and Cromwell, the conquered conquerors, enslaved, revengeful charged with ancient powers.’
T.H. White, The Godstone and the Blackymor.

Centuries of British dominance in Ireland have shaped the development of the coastline and the Irishman’s relationship with the sea. There is no doubt that the people of Ireland have always been among the world’s most skilful seamen, coursing their canvas curraghs over the most tempestuous seas. While neighbouring Britain developed as a major seafaring power, Ireland was held in check. Ireland’s great seafarers and fishermen were not allowed to create a naval force or great fishing fleets. Port developments were few, and of limited extent.

Stout, stone Martello Towers and the square towers of old signal stations were built in the 19th century, with early radio stations being sited along the west coast of Ireland in the early 20th century. Only in recent decades have decent little piers and slipways become common. With the wane of British influence in Ireland, ending only with the handing over of the ‘Treaty Ports’ in 1938, the development of Ireland as a maritime power has been limited. What remains, therefore, is a coastline largely free of large-scale developments, abounding in natural beauty.