Benwee Head
Encyclopedia
Benwee Head Cliffs County Mayo
Gaelic: An Bhinn Bhuí
( 'the yellow cliff')
Height: 304 metres OS 1/50k Mapsheet: 22 for top
Grid Ref: F816 443 Latitude: 54.333659 Longitude: -9.820924
ITM: 481576 844301 Prominence: 230m Isolation: 5.4 km
The environs of Benwee Head, with its cliffs, arches
, stacks and islands, offers some of the most dramatic coastal scenery in Ireland. These cliffs tower over Broadhaven Bay
in the Atlantic Ocean
and there are way-marked cliff walking trails along them for which maps can be obtained from Comhar Dún Chaocháin Teo
in Carrowteige
. To appreciate the cliffs fully, you need to see them from the sea.http://www.dulra.ie/ Benwee Head is in the townland of Kilgalligan
in the parish of Kilcommon
, Erris
, a townland whose microtoponyms (field place names) and folklore
traditions has been studied in detail in the 1975 book, The Living Landscape: Kilgalligan, Erris, Co. Mayo by Seamas O Cathain & Patrick O'Flanagan.
An Bhinn Bhuí is the 1001st highest summit in Ireland and is all the more spectacular as its north sides drop vertically into the wild Atlantic Ocean. An Bhinn Bhuí is the most northerly summit in the North Mayo area.
The remote and rugged north coast of Mayo is one of Ireland’s best kept secrets. Its majestic cliffs, rugged headlands, rocky coves and jagged stacks are apparent only to those willing to walk away from the main thoroughfares to discover them.
The Dun Chaocháin peninsula in Kilcommon
parish, Erris
is one of great physical beauty and has retained many of its old traditions and culture. The Irish language is still in full vigour as the vernacular.
The spectacular Dun Chaochain cliffs have featured in various walking guidebooks and walks during the summer periods are organised by Comhar Dún Chaocháin Teo
in Carrowteige
, the main village on the Dún Chaocháin peninsula. Benwee Head at 255m high is the crowning glory.
The Stags of Broadhaven
(a group of four precipitous rocky islets rising to almost 100m) are located about 2 km north of Benwee Head and are a site of ornithological importance.
The looped walk incorporates the Children of Lir
Tir Saile sculpture http://www.mayo-ireland.ie/Mayo/Towns/Ballina/TirSaile/TirSaile.htm - the well-known legend tells the tale of children who were turned into swans and condemned to wander the countryside for 900 years. The key feature of the loop is the black ditch – a dry ditch which runs parallel to the coastline and clifftops and probably marked the boundaries of lands in previous times.
The looped walks along the cliffs are marked with red, green and blue arrows according to the type of walk the individual or group wishes to follow.
County Mayo
County Mayo is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the village of Mayo, which is now generally known as Mayo Abbey. Mayo County Council is the local authority for the county. The population of the county is 130,552...
Gaelic: An Bhinn Bhuí
( 'the yellow cliff')
Height: 304 metres OS 1/50k Mapsheet: 22 for top
Grid Ref: F816 443 Latitude: 54.333659 Longitude: -9.820924
ITM: 481576 844301 Prominence: 230m Isolation: 5.4 km
The environs of Benwee Head, with its cliffs, arches
Arches
-Places:* Arches National Park in the U.S. state of Utah* Arches, Cantal, a commune of the Cantal département, in France* Arches, Vosges, a commune of the Vosges département, in France-Other:* Arches of the foot...
, stacks and islands, offers some of the most dramatic coastal scenery in Ireland. These cliffs tower over Broadhaven Bay
Broadhaven Bay
Broadhaven Bay is a natural bay of the Atlantic Ocean situated on the northwestern coast of County Mayo, Ireland. The opening of the bay faces northward, stretching between Erris Head on the west side and Kid Island on the east side with approximately 8.6 km between the two sides.It borders...
in the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
and there are way-marked cliff walking trails along them for which maps can be obtained from Comhar Dún Chaocháin Teo
Comhar Dún Chaocháin Teo
Comhar Dún Chaocháin Teo is a community development co-operative based in the peripheral, rural, Gaeltacht, North Mayo area of Ireland. It is registered with the Registry of Friendly Societies and its purpose is to promote the linguistic, cultural, infrastructural, educational and social...
in Carrowteige
Carrowteige
Ceathrú Thaidhg is a Gaeltacht village and townland on the Dún Chaocháin peninsula in northwestern County Mayo, Ireland. It is within Kilcommon parish in the barony of Erris...
. To appreciate the cliffs fully, you need to see them from the sea.http://www.dulra.ie/ Benwee Head is in the townland of Kilgalligan
Kilgalligan
Cill Ghallagáin is a small Gaeltacht coastal townland and village in the northwest corner of Kilcommon Parish, County Mayo, Ireland, an area of in size. Off the northern coast of this townland lies Kid Island, an island of rising on steep cliffs to a height of above sea level. The island is...
in the parish of Kilcommon
Kilcommon
Kilcommon is a civil parish in Erris, north Mayo consisting of two large peninsulas; Dún Chaocháin and Dún Chiortáin. It consists of 37 townlands, some of which are so remote that they have no inhabitants...
, Erris
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 Erris derives from the Irish 'Iar Ros' meaning 'western...
, a townland whose microtoponyms (field place names) and folklore
Folklore
Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...
traditions has been studied in detail in the 1975 book, The Living Landscape: Kilgalligan, Erris, Co. Mayo by Seamas O Cathain & Patrick O'Flanagan.
An Bhinn Bhuí is the 1001st highest summit in Ireland and is all the more spectacular as its north sides drop vertically into the wild Atlantic Ocean. An Bhinn Bhuí is the most northerly summit in the North Mayo area.
The remote and rugged north coast of Mayo is one of Ireland’s best kept secrets. Its majestic cliffs, rugged headlands, rocky coves and jagged stacks are apparent only to those willing to walk away from the main thoroughfares to discover them.
The Dun Chaocháin peninsula in Kilcommon
Kilcommon
Kilcommon is a civil parish in Erris, north Mayo consisting of two large peninsulas; Dún Chaocháin and Dún Chiortáin. It consists of 37 townlands, some of which are so remote that they have no inhabitants...
parish, Erris
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 Erris derives from the Irish 'Iar Ros' meaning 'western...
is one of great physical beauty and has retained many of its old traditions and culture. The Irish language is still in full vigour as the vernacular.
The spectacular Dun Chaochain cliffs have featured in various walking guidebooks and walks during the summer periods are organised by Comhar Dún Chaocháin Teo
Comhar Dún Chaocháin Teo
Comhar Dún Chaocháin Teo is a community development co-operative based in the peripheral, rural, Gaeltacht, North Mayo area of Ireland. It is registered with the Registry of Friendly Societies and its purpose is to promote the linguistic, cultural, infrastructural, educational and social...
in Carrowteige
Carrowteige
Ceathrú Thaidhg is a Gaeltacht village and townland on the Dún Chaocháin peninsula in northwestern County Mayo, Ireland. It is within Kilcommon parish in the barony of Erris...
, the main village on the Dún Chaocháin peninsula. Benwee Head at 255m high is the crowning glory.
The Stags of Broadhaven
Broadhaven Bay
Broadhaven Bay is a natural bay of the Atlantic Ocean situated on the northwestern coast of County Mayo, Ireland. The opening of the bay faces northward, stretching between Erris Head on the west side and Kid Island on the east side with approximately 8.6 km between the two sides.It borders...
(a group of four precipitous rocky islets rising to almost 100m) are located about 2 km north of Benwee Head and are a site of ornithological importance.
The looped walk incorporates the Children of Lir
Children of Lir
The Children of Lir is an Irish legend. The original Irish title is Clann Lir or Leannaí Lir, but Lir is the genitive case of Lear. Lir is more often used as the name of the character in English...
Tir Saile sculpture http://www.mayo-ireland.ie/Mayo/Towns/Ballina/TirSaile/TirSaile.htm - the well-known legend tells the tale of children who were turned into swans and condemned to wander the countryside for 900 years. The key feature of the loop is the black ditch – a dry ditch which runs parallel to the coastline and clifftops and probably marked the boundaries of lands in previous times.
The looped walks along the cliffs are marked with red, green and blue arrows according to the type of walk the individual or group wishes to follow.
See also
- GlinskGlinscGlinsce is a Gaeltacht townland in County Mayo, Ireland. It is in the parish of Kilcommon and barony of Erris...
- GlengadGlengadGlengad is a small Gaeltacht village in the parish of Kilcommon in northwest County Mayo, Ireland. The townland is also known as Dooncarton , a name which comes from an Iron Age tribal chieftain called Ciortan, a character who appears in the Ulster Cycle legend of the Táin Bó Flidhais.The village...
- RossportRossportRos Dumhach is a Gaeltacht village and townland in northwest County Mayo, Ireland. It is within the barony of Erris and parish of Kilcommon...
- CarrowteigeCarrowteigeCeathrú Thaidhg is a Gaeltacht village and townland on the Dún Chaocháin peninsula in northwestern County Mayo, Ireland. It is within Kilcommon parish in the barony of Erris...
- Comhar Dún Chaocháin TeoComhar Dún Chaocháin TeoComhar Dún Chaocháin Teo is a community development co-operative based in the peripheral, rural, Gaeltacht, North Mayo area of Ireland. It is registered with the Registry of Friendly Societies and its purpose is to promote the linguistic, cultural, infrastructural, educational and social...
- ErrisErrisErris 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 Erris derives from the Irish 'Iar Ros' meaning 'western...
- KilcommonKilcommonKilcommon is a civil parish in Erris, north Mayo consisting of two large peninsulas; Dún Chaocháin and Dún Chiortáin. It consists of 37 townlands, some of which are so remote that they have no inhabitants...
- Broadhaven BayBroadhaven BayBroadhaven Bay is a natural bay of the Atlantic Ocean situated on the northwestern coast of County Mayo, Ireland. The opening of the bay faces northward, stretching between Erris Head on the west side and Kid Island on the east side with approximately 8.6 km between the two sides.It borders...
- Sruwaddacon BaySruwaddacon BaySruwaddacon Bay is a tidal estuary which runs through the middle of the Gaeltacht Kilcommon Parish, Erris, North County Mayo; it is of historical importance in Irish legend, an important marine habitat, an E.U. Special Area of Conservation and an E.U...