The Mullet Peninsula, also known as the Mullet, is a peninsula

Peninsula

A peninsula is a piece of land that is bordered by water on three sides but connected to mainland. In many Germanic and Celtic languages and also in Baltic, Slavic and Hungarian, peninsulas are called "half-islands"....

 in the barony

Barony (Ireland)

In Ireland, a barony is a historical subdivision of a county. They were created, like the counties, in the centuries after the Norman invasion, and were analogous to the hundreds into which the counties of England were divided. In early use they were also called cantreds...

 of 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...

 in County Mayo

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...

, Ireland

Republic of Ireland

Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

. It consists of a large promontory

Promontory

Promontory may refer to:*Promontory, a prominent mass of land which overlooks lower lying land or a body of water*Promontory, Utah, the location where the United States first Transcontinental Railroad was completed...

 connected to the mainland at Belmullet

Belmullet

Belmullet is a coastal Gaeltacht town with a population of around 2,000 on the Mullet Peninsula in the barony of Erris, County Mayo, Ireland. Its name means the "mouth of the mullet"...

 , a town of about 2,000 inhabitants, by a narrow isthmus

Isthmus

An isthmus is a narrow strip of land connecting two larger land areas usually with waterforms on either side.Canals are often built through isthmuses where they may be particularly advantageous to create a shortcut for marine transportation...

. There are several small towns on the Mullet peninsula including Aughleam

Aughleam

Eachléim is a Gaeltacht village and townland in County Mayo, Ireland. It lies on the Mullet Peninsula in Erris, on the R313 regional road. It has a total area of 2.96 km²...

, Elly, Corclough and Binghamstown (An Geata Mór). It is about 33 km long and 12 km wide at its widest parts, and about 50 metres at the narrowest part. Its northernmost point is Erris Head

Erris Head

Erris Head is a promontory at the northernmost tip of the Mullet Peninsula, located in the barony of Erris in northwest County Mayo, Ireland. It is a well known and recognised landmark used by mariners and weather forecasters alike. It is also a very scenic viewpoint, with an unspoilt view of the...

. The peninsula's doglegged shape forms two bays, Blacksod Bay

Blacksod Bay

Blacksod Bay is a bay of the Atlantic Ocean in Erris, North County Mayo, Ireland. The bay is bounded on its western side by the Mullet Peninsula and to its eastern side by the coastline of Kiltane Parish where it extends southwards from Belmullet towards Gweesalia and Doohoma...

 and 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...

.

The Mullet Peninsula is part of the Mayo Gaeltacht

Gaeltacht

is the Irish language word meaning an Irish-speaking region. In Ireland, the Gaeltacht, or an Ghaeltacht, refers individually to any, or collectively to all, of the districts where the government recognises that the Irish language is the predominant language, that is, the vernacular spoken at home...

. Irish

Irish language

Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...

 is the most common language in rural areas, while English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

 is also commonly spoken in Belmullet. The area has several Irish-language summer schools. The Mullet is popular with tourists who find miles upon miles of uncluttered white sandy beaches and a mild climate; chief attractions include golf

Golf

Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....

, watersports, kiting

Kiting

Kiting may refer to:* Kiting on gossamer , by which some spiders and mites disperse.* Flying a kite* Kiting * Check kiting, a form of banking fraud* Domain kiting* Kitesurfing, a water sport...

, boating

Boating

Boating is the leisurely activity of travelling by boat, or the recreational use of a boat whether powerboats, sailboats, or man-powered vessels , focused on the travel itself, as well as sports activities, such as fishing or water skiing...

 and fishing

Fishing

Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....

, particularly sea-angling

Angling

Angling is a method of fishing by means of an "angle" . The hook is usually attached to a fishing line and the line is often attached to a fishing rod. Fishing rods are usually fitted with a fishing reel that functions as a mechanism for storing, retrieving and paying out the line. The hook itself...

.

Antiquities and places of interest

Despite its apparent sandy 'barrenness', the Mullet Peninsula has much to offer in way of interesting historical artefacts. 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...

 which lies to the north-east of the Mullet has more visible prehistoric monuments

Faulagh

Faulagh is a townland in Kilcommon, Erris, County Mayo, Ireland, some in size. It's a remote spot on the main Ballycastle to Belmullet road. Faulagh and its neighbouring townland Muingerroon South are located on a mountain which skirts the townland of Bellanaboy where the contentious Corrib Gas...

 such as in-situ megalithic tombs.

Several islands lie off the coast of the Mullet peninsula including the Inishkea Islands

Inishkea Islands

The Inishkea Islands are situated off the coast of the Mullet peninsula in the Barony of Erris. There are two main islands - Inishkea North and Inishkea South...

, Inishglora

Inishglora

Inishglora is an island off the coast of the Mullet Peninsula in Erris, North Mayo. It has some small neighbouring islands, known as Inishkeeragh. As with its neighbouring Inishkea Islands, Inishglora's geological composition is that of gneiss and schist, similar to the rest of Erris. The island...

 and Duvillaun

Duvillaun

Duvillaun is the name of a cluster of islands lying south to the Inishkea Islands and Inishglora in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of North Mayo. The main island is known as Duvillaun Mór...

. There are lighthouses on other small islands off the coast at Blackrock

Blacksod Lighthouse

Blacksod Lighthouse is situated at the southern end of the Mullet Peninsula, Erris, County Mayo. The lighthouse was built in 1864 by one of the leading merchants in Belmullet at that time, Bryan Carey....

 and Eagle Island

Eagle Island, County Mayo

Eagle Island lies off the Mullet Peninsula in Erris off the north west County Mayo Atlantic Ocean coast in Ireland....

.

The Saint Deirbhle heritage centre

Heritage centre

A heritage centre is a museum facility primarily dedicated to the presentation of historical and cultural information about a place and its people, including, to some degree, natural features...

 based at Aughleam

Aughleam

Eachléim is a Gaeltacht village and townland in County Mayo, Ireland. It lies on the Mullet Peninsula in Erris, on the R313 regional road. It has a total area of 2.96 km²...

 near the southern end of the peninsula has a collection of books and historical information on the area. The saint's old church and St. Deirbhile's Well, where it is alleged that a cure for eye problems can be acquired, is a couple of miles from the Centre.

Ocean wave energy test site

In the northwest of the Mullet peninsula a site for testing full-scale ocean wave power

Wave power

Wave power is the transport of energy by ocean surface waves, and the capture of that energy to do useful work — for example, electricity generation, water desalination, or the pumping of water...

 devices has been selected between Frenchport Pier, Annagh Head and Cross. This site will be the first time full-scale devices have been tested off the west coast of Ireland. Prototypes have been tank tested in Cork

Cork (city)

Cork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland and the island of Ireland's third most populous city. It is the principal city and administrative centre of County Cork and the largest city in the province of Munster. Cork has a population of 119,418, while the addition of the suburban...

 and scaled models have undergone testing near Spiddal

Spiddal

Spiddal is a village on the shore of Galway Bay in County Galway in Ireland. It is west of Galway city on the R336 road. Spiddal is on the eastern side of the county's Gaeltacht near Connemara, and is a tourist centre with a scenic beach, harbour, and shore fishing.-The village:The Mac...

 in Galway Bay

Galway Bay

Galway Bay is a large bay on the west coast of Ireland, between County Galway in the province of Connacht to the north and the Burren in County Clare in the province of Munster to the south. Galway city is located on the northeast side of the bay. It is about long and from to in breadth...

 in recent years. The wave energy potential 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...

between North Mayo and West Donegal is one of the best in the world for the development of this exciting new renewable energy technology. Several device types will be tested off the Mullet Peninsula.