Croaghaun is a
mountainA mountain is a large landform that stretches above the surrounding land in a limited area usually in the form of a peak. A mountain is generally steeper than a hill. The adjective montane is used to describe mountainous areas and things associated with them...
in
County MayoCounty Mayo is one of the traditional counties of Ireland and is located within the province of Connacht. It was named after the village of Mayo . Mayo is the secondlargest of Ireland’s 32 counties in area and 15th largest in terms of population...
,
IrelandIreland is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island in the world. It lies to the north-west of continental Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islets. To the east of Ireland, separated by the Irish Sea, is the island of Great Britain...
. It has the highest
cliffIn geography and geology, a cliff is a significant vertical, or near vertical, rock exposure. Cliffs are formed as erosion landforms due to the processes of erosion and weathering that produce them. Cliffs are common on coasts, in mountainous areas, escarpments and along rivers. Cliffs are...
s in Ireland and the third-highest sea cliffs in
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
at 668 m.
Croaghaun is the most westerly peak of
Achill IslandAchill Island in County Mayo is the largest island of Ireland, and is situated off the west coast. It has a population of 2,700. Its area is...
, and its second-highest mountain. Its cliffs lie on the northern slope of the mountain. Contrary to popular belief, the cliffs at
Slieve LeagueLocated on the coast of County Donegal, Ireland, Slieve League , at 601 metres, has Ireland's second highest sea cliffs, after Croaghaun on Achill Island, and Europe's sixth-highest...
in
County DonegalCounty Donegal is one of the traditional counties of Ireland. It is located within the Province of Ulster and is part of the Republic of Ireland. It was named after the town of Donegal ....
are not Ireland's, or Europe's highest as they stand at 595 metres (Ordnance Survey of Ireland, 2007).
Croaghaun is a
mountainA mountain is a large landform that stretches above the surrounding land in a limited area usually in the form of a peak. A mountain is generally steeper than a hill. The adjective montane is used to describe mountainous areas and things associated with them...
in
County MayoCounty Mayo is one of the traditional counties of Ireland and is located within the province of Connacht. It was named after the village of Mayo . Mayo is the secondlargest of Ireland’s 32 counties in area and 15th largest in terms of population...
,
IrelandIreland is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island in the world. It lies to the north-west of continental Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islets. To the east of Ireland, separated by the Irish Sea, is the island of Great Britain...
. It has the highest
cliffIn geography and geology, a cliff is a significant vertical, or near vertical, rock exposure. Cliffs are formed as erosion landforms due to the processes of erosion and weathering that produce them. Cliffs are common on coasts, in mountainous areas, escarpments and along rivers. Cliffs are...
s in Ireland and the third-highest sea cliffs in
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
at 668 m.
Croaghaun is the most westerly peak of
Achill IslandAchill Island in County Mayo is the largest island of Ireland, and is situated off the west coast. It has a population of 2,700. Its area is...
, and its second-highest mountain. Its cliffs lie on the northern slope of the mountain. Contrary to popular belief, the cliffs at
Slieve LeagueLocated on the coast of County Donegal, Ireland, Slieve League , at 601 metres, has Ireland's second highest sea cliffs, after Croaghaun on Achill Island, and Europe's sixth-highest...
in
County DonegalCounty Donegal is one of the traditional counties of Ireland. It is located within the Province of Ulster and is part of the Republic of Ireland. It was named after the town of Donegal ....
are not Ireland's, or Europe's highest as they stand at 595 metres (Ordnance Survey of Ireland, 2007). The cliffs at Croaghaun can only be seen by
hikingHiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often on hiking trails. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous hiking organizations worldwide. The health benefits of different types of hiking have been confirmed in studies...
around or to the summit of the mountain, or from the
seaA sea is any large amount of water filled with animals such as crabs, whales, sharks, and fish, but there is inconsistency as to its precise definition and application. Most commonly, a sea may refer to a large expanse of saline water connected with an ocean, but it is also used sometimes for a...
. The cliffs are part of a vast array of sheer
rockIn geology, rock is a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids.The Earth's outer solid layer, the lithosphere, is made of rock. In general rocks are of three types, namely, igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic...
faces which start south of
Keem BayKeem Bay is located past Dooagh village in the west of Achill Island in County Mayo, Ireland. It contains a Blue Flag beach. The bay was formerly the site of a basking shark fishery. There is an old British army lookout post on the top of Moyteoge to the bay's south. To the west is an old booley...
and loop around the uninhabited northwest of the
islandAn island or isle is any piece of land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls are called islets. A key or cay is another name for a small island or islet. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot, .There are two main types of islands:...
, by Achill Head and Saddle Head and east to
SlievemoreSlievemore is the highest peak on Achill Island, in County Mayo, Ireland. Its elevation is 671 metres.-Archaeology:*Achill Archaeological Field School is based at the Achill Archaeology Centre in Dooagh. It was founded in 1991 and is a training school for students of archaeology and anthropology...
, at places dropping vertically into the pounding waters of the
Atlantic OceanThe Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about 106.4 million square kilometres , it covers approximately one-fifth of the Earth's surface and about one-quarter of its water surface area. The first part of its name refers to the Atlas of Greek...
. The views from the top of the cliffs are nothing short of breathtaking and the unusual
corriesCirque may refer to:* Cirque, a geological formation* Makhtesh, an erosional landform found in the Negev desert of Israel and Sinai of Egypt*Cirque , a novel by Terry Carr*Cirque , an album by Biosphere...
and unique rock types make this location a hiker's paradise. The most satisfying part of these cliffs lie in the fact that they are not reachable by car and you must either park at Keem beach and make the trek from there or park at the supply lake on the way to Keem bay, or go by boat (calm day highly recommended!) This location is one of the most untouched areas in the whole of Western Europe; and one of the secret gems. The Croaghaun cliffs are home to 2 families of [peregrine falcons] (RTE, 2008). September and October are the best time to see the fastest creatures on earth here, as they educate their young in the art of flight. At any time of the year, (weather dependant) you can enjoy the most westerly, most remote, most spectacular cliff scenery that anyone in the face of this earth can enjoy. Upon the cliff, one can observe the Irish metamorphic, quartz laden gems, the Meditteranean heathers and the crystal tropical waters of the Atlantic. It is common to see dolphins, mostly bottle nosed (in shoals)and of course the basking shark (BBC; 2008) a once local source of revenue for Achill Island (BBC; 2009) The porpoise is found in large numbers in this area. They are smaller than the typical bottle-nosed dolphin, but hunt in packs, and therefore, are highly efficient hunters (National Geographic, 2002) The Killer Whale (amongst many species of whale) have been sighted here over the years, along with the humpback. On a last and final note to hikers: Don't climb these cliffs on a foggy day...and ...bring a camera!
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