Because we needed it to get to our early return flight next day, on Monday 20th November we picked up a hire car and headed out to a windy Mullaghmore Head. It is 14 miles north of Sligo. When we got to the cliff tops we parked up, or so I thought. I forgot to put the hand break on (my car doesn't have one) and Billy got a shock as we started to roll to the edge!
We were told about Classiebawn castle (see two photos above) by several locals, including our Airbnb host, and received tips on the best way to get a photo. The castle is "close to the head of Mullaghmore on County Sligo's Wild Atlantic Way, [and] was the holiday home of Louis Mountbatten, a member of the British royal family who was assassinated close by in 1979". For an informative read on the assassination see this Wikipedia article, which points out that: "The assassination ... horrified the Irish American community, who viewed Mountbatten as a hero for his role in defeating the Axis powers during World War II (many American soldiers in the war served under him), and IRA financial support in America via NORAID dwindled, which was already in steep decline since the Bloody Friday incident of 1972".
Mullaghmore Head is a renowned surfing spot and is described as Ireland's ultimate big wave destination. Billy's old School mate Dan goes cold water surfing around here. Check out Conor Maguire below riding a 40ft wave in Mullaghmore, on 9th Nov, 📷 Gary McCall. Awesome 🙂
This video has section with Breakers @Mullaghmore Head
After a spot of brunch we check out Creevykeel Court Tomb (below), which is one of the finest examples of a court tomb remaining in Ireland. The monument is located in the N15 Donegal to Sligo road. A court tomb is a megalithic type of chambered cairn or gallery grave. It dates back to the Neolithic Period, 4000-2500 BC.
