Painterly view of Classiebawn Castle on the Mullaghmore headland in Sligo — Victorian Gothic turrets silhouetted on a green peninsula above a calm bay, the flat-topped silhouette of Benbulbin rising behind in golden evening light.

Wild Atlantic Companion · Sligo

Welcome to Mullaghmore.
We're glad you're here.

Mullaghmore — An Mullach Mór, 'the big summit' — is a small fishing village and harbour on a peninsula in north Sligo, looking across to Donegal. Lord Palmerston built the harbour and the village in the 1820s. Classiebawn Castle on the headland was the holiday home of Lord Mountbatten, assassinated by the IRA on his boat off Mullaghmore in 1979. Offshore, the reef known to surfers simply as 'Mullaghmore' produces some of the largest tow-in waves in the world — 50-foot Atlantic swells in winter.

Classiebawn castle on the headland. The biggest wave in Ireland offshore.

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First things first

Where are you headed next?

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The essentials

What you shouldn't miss.

Locally chosen, not algorithmic. In rough order of "if you only do one thing".

History

Classiebawn Castle

A Victorian Gothic castle built in 1856 for Lord Palmerston (British Prime Minister), inherited by the Mountbatten family through marriage. Lord Mountbatten — Prince Philip's uncle, last Viceroy of India — holidayed here every August. He was killed when the IRA bombed his fishing boat in Mullaghmore harbour on 27 August 1979, along with two teenagers and his daughter's mother-in-law.

Good to know · Privately owned, no public access. The classic view is from the Mullaghmore Head loop road or from the harbour.

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Drive

Mullaghmore Head loop

A 5km loop road around the headland, with constant views of Donegal Bay, Slieve League across the water, and Benbulbin behind. The reef break is on the north-west side — on a big winter swell you'll see jet-skis and tow-in surfers from the road. The car park at the head is the viewpoint.

Good to know · Free, always open. Single-track road in places. Free car park at the head with a viewing platform.

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Town

Mullaghmore harbour

A horseshoe stone harbour built in the 1820s by Lord Palmerston as a famine-relief project. Still a working pier — a handful of fishing boats, kayak rentals in summer, and Eithna's by the Sea seafood restaurant on the pier. The Pier Head Hotel for a Guinness with the view.

Good to know · Free parking at the harbour. Toilets at the harbour. Restaurants seasonal — call ahead off-season.

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Beach

Mullaghmore beach

A long curve of pale sand on the east side of the peninsula, sheltered from Atlantic swells, looking across to Bundoran and the Donegal hills. Safe family swimming — the antithesis of the reef on the other side of the headland.

Good to know · Free parking. Lifeguards in summer at the main strand. Toilets in season.

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History

Creevykeel Court Tomb

One of the finest court tombs in Ireland, built around 3500 BC just inland from Mullaghmore on the N15 at Cliffony. An open oval forecourt leading to two burial chambers, with a dry-stone wall enclosure still mostly intact 5,500 years later.

Good to know · Free, always open. Small lay-by on the N15 just south of Cliffony — signposted.

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Local businesses

Places we'd point a friend to.

Hand-picked, not paid for. The ferries, the beds, the pubs and the bike hire that make a visit work.

Thumbnails are illustrations — businesses can claim their listing and upload their own photo.

Eat

A whole grilled Mullaghmore lobster split in half with herb butter on a white plate, lemon and a frond of dillisk seaweed beside it, on a slate table with the harbour and fishing boats visible through the window, painterly editorial style.

Eat

Eithna's By The Sea

On the harbour in Mullaghmore — Eithna O'Sullivan's seafood restaurant, hand-picking seaweed for the menu since the 1990s. Mullaghmore lobster, Donegal Bay scallops, organic vegetables from the garden. Dinner only, books out summer weekends.

Where
The Harbour, Mullaghmore, Co. Sligo
Get directions
A floury fruit scone split with butter and red jam on a vintage floral china plate beside a porcelain teapot on a small white-clothed table by a window looking onto Mullaghmore stone harbour with a fishing boat outside, painterly editorial style.

Eat

Mullaghmore Tea Rooms

Small daytime spot on the harbour road — soup, sandwiches, scones, and the strong tea after a wet walk on the head. Open seasonally and weekends in winter.

Where
Harbour Road, Mullaghmore, Co. Sligo
Get directions

Drink

A steaming bowl of creamy seafood chowder with mussels and parsley on a worn timber table, brown soda bread and a glass of stout beside it, a turf fire glowing in a stone hearth in a thatched 17th-century cottage bar behind, painterly editorial style.

Drink

The Beach Bar

Thatched 17th-century bar on Aughris Head, 30 minutes south of Mullaghmore — fire, fish chowder, seafood platters, and the Atlantic at the bottom of the field. Worth the back-road drive.

Where
Aughris, Templeboy, Co. Sligo
Get directions

Stay

View through a hotel sash window across the still waters of Mullaghmore harbour at golden hour, fishing boats moored, the Victorian Gothic silhouette of Classiebawn Castle on the green headland in the distance, painterly editorial style.

Stay

Pier Head Hotel & Spa

Right on Mullaghmore harbour, looking at Classiebawn Castle on the headland — 41 rooms, the Sail Inn bar downstairs, a spa, and one of the best sea-view restaurants in the county. The reliable base.

Where
The Harbour, Mullaghmore, Co. Sligo
Get directions
Cosy stone cottage living room with a black cast-iron woodburner glowing, logs stacked beside it, a sheepskin-draped armchair, and a wide window framing the green Mullaghmore headland and Atlantic beyond at dusk, painterly editorial style.

Stay

Mermaid's Cove Cottages

Self-catering cottages on the headland walking distance from the harbour — sea views, woodburners, two and three bedrooms. The choice for a long weekend with a group.

Where
Mullaghmore, Co. Sligo
Get directions
A boutique hotel bedroom with a four-poster bed dressed in white linen, tall sash window framing the wide expanse of Donegal Bay at sunrise in soft pink and gold light, pale wood floor, painterly editorial style.

Stay

Creevy Pier Hotel

On Donegal Bay 20 minutes north of Mullaghmore at Rossnowlagh — boutique hotel with sea-view rooms, the Pier Restaurant, and the Atlantic right outside. A quieter alternative if Mullaghmore is booked out.

Where
Creevy, Rossnowlagh, Co. Donegal
Get directions

Do

Three horses with helmeted riders walking along the wet sand of Mullaghmore strand at low tide, reflections in the shallow water, the green Mullaghmore peninsula and Classiebawn Castle's silhouette on the headland in the distance, painterly editorial style.

Do

Island View Riding Stables

Beach trekking along Mullaghmore strand and the headland — hour-long and half-day rides for all levels, in the same family for years. Booking essential.

Where
Grange, Co. Sligo
Get directions
A small RIB boat with two figures in storm gear on a dark Atlantic swell, dwarfed by a colossal grey-green wave breaking on the Mullaghmore reef, white spray flying off the lip, the green Sligo headland and Classiebawn Castle silhouette in the distance, painterly editorial style.

Do

Mullaghmore Surf Tours

Local-led RIB tours of the Mullaghmore wave when it's breaking — closest you can get without a tow rope. Also runs sea-cliff and Inishmurray island trips when the swell is small.

Where
Mullaghmore Harbour, Co. Sligo
Get directions

Run a place in Mullaghmore?

Our directory is curated, not pay-to-play. If we'd recommend you, you can be on here.

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Got a window or a counter?

Download a free A5 QR card for Mullaghmore — print it, stick it up, and visitors land straight on the Mullaghmore guide.

Ask a local

The bits that aren't on Google.

Practical

The things you'll wish you'd known.

Fuel
Cliffony (3km inland) or Bundoran (15 minutes north).
Cash
Bundoran or Sligo. Card accepted at the harbour spots.
Pharmacy
Cliffony, Bundoran. Sligo for anything urgent.
Parking
Free at the harbour, beach, and headland viewpoint.
Phone signal
Decent in the village. Patchy on the head loop.
The reef
Mullaghmore reef breaks only on big winter swells. Don't go in — it's a tow-in spot for experts only.