The Atlantic Companion · Wild Atlantic Way · Mayo
The Mullet — An Muirthead — is a flat, treeless peninsula in the far west of Mayo, joined to the mainland by a thin neck of land at Belmullet town. A Gaeltacht. Beaches everywhere — Mullaghroe, Cross, Elly Bay — and the offshore Inishkea islands, abandoned since 1934. Blacksod Lighthouse on the southern tip received the 1944 weather report from keeper Ted Sweeney that delayed the D-Day landings by 24 hours. The most westerly point of mainland Mayo, and one of the WAW's last truly under-visited stretches.
Belmullet, the long strands, the islands at the end of Mayo.
First things first
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The essentials
Locally chosen, not algorithmic. In rough order of "if you only do one thing".
History
A square granite lighthouse built in 1864 on the southern tip of the Mullet. On 3 June 1944, keeper Ted Sweeney's hourly weather report — recording a falling barometer over the North Atlantic — was relayed to General Eisenhower in England. Eisenhower postponed the Normandy landings by 24 hours. A small museum in the keeper's quarters tells that story.
Good to know · Off the R313 at the southern end of the peninsula. Museum seasonal — check ahead.
Island
Two low, flat islands off the western Mullet coast, abandoned in 1934 after a fishing tragedy in which ten young men drowned. The roofless village houses, the Naomh chapel, and a population of barnacle geese in winter. Day boat trips from Blacksod or Belmullet in summer.
Good to know · Boats run on demand from Blacksod and Belmullet — book ahead, weather-dependent. Bring food and water; no facilities on the islands.
Beach
A long curve of pale Blue Flag sand on the inner shore of the Mullet, sheltered, kid-friendly, water shelving gently. Looks across the bay to Achill in the distance.
Good to know · Free parking. Lifeguards in summer. Toilets and showers in season.
Nature
A 5km waymarked clifftop loop at the northern tip of the Mullet, looking across to Stags of Broadhaven and Eagle Island. Sea cliffs, an EIRE 64 marker (the WWII coastal lookout signs), and on a clear day, all the way back to Donegal.
Good to know · Signposted from the R313. Free, always open. Allow 90 minutes; sturdy shoes.
Town
The only town on the peninsula — Béal an Mhuirthead, 'mouth of the Mullet,' founded by William Carter in 1825 on the narrow neck of land. Two streets meeting at a square. The 19th-century Carter's Canal cuts through the centre, joining Blacksod Bay to Broad Haven Bay so boats no longer needed to round Erris Head.
Good to know · Free parking around the square. Fuel, supermarket, ATMs all in town.
Beach
Two long Atlantic-facing beaches on the western side of the peninsula. Cross is wide, exposed, often the cleanest break on the west coast for surfers; Mullaghroe is calmer, sandy, with a reef offshore.
Good to know · Free parking at both. No lifeguards. Surf-experienced swimmers only at Cross — strong rip.
Local businesses
Hand-picked, not paid for. The ferries, the beds, the pubs and the bike hire that make a visit work.
Before you go. These listings are compiled from public sources and aren't yet verified by the businesses themselves. Hours, menus and prices change with the seasons — always check directly with the venue before travelling, and book ahead in July and August. Owners can get in touch to update their listing.
Eat
Tiny café at the Blacksod lighthouse on the southern tip of the Mullet — soup, scones, brown bread. Worth the drive for the lighthouse alone (the weather report from here delayed D-Day by 24 hours in 1944).
Drink
On American Street in Belmullet — locals' bar with sessions on weekends, a fire all winter, and the kind of welcome that doesn't change for the time of year. No kitchen.
Stay
On Barrack Street in Belmullet — design-led 40-room hotel that put the Mullet on the map for weekenders. Barony Restaurant for dinner, Talbot Seafood Bar for lobster and chowder, a busy bar most nights. The peninsula's reliable base.
Stay
On Blacksod Bay at Aughleam — Cáitlín and Tony's six-room guesthouse with the Atlantic out the front and Achill in the distance. Big breakfast, big windows, dinner by arrangement. The kind of B&B you tell people about.
Stay
Family-run small hotel on Main Street in Belmullet — twelve rooms, restaurant and bar, and the most central bed in town. The pragmatic alternative to the Talbot.
Stay
Independent hostel at Pollatomish in north Erris, on the road from Belmullet to Ballycastle — bunks and private rooms, kitchen, fire in the lounge. The walker's and surfer's choice.
Do
Heritage and visitor centre at Eachleim on the Mullet — exhibitions on the Iniskea islands (evacuated 1934), the Spanish Armada wrecks off the coast, and the Mayo Gaeltacht. A small café and shop attached.
Do
27 holes of Eddie Hackett-designed links in the dunes south of Belmullet — frequently named one of the world's great links courses, and one you can usually walk on. Clubhouse open to non-golfers for lunch.
Run a place in Mullet Peninsula?
Our directory is curated, not pay-to-play. If we'd recommend you, you can be on here.
See how to get listedGot a window or a counter?
Download a free A5 QR card for Mullet Peninsula — print it, stick it up, and visitors land straight on the Mullet Peninsula guide.
Ask a local
Read the D-Day weather plaque at Blacksod
The reading taken from this lighthouse on June 3rd 1944 caused Eisenhower to delay D-Day by 24 hours. There's a small plaque. Stand there for a minute — it's an extraordinary thing to think about.
Annagh Head at the back of beyond
Where the road runs out on the west of the peninsula. A signal tower ruin, a beach, and quite possibly nobody else. If the wind's offshore, the swell on the reefs is a sight.
Know a Mullet spot worth sharing?
Hidden gems on this page are written by locals, not us. The right pub in Belmullet, the swim cove that locals keep quiet, the Inishkea boatman who'll take a small group — tell us and we'll add it.
Common questions
The Mullet (Iorras) is a long, narrow, almost-island peninsula on the far west coast of County Mayo, joined to the mainland at the town of Belmullet. It's one of the most remote and least-visited stretches of the Wild Atlantic Way, deeply Irish-speaking, with miles of unspoilt sand beaches on the western side facing the open Atlantic.
Yes if you want one of the wildest, quietest stretches of the entire Wild Atlantic Way. The Mullet has long unspoilt beaches (Cross, Mullaghroe, Annagh), the Blacksod Bay views, the historic Eachléim and the offshore Inishkea Islands. There's almost no tourist infrastructure — that's the appeal and the challenge.
Walk on Cross Beach or Mullaghroe Beach, drive the full length of the peninsula to Blacksod Lighthouse, visit Eachléim and the Ionad Deirbhile Heritage Centre, and consider a boat trip to the now-uninhabited Inishkea Islands. Most visitors do it as a long day-trip from a Ballina or Westport base.
The weather observation at Blacksod Lighthouse on 3 June 1944 was the report that caused the D-Day landings to be postponed by 24 hours, almost certainly saving the operation. The lighthouse and its small museum tell the story; the lighthouse itself sits on a striking pink-granite outcrop at the tip of the Mullet.
Practical
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