The area around Donegal Bay has some of the most spectacular seascapes in Ireland, including the dramatic Doonbristy sea stack off Downpatrick Head and the soaring cliffs of Slieve League. Many people feel the Slieve League cliffs are more dramatic than the better-known Cliffs of Moher. They certainly are higher at 1,952ft (595m) compared to…
Archive | M/V Dirona RSS feed for this section
Rounding Erris Head
The two-day run from the Aran Islands around Erris Head had an unusual diversity of sightings. Natural features included waterfalls, dolphins, plenty of dramatic seascape, and Ireland’s highest sea cliffs, the 2,168ft (661m) the Cliffs of Croaghaun. On the man-made side, we saw a ruined Cromwellian fort, an abandoned village and whaling station, three major…
Inishmore Island
Inishmore Island, in the Aran Islands near Galway, Ireland, has several attractions. By far the most visited is Dun Aonghasa, a dramatic semi-circular fort built right to the edge of 300-foot cliffs with sweeping coastal views. And a popular way to tour the island is by bicycle. We saw literally hundreds of bicycles for rent…
Cliffs of Moher
The spectacular Cliffs of Moher are one of Ireland’s most well-known features and popular tourist destinations. The cliffs extend for five miles, rising over 600ft from the water surface at their highest point. More than a million people visit the cliffs each year, but relatively few have an opportunity to view them from the water….
Valentia Island
In 1866, the first transatlantic telegraph cable was completed between Newfoundland and Valentia Island. Prior to the cable, messages between Europe and North America were sent by sea and took two weeks, or more, to reach their destination. Valentia Island also is known for it’s slate quarry that produced slate for the Paris Opera House,…
Cahersiveen
16th-century Ballycarbery Castle is a modern structure compared to two other fortifications near Cahersiveen: the ring forts of Leacanabuile and Cahergal. Ring forts are difficult to date, but archeologists believe these were built in the 9th and 10th centuries. We visited all three on a bicycle tour of the area, and also took in the…
Skellig Michael
Skellig Michael is one of the most remarkable places we’ve ever visited. Sometime in the 6th-8th centuries, Christian monks landed on this rugged and remote island off the southwest coast of Ireland. Over the centuries they built a monastery with beehive huts and a chapel high atop the island’s peaks, and extensive steps to reach…
Ballinskelligs
Our day trip from Crookhaven Harbour to Ballinskelligs Bay took us past some dramatic coastal scenery and impressive feats of engineering, including The Bull, where a lighthouse perches atop a fantastic tunnel-pierced rock, and the well-preserved monastic ruins on UNESCO World Hertiage site Skellig Michael. Trip highlights from June 19th, 2017 follow. Click any image…
Crookhaven
Crookhaven Harbour is among the nicest anchorages in southwestern Ireland. We spent three nights there and visited Brow Head, Mizen Head, and of course stopped at the famous O’Sullivans to enjoy “The most southerly pint in Ireland”. The video below shows aerial footage of Dirona and the harbour, and trip highlights from June 17th through…
Mizen Head
The Mizen Head Signal Station was built in 1909 to sound a fog signal warning ships away from the dangerous headland at the southwest tip of Ireland. The signal station sits on the tip of the peninsula (far left on the photo above), cutoff from the mainland by a deep chasm, with a bridge spanning…
