Downpatrick Head Mayo
Downpatrick Head on the north Mayo coast near Ballycastle is one of the most dramatic coastal headlands in Ireland, a flat-topped promontory of horizontal limestone dropping vertically to the sea in cliffs of considerable height, with the extraordinary detached sea stack of Dún Briste standing immediately offshore in a position that makes it one of the most dramatic natural features on the Wild Atlantic Way. The stack, approximately 45 metres high and completely separated from the headland by the collapse of the connecting rock arch in 1393, supports a green summit of grass visible from the clifftop above in a scene of extraordinary geological drama.
The name Downpatrick Head derives from the association with St Patrick, who is said to have banished a pagan chieftain called Crom Dubh from the headland by causing the earth to open and swallow him. The blowhole in the headland floor, through which the sea surges in rough weather with considerable noise and spray, is associated in local tradition with the swallowed pagan below. The remains of a Napoleonic-era signal tower on the headland provide the historical military heritage dimension.
The coastal scenery of the north Mayo coast visible from Downpatrick Head in both directions is among the finest in Ireland, the horizontal limestone cliffs extending westward toward the Belmullet Peninsula and the great mountain of Nephin Beg visible in the distance on clear days creating a panorama of the wild and empty north Mayo landscape that is one of the most powerful available on the Wild Atlantic Way.