Headland · Co. Clare
Black Head
The north-western tip of County Clare, above Kilrush Bay at the entrance to Galway Bay — the headland that turns the coast, and the small 1936 lighthouse that the liners’ captains asked for.
The village
Carrigaholt (Carraig an Chabhaltaigh in Irish, meaning “rock of the fleet”) is a small fishing village in County Clare, Ireland — a castle and a Catholic parish by the same name. The area was officially classified as part of the West Clare Gaeltacht, an Irish-speaking community, until 1956. It is on the estuary side of the Loop Head peninsula, and the village is the working answer to the headland’s lighthouse: the boats, the pier, the castle on the rock.
The position
Carrigaholt lies at the mouth of the Moyarta river, which flows into the estuary of the River Shannon about 15 km from the tip of the Loop Head peninsula and about 10 km from the resort town of Kilkee on the north coast of the peninsula. The village boasts a ruined castle that stood guard over the mouth of the Shannon and the local fishing pier, and the castle is the village’s landmark — the rock, the ruin, the pier, and the estuary behind them.
The working village
Fishing is still continued in the village, with a small number of boats delivering their catches to a local processing company, and the village is also the local centre for the farming community. The village has benefited recently from tourism, mainly from residents of the surrounding area — the estuary light, the castle walk and the pier are the things that get done, and the village works best in the evening when the boats are in and the light is on the water.
Practical
Carrigaholt is on the estuary side of the Loop Head peninsula, about 15 km from the headland’s tip and 10 km from Kilkee; the castle and the pier are in the village. The estuary walk is a short one, and the light on the water is best in the evening.