Huge chunk of Ireland’s highest sea cliffs fell into sea

WARNING Climbers have been urged to be aware of unsteady edges on the Croaghan Cliffs in Achill.

Anton McNulty

A LARGE chunk of Ireland’s highest sea cliffs have fallen into the ocean, and hikers on Achill Island have been warned not to go too near the edge, as it remains unsteady in places.
A piece of the cliff edge on Croaghan mountain, measuring approximately 10 metres by 20 metres, collapsed into the sea over the winter months, and according to a local guide, it has made the current cliff edge unsafe.
The area called Poll Gamhnach collapsed into the sea facing Blacksod Bay. Thomas McLoughlin, international mountain leader, said he first noticed the edge of the cliff was gone in the spring. He has been urging people climbing the mountain to be aware of the unsteady edge ever since.
“The area of the cliff is known locally as an cistin (‘the kitchen’), as it is a sheltered dip where we would be able to get out of the wind and have tea and food. It always felt very secure.
“I first noticed it was gone when I was walking a couple of months ago. There was a bit of mist and fog and I thought I was mistaken and went on further, but knew I had gone too far and I went back.

Brittle
“Four or five days later I went back up. There was better visibility, and sure enough [I could see that] the edge had fallen into the sea. An incredible amount had slipped away, and the [current] edge has been undercut and is brittle. The cliff may not have lost its height but it sure has lost a bit of its bulk,” he told The Mayo News.
The cliff contains large amounts of quartz, which is layered, and Thomas feels that more could easily slip away if a walker were to stand too close the edge. He has urged walkers to be careful in the area of the cliff, and to avoid the edge altogether.
The area, which has a grid refernece of ‘F 565 067’, where the erosion occurred is a renowned beauty spot, boasting a number of corrie lakes. The fuselage of an RAF meteorological survey plane that crashed in 1950 has also been found there.
“Not many would venture up there, but it is spectacular,” McLoughlin said.