Killary Harbour
An Caoláire Rua · Co. Galway
Where Galway meets Mayo, the Atlantic drives a narrow arm 16 kilometres inland between walls of mountain: Killary Harbour, Ireland's only true glacial fjord. Mweelrea, Connacht's highest peak at 814 metres, rises on the northern shore; the Maumturks and the hills of Joyce Country crowd the south; and lines of mussel-farming floats stitch the dark water between.
On and around the water
Catamaran cruises run the length of the fjord from Nancy's Point near Leenane, the easiest way to appreciate the scale of the place — dolphins occasionally escort the boats, and the rope-grown mussels that hang in these sheltered waters end up on menus across the west.
The best walk is the Famine Relief Road along the southern shore: a level green track built as relief work during the Great Famine, running from Rosroe towards Leenane with the fjord beside you the whole way. Its emptiness is part of the story — this landscape lost most of its people in the 1840s and never refilled.
Leenane and Aasleagh Falls
The village of Leenane at the head of the fjord is a classic one-street settlement of pubs and sheep-farming heritage, familiar to film fans from The Field (1990), which was shot here. Just beyond the county boundary, the Erriff River drops over Aasleagh Falls — modest in height, mighty after rain, and a renowned salmon water.
Getting there
Leenane sits on the N59 between Westport (40 minutes) and Clifden (40 minutes), making Killary the natural hinge between Mayo and Connemara. The Connemara Loop and the Doolough Valley road north towards Louisburgh — scene of the Famine's Doolough Tragedy and one of Ireland's most haunting drives — both connect here.
Where it is
53.6220°N, 9.8800°W
Nearby stops
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