You couldn’t be looking out into Blacksod Bay and fail to think of Rescue 116. The helicopter went down here last year, 2017, while on a mission in bad weather conditions. All four crew were lost. You can see Blackrock Island where the incident occurred from everywhere along this stretch. I had never been here before that I can remember. It is beautiful, bleak and wild.
North County Mayo is along the Wild Atlantic Way. It’s not got the same profile as Kerry or Clare, and it’s a long way around to get to this coastline. I grew up listening to the detailed weather forecast from Erris Head to Belmullet to Malin Head. But today it’s real and I am here, feeling the Atlantic weather on my face. So this is where it comes from!
It was from Blacksod Lighthouse in 1944 that an ominous weather forecast changed the course of WW2. Based on the information given by Ted Sweeney, the go ahead for D-Day was delayed for 24 hours, a decision that averted a military disaster where all would have been lost.
There is another sacred spot here, the well of St. Derbhile. It overlooks her church, the graveyard and the little beach. St. Derbhile’s Well water will restore your eyesight. So they say. A saint, a goddess, or a witch, she has left her mark.
I keep noticing English accents and eventually I ask someone why this is. O it’s just that people here all emigrated to Leeds and they come over and back, I am told. Their children come for holidays and then settle. Reverse emigration. And on it goes, in each museum, cafe and shop, the accents of Leeds leave me pondering.
The land as far out as the very edge of the Atlantic is peppered with houses. Individual cottages and bungalows, the modern version. Often the tumble down shack or roofless original cottage is to one side of the new build. Many are empty holiday houses and many more have fishermen and small holders living in them. This is in stark contrast to the land of the Copper Coast in County Waterford, where farms were merged and land has been preserved for animals rather than housing.
I forget sometimes the price that the west has paid for colonisation, famine and the final solution of “to hell or to Connacht.” It’s different out here. Survival has always been more challenging.
When a storm blew in, we cut short this trip. Maybe it was the wild weather and the grey outlook, but I left with some melancholy for our past and for the memory of Rescue 116 which hung over this Bay. And the eery unforgettable name given to this beautiful place, Blacksod.
Thank you for taking me there with your images and your words. I could feel that Atlantic weather on my face too…❤️
Ah Robin! Lovely to hear from you. I think you would love it alright. Bracing!!! x
These are beautiful images. My husband and I traveled part of the Wild Atlantic Way last year – the southern part. Definitely a place where one must respect the weather and the conditions. I loved it. I didn’t know the story of the rescue helicopter until now. Thanks for sharing that story.
Hi Kathleen, the Wild Atlantic Way is certainly worth the trip. I’ve been to most of it now mainly because of my great age!!! Haha! Mayo is very much off the beaten track and like stepping back in time. Lovely to hear from you x
Stunning. Well done, Ca. x
Thank you so much Jane!!! It’s a stunning place……well worth a visit. x
So many moving stories … what a beautiful place. Beautiful and vivid images too. I feel the wind and the scent of the ocean whirling around.
Ah! Yes quite a lot like the west coast of Brittany. Lovely to see your name. I suppose we are the last of the first bloggers!!
Today I watched a heron fly overhead, that folded neck and tucked in head look SO uncomfortable.
This weekend we have warnings of high seas and careful along the coast – the Atlantic reaches us too.
O Diana, they are kind of prehistoric looking! September is a bit too early for storms here, but we’ve had one orange alert storm already. Batten down the hatches and stay safe!
Great photos. A beautiful and a tranquil spot. I was raised there in Surgeview. The beach is called Portmore and the point is known a Gambles Point in the townland of Surgeview. The cemetery is in Faulmore. It is not only the Leeds accents you will there but a variety from USA , UK and others. The old stone cross is where the legendary local giant Hanraoi Crossach O Cathán aka Henry Keane is buried. It is said he killed a bull with the blow of shillailligh once when he was on his travels.
O how fascinating. Thank you so much for your visit here. I’ve only just rambled in this minute and seen it. Wonderful local knowledge. I was blown away by the beauty of your home place.