IRELAND’S
COAST CARSTEN KRIEGER
Contents Foreword
page 05
Introduction
06
The South East
11
The South West
29
The West
65
The North West
105
The North East
143
The East
167
Creative notes
190
Map
191
H
FOREWORD alf-a-billion years ago Ireland was oth-
In summer our coasts become nurseries for
erwise and elsewhere. The sub-equatorial
mind-boggling assemblages of fulmars, kittiwakes,
supercontinent that contained Ireland was washed
guillemots and razorbills, jostling for footholds
by a great sea, the shore of which can still be
on cliffs and rocky islets. These seabird cities are
detected, not around, but through the middle of
among the greatest nature spectacles in Europe.
Ireland. Since then the drag and pull of continental
The first people to come to our shores were
drift and tectonics has shifted and sundered our
drawn to river outfalls where shellfish could be
little landmass.
gathered and migrating fish hunted. The arrival
Repeated glacial grooming and bathing in fluc-
of agriculture did little to deter fisherfolk from
tuating seas have rendered it the familiar ‘shaggy
occupying the coast, building permanent settle-
dog-on-its-side’ of today.
ments and constructing boats fit for purpose.Trad-
The seas continue their influential work –
ing added a further consolidating dimension lead-
aggressively so on the Atlantic coast, more benignly
ing to the development of ports. Such coastal foci
to the east. Our coast is also soothed by the warm
have, down the ages, acted as conduits of cultural
Gulf Stream and nourished by the cold upwellings
infusion.
in the Celtic sea.
Today coastal utility is in transition. Solid tra-
The amazing scenic variety that typifies our
ditional industries, fishing and shipbuilding, have
coastline may be viewed as a grand collusion of
been overtaken by more speculative enterprises
art and science: of relentless elemental sculpting on
like fish-farming. Increasing energy demand pro-
obdurate geology. This work in progress has mul-
poses offshore windfarms and less intrusive wave-
tiple expressions in the headlands and islands, inlets
harnessing. Much recreational activity is also now
and estuaries, dunes and beaches ... that define our
associated with our shores. Eco tourism has become
country’s margin.
a significant consideration in the revitalisation of
The twice-daily tidal rhythm of exposure and
our coastal communities: we are nevertheless only
concealment imposes a lifestyle of tolerance on
beginning to evaluate and appreciate our birds and
the flora and fauna. The zonation of intertidal
whales and breath-taking coastal scenery.
seaweeds and winkles reflects this. In the hidden
Carsten
Krieger’s
marvellous
photographs
world of deeper water, molluscs, crustaceans and
remind us of what we still have and warn us about
fish respond to other ecological imperatives. At the
what we have to lose.
top of the food chain sea birds and marine mammals exploit this fecundity.
Gordon D’Arcy 5
M
INTRODUCTION
y first memory of Ireland’s coast are the
to get a foothold and they were soon followed
smooth pebbles at Ross Behy Strand
by animals that crossed the quickly disappearing
at high tide, the incoming surf and that unique
land bridge between Britain and Ireland. Fol-
clacking sound that comes with each retreating
lowing the animals were the first humans who
wave. This was the first time I laid eyes on the
arrived in Ireland around ten thousand years ago.
Atlantic Ocean and it was probably the time my
It is thought that these hunters and gatherers
love affair with the coast began.
arrived in Northern Ireland by boat from Scot-
The coast, the magical border between land
land, other groups probably managed to cross the
and sea, the dividing line between earth and
land bridge from southern Britain into southern
water, calls out to all of us. It’s a place of constant
Ireland before it got swallowed by the Irish Sea.
change that seems to hold the memories of our own ancestral beginnings.
impenetrable boreal forest and the first settlers
Ireland, this small island at the edge of Europe,
stayed mainly along the coast and river estuar-
calls some 7,500 kilometres of shoreline its own.
ies. Evidence for their presence can still be found
Ireland’s coast as we know it today is a product
today in forms of heaps of shells above the high
of the latest glaciation during the ice age. Around
tide line. Imagine a group of people on a shel-
twenty thousand years ago most of Northern
tered part of a beach, sitting around a fire, roast-
Europe, including Ireland, was covered by a huge
ing and cooking their cockles, razor clams and
ice sheet.The sea level was some 120 metres lower
mussels. When the meal is finished they just toss
than today, and Ireland and Britain were joined
the empty shells behind them. Over time these
together and had a connection to the European
midden heaps reached considerable height and
mainland.
today allow archeologists a unique insight in the
When temperatures started to rise about fif-
diet of our ancestors. Today these heaps are cov-
teen million years ago the glaciers eventually
ered by sand and grown over by dunes and other
started to melt and water levels began to rise. It
vegetation, but from time to time wind and tides
was then that the retreating ice carved the land-
uncover pockets of shells, often at the base of
scape, leaving behind the sea loughs of Ireland’s
shifting dunes, and allow even us non-archaeolo-
northern coast, the great peninsulas of the south-
gists a glimpse in to the past.
west and many other features of today’s coast like the drumlin islands of Clew Bay. The rising temperatures also allowed plants 6
At this time Ireland was covered by an almost
Over the following centuries Ireland and its coast changed dramatically. The climate became warmer and more humid and sea levels rose fur-
Introduction
Above: Machair, Silver Strand, County Mayo
ther. The hunter-gatherers settled down, became
Today Ireland’s coast is a jigsaw of many dif-
farmers and started to cut down trees to make
ferent habitats: sandy beaches, including adjoin-
space for fields. The combination of climate
ing dune systems and the unique ‘machair’ – a
change and human interference meant the end
sandy grassland that can only be found in the
of the forests and the rise of the bogs. Evidence
North West of Ireland and the west of Scotland –
of this process can still be found today and some
make up more than two thousand kilometers of
of the most impressive examples are located at
the Irish coast; river estuaries provide shelter for
the coast. Rinevella Bay at the Shannon Estuary
salt marshes and vast mudflat areas; there are also
holds an example of what is known as a drowned
rocky shores are made of rock platforms, pebbles,
or petrified forest; the middle and lower shore of
stones or boulders, soft cliffs made of stones and
this bay is made of peat with countless tree trunks
dirt and hard cliffs that rise to a height of several
still embedded in it. Once a dense forest must
hundred metres.
have covered what is now the estuary of Ireland’s
Although people over time ventured and set-
longest river, deer and boar must have roamed
tled inland the coast remained a vital and constant
where today seals and dolphins are swimming.
influence on the Irish people. Dune grasses pro-
Places like this are mind boggling and encourage
vided the raw material to thatch houses, seaweed
us to look into our distant past.
became a common fertilizer, but first and fore7
IRELAND’S COAST
most the sea and coast have always been a source
and kayaking have become very popular. More
of food. In more recent times, seafood has grown
recently the tourism industry has also discovered
into an important industry.
the coastal wildlife and eco tour operators are
Being a fishermen on an island sounds like the perfect job. Unfortunately cheap fish imports
life watching trips.
from overseas, over fishing and resulting regula-
This however puts the coast and its inhabit-
tions and quotas make life anything but easy for
ants under constantly-growing pressure. Littering,
Irish fishermen, especially for the smaller local
pollution, over-fishing and destruction of habitat
enterprises. But there are still many thriving ports
are just a few factors that threaten Ireland’s coast.
around Ireland like Howth, Dingle or Killybegs
Making this book was a journey of discovery
whose fishermen not only supply for the domes-
in many different ways. First there was the actual
tic market but also export their goods around the
journey around the fringes of Ireland by car, boat
world.
or on foot. At times, this journey seemed to go
For many people, however, the coast means
on forever, on narrow country roads around long
one thing: holidays! The Irish coast is probably
stretched peninsulas, along the shores of sea loughs
the most important asset for the tourism industry
and over choppy seas to some mystical island.
and is marketed to suit both the active and not
It was also a very personal journey. In the early
so active visitor. Water sports like sailing, surfing
stages my goal was to capture the wild and varied
Below: Fulmars, Loop Head, County Clare
8
now offering dolphin, whale, seal and other wild-
Introduction
Right: Beadlet Anemone
landscape of the Irish coast. But soon it
surfing championships in Bundoran. I
became clear that the Irish coast has more
spent many hours onboard a boat on the
to offer and I went back to my roots as a wildlife
Shannon Estuary trying to get the perfect dol-
photographer trying to capture the coastal fauna
phin shot, I was photographing fishmongers in
from the nervous hermit crab to the mighty fin
Howth and lost myself in the eerie intestines of
whale.
Hook Lighthouse. But taking this plunge into the
Although we like to think of the coast as a wild
unknown not only made me meet some fascinat-
place, it has been very much shaped by human
ing people, it also changed my perception of my
hands. It’s impossible to travel along the coast
art and in the process made me a better photog-
without seeing piers, harbours, lighthouses and
rapher, I hope.
watchtowers; most of the time this built land-
The goal for this book was to show all aspects
scape is rather picturesque and forms an integral
of Ireland’s coast but unfortunately there is only
part of Ireland’s coast. It’s only another small step
so much space and no book of this size can do
from photographing coastal architecture to pho-
total justice to the wealth of subject matter. So
tographing its creators, carving a living out of the
in the end this is a personal view and I hope you
coast’s resources or simply enjoying it.
enjoy looking at it as much as I enjoyed making
The wild coast, the built coast and all its inhabitant are all part of a tightly-woven net and once
it. Or as my countryman Heinrich Böll put it in his book Irish Journal:
I embraced the idea of capturing all aspects of
‘Es gibt dieses Irland:Wer aber hinfährt und es nicht
Ireland’s coast I found myself in, for me, rather
findet, hat keine Ersatzansprüche an den Autor’ (‘This
unusual circumstances. I visited a sail maker
Ireland exists: However if you go there and can’t
on the Mizen Peninsula, followed the building of a traditional sailing boat
find it, the author will not be responsible for compensation’).
in West Clare and photographed the Right: Hermit Crab
9
Above: The Saltees from St Patrick’s Bridge, County Wexford
10
THE SOUTH EAST he counties of Wexford and Water-
T
habitats of Wexford Harbour are a very
ford occupy the southeast corner of
important wintering place for wildfowl.
Ireland, an area also known as the sunny
Each year around 20,000 birds spend the
southeast. Statistically this part of Ireland
winter season here. Photographing wildlife
enjoys more sunshine than the rest of the
in Ireland in winter calls for luck with the
country, a very welcome fact for the out-
weather and the light, and unfortunately
door photographer.
my visits always coincided with grey and
The far southeastern corner of Wexford
wet winter weather.
is more or less one endless stretch of beach,
Further south lays another haven for
starting at Wexford Bay on the eastern coast
birds: The Saltees. These rocky islands host
and ending at Ballyteige Bay in the south.
Ireland’s second largest gannet colony and
Wexford Harbour at the Slaney Estuary is
are a breeding ground for several other bird
almost entirely surrounded by sandbanks
species, like puffins, guillemots, fulmars and
that only leave a small opening between
razorbills, and for grey seals.
Raven Point in the north and Rosslare
West of the Saltee Islands the
Point in the south. The Wexford
Hook Peninsula stretches out
Slobs, an area of reclaimed
into the Celtic Sea and marks
land known as polders,
a change in the coastal land-
and the natural estuarine
scape. Rocky shores grow into
Right: Spined Sea Scorpion
11
IRELAND’S COAST
Above: Fisherwoman at Wexford Harbour, County Wexford Opposite: Kilmore Quay Harbour, County Wexford
12
sheer cliffs that open up into secluded bays
in pink flowers known as thrift – endlessly
protected by protruding headlands and sea
twist and turn before they reach the sea. I
stacks: Waterford’s Copper Coast.
lost my way more than once and equally
Exploring Ireland’s south east coast takes
often I wasn’t sure if I had reached the
some effort. Although the coast runs in
destination I had in mind. But in the end
quite a straight line, the narrow country
this didn’t matter. I found enough subject
roads – which are especially picturesque in
matter to fill several books and the sunny
early summer when the banks are covered
southeast lived up to its name many times.
The South East
13
Situated around five kilometres off
made a vow as a ten-year-old that one day
the south Wexford coast and built on
he would own the Great Saltee. In 1943
bedrock laid down two- to six-hundred
he realised his dream and in 1956 he was
million years ago, the Saltee Islands are
crowned the first prince of the Saltees. In
one of Ireland’s natural wonders. The
reality however the island belongs to the
name given to the Great Saltee and
birds: the elusive Manx shearwater, razorbill,
its companion Little Saltee is probably
guillemot, kittiwake, gannet, puffin, cormo-
of Norse origin, ‘salt-øy’, meaning ‘salt
rant and other species occupy every inch
island’. A visit to the Great Saltee in
of the island during spring and summer. In
windy weather when salt spray quickly
autumn more than 100 grey seals also come
encrusts anything will reveal the reason
to the island to breed. Unless you suffer
for the name.
from ornithophobia or have been watching
The Great Saltee is privately owned by the Neale family.The late Michael the First
Hitchcock’s The Birds recently a visit to the island is an amazing experience.
Above: Birds of the Great Saltee: Left: Gannet. Right: Puffin Opposite: Top left: Razorbill. Bottom left: Cormorant chicks. Right: Cormorant
14
‘All people young and old, are welcome to come, see and enjoy the Islands, and leave them as they found them for the unborn generations to come see and enjoy.’ Michael the First
15
IRELAND’S COAST
Below: Booley Bay, Hook Peninsula, County Wexford
16
The South East
Above: Hook Head Coast with Saltee islands in the distance, County Wexford
17
IRELAND’S COAST
Above: Hook Lighthouse, County Wexford
The Hook Lighthouse is not only one
had founded a monastery nearby and soon
of Ireland’s best known landmarks situ-
became aware of the dangers that the
ated in beautiful surroundings, it is also
waters around Hook Head held for sailors.
one of the world’s oldest working light-
The first beacon wasn’t much more than
houses, and Ireland’s earliest established
a fire built on top of a pile of stones but it
lighthouse.
provided a crucial guiding light for vessels
The origins of Hook Lighthouse date
18
entering Waterford Harbour.
back to the 5th century AD when St
The first proper lighthouse was built
Dubhan, a Welsh monk, established the
in 1172 by Raymond LeGros, a Norman
first beacon on Hook Head. St Dubhan,
nobleman, who also used the tower to guard
whose name is the Irish for ‘fishing hook’,
the entrance to the harbour and protect his