Cold Water · Ireland
Donegal Coast — Downings, Tory & Arranmore
A cavern and swim-throughs off the walls of remote Tory Island
The north-west Donegal coast between Mulroy Bay and Arranmore is Atlantic rock diving: vertical walls, caverns and pinnacles, tidal drifts through bays and island channels, and a few wrecks. Most dives sit between 6 and 25 m, with pinnacle walls dropping to 40 m. Tory Island, 11 km offshore, is the draw: a cavern room with swim-throughs off a vertical wall, and visibility up to 30 m in calm water.
About diving in Donegal Coast — Downings, Tory & Arranmore
Two boat bases cover this coast. On the Sheephaven and Mulroy side, a catamaran and a RIB with a dive ladder run to the walls of Mulroy Bay, Horn Head and Tory Island, with the Horn Head arch dived on the way back only when the swell allows. Off Arranmore, a charter boat with an electric dive lift works the island's own sites. The tide shapes the plan: Dundooan Light goes as a drift or at slack, and the Black Hole turns from a pleasant drift into a washing machine quickly. Massmount is a shore dive, made only with the consent of the landowners.
Tory Island's Tormore has vertical cliff walls over a rocky seabed and huge boulders, Melmore Head drops in steps to 25 m, and pinnacles such as Lime Burner Rock and the Grotto fall to 40 m, the Grotto rising to 6 m for a safety stop over kelp. Around Tory, rock gullies, caves and kelp forests fill out the seascape. Dundooan Light carries kelps, sponges, anemones, hydroids, nudibranchs, butterfish and conger eels, while Melmore holds pollock, wrasse, lobsters, brown crab, ling and the occasional anglerfish.
The coast suits divers at ease in cold water and on 25 m walls. Tory Island is remote and its weather can turn extreme, so a short trip may lose its headline dive. Newer divers still have shallow options: the Greek steamer, with its boiler, winch and propeller still visible, lies in 6–9 m, and the eastern side of Black Rock keeps to 10 m while its western face drops to 25 m.
Best time to dive Donegal Coast — Downings, Tory & Arranmore
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Fair |
Diving runs all year with no marked peak; winter seas can stop the Tory Island ferry on some days.
Best months: March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November
Dive types & marine life
Seals bask on the rocks and fish dart through the kelp forests. Around Tory Island the sightings include dolphins, whales and even basking sharks, and cormorants and puffins nest on its cliffs.
- Wall
- Cave & cavern
- Drift
- Wreck
- Reef
- Seals & sea lions
- Nudibranchs
- Dolphins
Best dive sites in Donegal Coast — Downings, Tory & Arranmore
- 1
Torys Cavern and Swim Throughs
Tory Island wall leading into a cavern room with swim-throughs, starting at 25 m.
- 2
Paradise Cavern
Cavern on Arranmore's north corner near Tor rock at 15–25 m, a draw for photographers.
- 3
Lime Burner Rock
Pinnacle from 4 m down to 40 m, with large gullies and deep drop-offs.
- 4
The Black Hole
Drift through the main Burtonport–Arranmore channel at 10–20 m, with steep sides and large boulders.
- 5
HMS Wasp
Wreck of 1884 off Tory Island at about 15 m (50 ft), two cannons still visible.
- 6
Melmore Head
Stepped walls to 25 m at the mouth of Mulroy Bay, with a chimney cave swim-through.
- 7
Dundooan Light
Mulroy Bay reef dived as a drift on a seven-knot tide or at slack.
- 8
The Skijford
Intact trawler on her starboard side at 30 m beside a reef, nets still at the stern.
Site guides
Two cannons from an 1884 Royal Navy gunboat still lie on the seabed
Pinnacle
A pinnacle cut by large gullies, from 4 m below the surface down to 40 m
A chimney cave at the tip of the headland makes a swim-through
A cavern off the north corner of Arranmore, near Tor rock
A huge boulder at the cavern mouth opens into a room of swim-throughs
How to get to Donegal Coast — Downings, Tory & Arranmore
Donegal Airport at Carrickfinn is 15 minutes from Burtonport Harbour, with flights to Dublin and Glasgow, and the Arranmore ferry runs year-round from Burtonport. The other base sits between Sheephaven Bay and Mulroy Bay and arranges airport transfers. Tory Island has a daily ferry from mainland Donegal.
Photos from Donegal Coast — Downings, Tory & Arranmore
James Emmans · CC BY-SA 2.0
Dive videos
Classic Donegal Wrecks July 2013 · Norman Woods on YouTube
Questions divers ask
Can Donegal be dived in winter?+
Yes. Diving runs all year, but winter seas can stop the Tory Island ferry on some days, and the water is coldest in March at about 9 °C (48 °F).
What makes Tory Island the headline dive?+
A vertical wall leading into a cavern room with swim-throughs, the 1884 HMS Wasp with two cannons, and visibility up to 30 m in calm conditions. Its remoteness means trips depend on the weather.
How do divers get to Arranmore?+
Donegal Airport at Carrickfinn is 15 minutes from Burtonport Harbour, and a passenger and vehicle ferry crosses to Arranmore year-round.
What is the Black Hole drift like?+
It runs down the main channel between Burtonport and Arranmore and needs to be timed correctly, as it goes from a nice drift to a washing machine very quickly. Its nooks and crannies call for a torch, and old bottles and pottery lie where herring factories once lined both sides.
Sources
- Dive Sites - Mevagh Diving — Mevagh Diving
- Scuba Diving in Ireland - Mevagh Diving — Mevagh Diving
- About Scuba Diving in Donegal — Mevagh Diving
- Diving - Arranmore Charters — Arranmore Charters
- Getting to Arranmore Charters — Arranmore Charters
- Ireland's luckiest dive sites — PADI
- Tory Island — Wikipedia
- Best time to swim in Dunfanaghy: sea temperature by month — SeaTemperatu.re
Photo credits
- Green headland and low shrubs above a calm grey bay, with white houses on the far shore under broken cloud by James Emmans, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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