Overview
Kilcommon (Cill Chomáin) is about as far as you can get from a tour bus in County Mayo. This civil parish in the barony of Erris runs across two peninsulas – Dún Chaocháin and Dún Chiortáin – and 37 townlands, many of them empty, with what settlement there is gathered along Sruwaddacon Bay in villages like Glengad, Pollathomas, Rossport, Inver and Carrowteige. It is a designated Gaeltacht where 700 to 1,000 people still speak Irish as a first language, and Mass is said in Irish at Ceathrú Thaidhg. The landscape is sea cliff, blanket bog and rock, and the payoff is the sense that very little here has been tidied up for visitors.
The one walk to do
If you do one thing, walk the Benwee Head cliffs. The full Benwee Head Cliff Walk is a strenuous 12 km, three to four hours, well signposted with purple arrows along sheer sea cliffs, with the Stags of Broadhaven sea stacks offshore and Broadhaven Bay opening below. If that’s more than you want, the shorter Benwee Head Loop (about 5 km) covers the best of it and passes both the Dún Chiortáin and Dún Chaocháin promontory forts – the ones local legend credits to two giant brothers who tossed kitchen utensils across Sruwaddacon Bay.
Maps for both come from Comhar Dún Chaocháin Teo, the community group that maintains the routes, available in Carrowteige. Be straight with yourself about the terrain: it’s uneven and exposed, with steep sections and no barriers, not suitable for wheelchairs or standard pushchairs, and it turns windy and slick even in summer.
History and heritage
The parish takes its name from St Comán, a 6th-century saint said to be buried in the old churchyard at Pollatomais, where only a part of one gable of the original church still stands. The area stayed strongly Catholic and Irish-speaking through the penal era and remains so, which is the living heritage worth as much as any ruin here. Beyond the church, the western landscape is thick with older marks: megalithic tombs, ancient Scots-pine fossils exposed in fresh turf cuttings, and possible crannogs in the eastern lakes.
Wildlife
The bogs and coastal margins carry birds you won’t easily see elsewhere – Greenland white-fronted geese, the elusive corncrake, and Ireland’s only breeding population of the red-necked phalarope, which nests here in a brief window in early summer. The estuary has its own draw: dolphins are regularly seen working the water of Sruwaddacon Bay.
Longer walks
Kilcommon is a jumping-off point for serious walking. The Bangor Trail is a rugged 29 km route across remote bog and heath, best done over two days with basic accommodation in Carrowteige or Rossport. All the local routes are free to access and maintained by Comhar Dún Chaocháin Teo.
When to come
- Late spring to early summer: the bogs colour up and the red-necked phalarope breeds – the birdwatchers’ window.
- Mid-summer: Irish-language events and traditional music sessions in the pubs of Carrowteige and Rossport.
- Autumn: Atlantic storms roll in for dramatic, moody coastal light.
- Winter: harsh weather and near-total solitude.
Practical information
- Parking: free car parks at Benwee Head (near Carrowteige) and in Rossport village, both with litter bins and a few picnic tables; the Benwee Head Loop trailhead car park is maintained by Comhar Dún Chaocháin Teo.
- Toilets: portable toilets at the Benwee Head car park in summer (April–September); none on the cliff walk itself.
- Food and drink: small cafés and pubs in Carrowteige and Rossport do hot meals and local seafood, but opening hours are seasonal – call ahead.
- Signal: mobile coverage is patchy over the high bogs and cliffs. Carry a charged phone, a physical map, and enough food and water.
Getting there
This is car country. From Castlebar, take the N59 north into Erris and follow local signs for Belmullet, then Benwee Head and Carrowteige. Limited Bus Éireann services reach Ballina; from there you’ll need a taxi or hire car for the last 30 km or so. The nearest airports are Ireland West (Knock), about 80 km, and Shannon, about 150 km.
Nearby
Croagh Patrick and the waters of Lough Conn are both within a day trip if you’re basing yourself in north Mayo. Before heading out towards the Stags, check the tide – rising water can cut off the lower coastal paths and narrow the usable ground on the cliff walk.