The story behind the name
Nine Daughters’ Hole is a chasm in the cliffs above the Atlantic, and it is named for a grim piece of local legend. The tale dates to around 800 AD, when Viking longships are said to have landed at Inis Labrinde, near the mouth of the Cashen River. The local chieftain, O’Connor, had nine daughters. In one version they fell for the Viking raiders; in the other, more common telling, the Vikings meant to carry them off. Either way, O’Connor’s answer was the same: he lured his daughters to this clifftop hole one by one and threw them in, then beheaded the nine Vikings and cast their bodies in after them. Local lore has it that on a still evening you can catch faint echoes drifting up from the water. For more tales like it, see our Travel Guide to Irish Folklore and Mythology.
The chasm and the walk
Set the legend aside and what you are looking at is a natural blowhole cut into Carboniferous limestone, worn open over thousands of years by the sea. It sits right on the Ballybunion Cliff Walk, which runs from Ladies’ Beach past the Cliff House Hotel, Nuns Beach and a sea arch, with the Bromore Cliffs beyond. Sources disagree on the walk’s length – you will see it put anywhere from about 1.6 km to 3 km, depending where you start and turn back – but it is flat, well-marked and manageable for most.
Be honest with yourself about what is here: a fenced-off hole in the ground and a very good view, not a grand spectacle. The story and the setting are the point. Sturdy metal railings guard the rim, and you should stay behind them, as the ground near the edge is uneven and there is no way down.
Getting there
The site is on Doon Bay Road (Castleview, Doon West), a short walk or drive from Ballybunion town. There is a small free lay-by beside the railings, and parking is not usually a problem, though it can fill on summer weekends. From the town centre it is roughly a 15-minute walk along the cliff path. Buses run to Ballybunion from Tralee and Killarney, and the town has cafés, toilets and places to stay. There are no fixed hours and no charge, but check access locally before a long detour in rough weather.