Horn Head in Donegal. Reminders of Ireland's recent violent past even in the most beautiful places

Today we’re in the far North West of Ireland visiting the spectacular Horn Head which is close to the town of Dunfanaghy in County Donegal. It’s one of Ireland’s peninsulas that juts out into the North Atlantic Ocean and consequently offers amazing views out to sea, but it’s also the journey up to the coastline that is truly spectacular about this location, as you can see here.
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The distance out to the coastline at Horn Head from the town of Dunfanaghy is about three and a half miles, and, to get there, we pass through the most beautiful unspoilt countryside.
This is a flying visit in order to give you a taste for the place, but if you have time to spend here you should be aware that there are some very interesting places of archeological significance in the area such as Neolithic stone circles, court tombs and passage tombs.
You can probably see that we are arriving here in the dead of winter. It’s about 3.30pm and so the light is fading, but there’s just enough time left for us to appreciate the wildness of this place, particularly at this time of year.
The whole area is not only designated by the Irish Government as a Special Protection Area, but also as a Special Area of Conservation as well as a National Heritage Area.
The final leg of our journey has to be completed on foot and so we climb towards the vantage point that will allow us to take in this spectacular place. But horn Head hasn’t in the past just been a vantage point for visitors interested in ornathogy or flora and fauna or a place to walk amid nature to take in the bracing sea air. In fact it, being on the northern coast of Ireland, it has had some strategic importance too. The concrete structure seen in this video is a WWII look out post and there is another one on the peninsula which dates from Napoleonic times. You can just imagine being out here in the middle of nowhere at 3am in the morning with rain pelting and wind blowing, scouting for aircraft or ships.
Just be careful on a windy day like today. You soon get the impression that you could easily be swept away as this place is just so exposed to the elements.
The cliffs out here are 600 ft high in places. Needless to say, like many of Donegal’s ragged coastal areas this is an important location for colonies of breading seabirds. In particular the European shag and the Razerbill are species common in this area.
But just appreciate the majesty of this place. We have a 360 degree panorama of some of Ireland’s stunning countryside.
As we look at the graffiti on the wall, it’s funny how, in the north of Ireland at least, we have reminders of our violent past, even in the most remote and beautiful places.
Wikipedia page:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horn_Head
Dunfanaghy information:
www.dunfanaghy.info/horn-head...

[@jacquicaffrey6607]

This is a wonderful, dramatic view of the Irish coast and surrounding landscape

[@nakedireland]

Glad you enjoyed Jacqui - hope you’ll keep following our videos in the future.

[@gregcaffrey]

What a beautiful and unspoilt place!

[@nakedireland]

It’s amazing - thanks.

[@colavoce07]

this is such a blessing. I can't travel but I can almost smell the sweet green grass or the salty sea air. I choked up watching the video. My great great granda is from Ireland, and all at once I finally feel a bit closer to him. Very grateful for your series Mate. Cheers.

[@nakedireland]

Christian, my heart is warmed to hear this. I’m so glad the video has struck a chord with you and I hope you will continue to follow the Naked Ireland series of films. Do you know where abouts in Ireland your great great grandad is from?

[@colavoce07]

@@nakedireland tbh i think belfast. Would you happen to know if there’s a directory of record of some sort that I might contact to see if I can find him? And already subscribed of course ;-)

[@nakedireland]

Christian I live in Belfast myself. I think it’s ‘Public Record Office Northern Ireland’ that you need (PRONI) I think they have a facility to ask questions online: www.nidirect.gov.uk/campaigns/public-record-office-northern-ireland-proni

[@peggymcbride437]

I just returned from visiting there. Thanks for the video. Beautiful place!

[@nakedireland]

Thanks Peggy, so glad you enjoyed it. Hopefully there are some other Naked Ireland videos that you’ll enjoy.

[@jimsims6879]

An excellent view of Dunfanaghy on the way down

[@nakedireland]

Many thanks for watching

[@aidanmcculloch9794]

love watching these videos

[@nakedireland]

Ah thanks so much Aidan. You keep watching and I’ll keep making.

[@NicholasKalams]

Was just at Slieve League last week; if I had seen this video then I would’ve tried to stop here as well!

[@nakedireland]

No worries Nicholas, sure you can always visit Horn Head another time. A good excuse for another trip to Donegal! Glad you’re enjoying the videos.