Roundstone Bay and the fishing village and harbour of the same name, is an inlet off the Big Sound on the approaches to Galway Bay situated about midway between Golam Head and Slyne Head, and approximately 38 miles west of Galway itself, on the west coast of Ireland.

The bay offers good protection. It offers straightforward access in all reasonable weather and tide stages during daylight except in poor visibility or storm conditions. It is, however, if pushed one of the few harbours along this coast where it is possible to enter at night, although this is not recommended.

Keyfacts for Roundstone Bay

Position and approaches

Haven position

53° 23.798' N, 009° 55.067' W

This is the position of the Roundstone pierhead.

What is the initial fix?

On the alignment of Pat’s Point, the northeastern extremity of Inishlackan, and Roundstone Church on 003°T which clears Smith Rock.

What are the key points of the approach?

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What's the story here?

Roundstone is a bay with a pretty village and small boat harbour that lies on the western side of Inishnee Island. The bay penetrates for 2 miles in a north by northeast direction and provides a well-sheltered harbour for small vessels. It has a bar, with a depth of 0.6 metres, that extends across the bay about 1 mile northward of the southwestern end of Inishnee Island.




Northward of the bar the depths increase and a well-sheltered anchorage can be found in 2 metres. 2.4 metres can be found off the small boat harbour at the village of Roundstone on the western side of the bay. Small vessels may lie aground on the mud or proceed alongside the quays when the tide permits. The harbour is exposed only to south-by-southeast winds and shelter can be found from these via a short move into the adjacent Bertraghboy Bay.

How to get in?

Use western Ireland’s coastal overview from Loop Head to Slyne Head for approaches. Bertraghboy Bay and Roundstone Bay lie in the bight about midway between Golam Head and Slyne Head. Big Sound, entered between Deer Island and Mace Point about 2¼ miles eastward, extends northward to Roundstone Bay and then northeastward into Birterbuy Bay. The most sheltered approach to Roundstone Bay is through Inner Passage entered immediately west of Golam Head and then through Big Sound.



The initial fix is just over ½ a mile west of Freaghillaun and on the alignment of Pat’s Point, the northeastern extremity of Inishlackan, and Roundstone Church on 003° T. This alignment clears Smith Rock that has 2 metres over it and rarely breaks.

Proceed on the alignment for ¼ of a mile then turn for the centre of the entrance to Roundstone Bay and Bertraghboy Bay between Inishlackan and Inishtreh, off the mainland, more than ¾ of a mile east.

Standoff Inishlackan, which is fringed by foul ground extending ¼ of a mile from its southern end and has rocky ledges 300 metres off of its eastern side. The greatest dangers are the awash Bertragh Rocks that lie at the head of a foul area that extends ¼ of a mile northeastward from Pat’s Point, on Inishlackan's northeastern corner. Favouring the Inishness side of midway up through this fairway
clears these dangers.

The 2-metre contour of the bar will be encountered ⅓ of a mile south of the small boat harbour. The charted rock that is awash LAT and situated in the middle of the fairway is reported not exist and the sand bar is of uniform depth across the bay.




There are 4 visitors moorings half a mile southeast of the harbour, but these are in a more exposed location and leave a long dinghy ride to the village. The best anchoring area is off of the harbour in 2.4 metres LAT.




Inside the harbour, berth alongside the north quay which has a clear bottom, but avoid the east or west parts of the quay as the bottom is foul, or anchor just off the pier.

Why visit here?

Roundstone, Irish 'Cloch Na Ron' which means 'Rock of Seals or Seals Rock', is beautifully set on the west bank of Roundstone Bay.

As early as 1684 the Bay was referred to as Roundstone Haven and the strikingly round rock after which it is named stands like a marker at the entrance. Roundstone is one of the oldest resorts in Connemara being founded in the mid-1820s by the Scottish engineer Alexander Nimmo and is situated on one of the most spectacular coastal drives in Ireland bordering the Atlantic Ocean and at the foot of Errisberg Mountain and with great views of The Twelve Bens a small mountain range located northeast of Roundstone village.




In this area of natural beauty, Roundstone has been rightly credited as being the birthplace and inspiration of much of Irelands artistic and creative art, to the extent that it attracts national and international artists to the village, and visitors will find several works of art in local peoples homes, bars and hotels, as well as in the village's galleries. It has also been described as a botanists delight as many rare wildflowers are to be found in the area around Roundstone.




Today Roundstone's busy little harbour is home to the local fishermen who prepare and return with the days catch of lobster, mackerel, crab, crayfish, shrimp and cod, some of which are supplied to the many local seafood restaurants. It has also developed as a popular holiday destination for naturalists and artists, who together with visitors just come to enjoy the remarkable beauty of the surrounding seascapes and mountains, and also to sample two of Irelands finest beaches about 2 miles from Roundstone at Dogs Bay and Gurteen Beach. These beaches are of pure white sand formed exclusively of seashells and not from the usual quartz grain, and the safe and sheltered crystal clear waters are ideal for swimming and other water-based activities such as windsurfing, canoeing, snorkelling or scuba diving.

There are many places of historical, geological and scenic interest in the area near to Roundstone including the remains of numerous Christian settlements which have been found on several of the islands along the coast. At the northern end of Inishee, the long island across the bay from Roundstone, are the remains of an ancient monument to St. Brendan. There are up to 10 recognised walks in the vicinity of Roundstone one of which climbs Errisberg Mountain to the west of the village, the pleasant walk to the summit height of about 300 metres takes about 2 hours and affords stunning views of the Atlantic Ocean and its islands, the Twelve Bens mountains, and the Roundstone Bog.

The ichael Killeen Park small craft centre park was built on the grounds of an old Franciscan Monastery first established in 1835. The monks left in the mid 1970's and the buildings were demolished in 1980, the bell tower in the centre of the park and the old walls that surround it are the last remaining pieces of the old Monastery. Roundstone is fast becoming a dormitory for Clifden and a weekend residence for Galway but it still retains much of its old charm. Other facilities to be found in Roundstone are a post office, a bicycle hire shop, a health centre, and a rural bus service to Galway.

From a boating perspective, Roundstone is a good base from which to explore the nearby bays.
These are Bertraghboy and Cashel, both of which give good shelter against all winds and seas depending on the choice of anchorage, and they afford lovely views of the Connemara mountains. There are several suitable anchorages to choose from with some marked visitors moorings available, and generally, the area offers safe shelter with good access.

The more recognised popular anchorages in Bertraghboy Bay are, off a bold bluff in south winds halfway between the entrance to Bertraghboy Bay and Carrickaleigh Rock where you can land at the old ruined pier; to the east side of Croghnut Islet which gives good shelter but rather a poor landing over weed-covered rocks; and north of Salt Point which gives good shelter in west winds. There are two notable anchorages in Cashel Bay, north of Canower Point at the entrance to the bay which gives good shelter in west winds, and off the quay at the head of Cashel Bay where you can land at the quay, but it is advisable to check before going alongside or drying out as the quay is pretty rough but the bottom alongside is clean.

What facilities are available?

The village has a good selection of pubs and bars, restaurants and cafes, a shop for limited provisions, and craft shops. Many of which can be found at The Michael Killeen Park which is a small craft centre about 5 minutes walk from the centre of Roundstone that has various shops selling everything from jewellery to sweaters. The town of Clifden is nearby to the north for total provisioning.

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