Arklow is situated on Ireland’s east coast about midway between Dublin and the country’s southeasternmost corner Carnsore Point. It is an active provincial town and a commercial and fishing port. The port offers a small marina with a river pontoon and ample fishing quays where a boat can come alongside and, in fine weather, it is possible to anchor outside.

Arklow’s inner harbour offers complete protection and is the very definition of a 'hurricane hole'. A vessel could endure any weather condition unperturbed inside the basins of its Fish Harbour or marina. Access is straightforward as there are no immediate off-lying dangers and the entrance is deep and lit so it may be entered day or night on any state of the tide.

Access is easy in normal offshore winds but the opposite is the case with onshore winds from the northeast round to southeast. The most challenging of these is the north-easterly and it is well established that a stranger should not attempt entry during Force 6 from these quarters. Watch out for lobster pot markers as you come inshore.

Keyfacts for Arklow

Position and approaches

Haven position

52° 47.600' N, 006° 8.200' W

At the end of the South Pier at the harbour entrance beneath the light Fl WR 6s 10m 13M

What is the initial fix?

This waypoint is six hundred metres northeast of the entrance.

What are the key points of the approach?

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What's the story here?

Arklow is a provincial town with a small commercial and fishing port on the mouth of the Avoca River. Located about 1.2 miles north of Arklow Head, the harbour is entered between two parallel piers that lead into the river. Within the entrance are commercial quays and a fishing harbour basin, on the south side of the river, and a small marina further above on the northeast side of the river immediately before it abruptly shoals.

Berthing options include pontoon berths in the port side basin of the Fishing Harbour, depths of 2.8 metres, located 600 metres within the entrance. It may also be possible to come alongside a fishing vessel here. Alternatively, the 60-berth Arklow Marina, 200 metres above, has depths of 2.8 metres. It is on the starboard side and though it is small and confined it has a river pontoon immediately above its entrance. The easily addressed riverside pontoon has 2.5 metres at LWS on its seaward end. Contacting Arklow Marina in advance is recommended to secure the berth and for any guidance required +353 (0)87 2588078 or +353 (0)87 2375189, alternatively via web contact form.

During offshore winds, vessels may anchor outside the harbour. This would become uncomfortable when the wind becomes south of southwest, or east of north.




Arklow is easily entered in offshore winds or light onshore winds. This will most likely be the case as the prevailing winds here are south-westerly and heavy easterlies are unusual. Particularly so in the summer cruising season. If these are the conditions encountered, a heavy following wind from the northeast round to the southeast will make an entry challenging. In these conditions, a vessel will be pitching into a lee shore and there is little margin for error.

The more the wind comes around to the southeast the more the pitching develops into a roll as the wind moves round onto the beam when the vessel aligns on the final entry path into the harbour. Because the south pier extends out 50 metres further than the north pier a vessel will not be thrown onto the north pier but it can be a challenging few moments.



The more the heavy weather goes northeast, that is blowing directly into the harbour entrance, the more challenging it is. In a strong northeasterly the helmsman should continue to remain guarded after passing between the piers as 200 metres upriver the vessel has still to round hard to starboard with a following seaway. After this, the seaway immediately abates.




Vessels that draw 2.5 metres or more should also consider tides when entering during heavy offshore winds. The least depth in the entrance channel is 3.2 metres and it would be best advised to come in at half-tide or above to avoid striking the bottom on the trough of a wave.

A seasoned skipper will know the behaviour of their vessel in these circumstances. If it has however blown a steady northeasterly of Force 6 or more for the preceding six hours the unfamiliar would best be advised not to attempt Arklow’s entrance. Heavy conditions from the east and southeast are less dangerous but nonetheless challenging on entry.

How to get in?

Use southeast Ireland's coastal overview Dublin Bay to Rosslare Harbour for seaward approaches. Arklow Head, a mile south of the entrance to the harbour, will be conspicuous from seaward. It is located 2.2 miles north of Kilmichael Point. Arklow Rock, a conspicuous 123 metres high hill, rises close southwest of the head. The hill is being reduced by quarrying and a private Roadstone Jetty, situated 400 metres north of Arklow Head, is used to transport the stone.



The Roadstone Jetty extends 250 metres from the shore and is protected by a breakwater which extends out much further and is often unlit. This jetty should not be approached or used by leisure craft and vessels approaching at night should make a note not to confuse the jetty lights for those of the harbour entrance.

Roadstone Jetty – position: 52° 46.800’N, 006° 08.840’W

Vessels approaching Arklow should maintain a constant watch for fishermen's pots. They are usually indicated by coloured jerry cans and should be expected approximately 3 miles to the north and 1 mile to the south of the harbour.




Well before the initial fix Arklow will have already been made obvious by a 25-metre high white factory with a 44-metre high chimney on the shore close northwest of the north pier. At night a light Fl WR 6s 10m 13M is shown from a framework tower on the south pierhead and LFl.G.7s 7m 10M on the North Pier. If these are not seen it is most likely due to a maintenance issue.



The harbour’s entrance channel is 55-metre wide and northeast facing. Before a final approach is made in any challenging conditions, sit off until it is possible to see right down the first 200 metres of the harbour’s entrance channel. This is as far as the first bend where the river curves to the right or northwest.



Once the alignment is assured come straight in mid-channel closely monitoring and giving due allowance to the tidal stream that runs across the mouth of the entrance.





Immediately within the entrance favour the north side as there are three Groynes extending perpendicularly from the South Pier. These breakwaters protect the harbour from heavy north-easterly conditions. At night the heads of these breakwaters are marked by a beacon Fl R. Once in and around the first bend and approaching the dock area it immediately becomes well sheltered. There is a 3-knot harbour speed limit and you can elect to go to the Fish Harbour basin or the marina.




The first berthing opportunities are in Fish Harbour. This is a basin on the south side of the river about 600 metres in from of the harbour mouth. It has a new pontoon here supporting 20 berths with depths of 2.8. On the seaward quay of the basin a yacht may lie alongside a fishing boat, many of which are scarcely used or laid-up, but keep clear of the pilot launch.




Within the basin, it is all soft mud and generally has up to 2.8 metres but the southern side dries. The entrance is 14 metres wide and has at least a depth of 1.7 metres. Approach the entrance mid-river and swing hard to come in through the entrance.




Beyond the Fish Harbour and close south of the marina is a turning basin. It is 122 metres long and 107 metres wide and situated a ⅓ of a mile above the entrance. Before this, the river shallows abruptly from the southwest side and a sandbank has emerged with a danger mark just before the local small boat moorings. This danger mark is, as often as not, laying on its side in the dry and indistinguishable so keep a sharp eye out. The marina and pontoon are therefore best approached between the middle of the river and the northern bank.




The entrance to Arklow Marina is to starboard about 100 metres further upriver from the Fish Harbour entrance, immediately at the west end of the commercial North Quay. It is made conspicuous by a tall red mast light immediately upriver of the Marina entrance. A pontoon is situated upriver of the marina entrance on the north quay which has 30 berths.




The small inner harbour has 42 berths set into a small basin that is constrained and has little turning space. It has limited capacity and can only cater for medium-sized boats of 10-12 metres or less. Larger vessels are best advised to berth alongside the 100 metres long pontoon on the north bank. Do not proceed beyond the end of the pontoon as depths quickly shoal towards the bridge.




Those planning to anchor off should avoid anchoring 400 metres north of the entrance where a submarine pipeline extends due east for about half a mile from the coast. Beyond this, there is an area of spoil ground.

Why visit here?

Arklow's name, in Irish 'An tInbhear Mór' was first recorded in the Gesta Regis Henrici, the Chronicle of the reigns of Henry II and Richard I, as 'Herkelou, Herketelou'. Founded by the Vikings it is fitting that the name is derived from an Old Norse personal name 'Arnkell' or 'Arnketill' combined with 'ló' meaning 'meadow'. So 'Arnkell-ló' means 'meadow of Arnkell' with 'Arknell' being a Viking chieftain and 'ló' or 'meadow' being his claimed bounty of taken land. The Norse name was never adopted into the Irish language with the Irish name, 'An tInbhear Mór', meaning 'the great estuary' or 'broad estuary', so it is perhaps telling what they felt about the incursion.




Nevertheless, the Vikings settled here in the 9th-century making it one of the earliest of the raiders Irish towns. Their original settlement was on the low-lying floodplain on the north side of Arklow, an area that is now known as Arklow Town Marsh. The Norse influence dominated for more than two centuries until the Normans arrived led by Theobald Walter. They quickly took control of the town building Ormonde Castle on the site of the overwhelmed Viking fortification; the remains of which are located on Parade Ground today. The Anglo-Norman King Henry II, king of England, granted Theobald Fitzwalter the town of Arklow along with a large amount of the hinterland in 1185. It remained in the hands of his family, the Butlers, throughout medieval times. In 1264 the Dominicans were granted a large tract of land that is now known as Abbeylands. On this, they built an Abbey that became known as the Priory of the True Cross or Holy Cross.

During the Wars of the Three Kingdoms in September 1649, Oliver Cromwell and his army arrived at Arklow on route to take Wexford. After an initial contact that destroyed the well-aged Ormonde Castle, he accepted the surrender of the town sparing it the carnage that was to occur in Wexford. Arklow, however, would not escape so lightly 150 years later when it was to be the site of one of the bloodiest and pivotal battles of the 1798 United Irishmen rebellion.



The 1798 Rebellion was an infamous failed Rebellion on the road to Irish Independence, influenced by other nations that believed in their own right to self-rule and freedom such as France and The United States, their Revolutions acting as an inspiration to many Irish Rebels with a belief that Ireland should and would be an Independent Nation, those who celebrated an idealized Ireland celebrating revolution and freedom, an ideal that swept a nation. Arklow stood between Wexford, the seat of rebellion, and its spread into Wicklow and onward onto the streets of the capital Dublin. The advance was anticipated and a force of 1,700 men was hastily sent from Dublin to heavily fortify the town with barricades and artillery placements on all the approaches.




The battle took place on the 9th of June when a force of United Irishmen from Wexford, estimated to be made up of 10,000 small farmhands, launched an assault on the town. With little or no arms, training or leadership, the rebels led by a priest Fr. Michael Murphy were no match for the British forces, who prevailed. The rebel casualties, including Fr. Michael Murphy, were estimated to be about 1,000. No casualties were recorded on the British side, but it is thought to be in the region of 100 dead and wounded. The defeat at Arklow, following two previous bloody repulses at New Ross and Bunclody, enclosed the rebellion within the borders of County Wexford.




With its advance halted, the revolt retrenched and the British forces readied between 13,000 and 18,000 troops to pour in and crush it. The United Irishmen leadership issued a call to all its fighters to gather at Vinegar Hill to meet the army in one great, decisive battle. The number assembled was estimated at between 16,000 and 20,000, but the majority lacked firearms and had to rely on pikes as their main weapon. The camp also included many thousands of women and children who were staying there for protection against the rampaging military. Never was the outcome in doubt and the poorly equipped rebels were quickly overcome by the superior might of the British Army. It marked a turning point in the rebellion, as it was the last attempt by the United Irishmen to hold and defend ground against the British military. But it was not the immediate crushing blow that the army wanted as fighting continued in the form of mobile warfare, raids, and large scale, guerilla-type operations.




Founded by sea raiders on a river estuary Arklow always retained a strong maritime tradition through its trials and tribulations. The Avoca River played a vital role in this by providing a transport conduit for the import and export of minerals to service the upstream mining activities. The port itself focused on fishing, but improvements in the late 19th-century enabled an extensive fleet to service the trade from the Avoca mines that exported quarried stone from Arklow Rock, and chemicals for the Arklow Manure Company, and Kynoch’s munitions factory. This maritime tradition provided the main source of employment and influenced the location of houses, the development of local schools, shops and services. The town at one time had the largest fishing fleets based in the Irish Sea and a thriving shipbuilding industry.




Notable vessels from its livery include the national sail training vessel Asgard II and Gypsy Moth III the yacht made immortal by Sir Francis Chichester. Chichester made sailing history when he achieved the first non-stop circumnavigation on Gypsy Moth IV. He, however, made his first headlines in 1960 on a boat called Gypsy Moth III when he won the first Observer single-handed transatlantic race in a 'half a crown' challenge with Blondie Hassler. Gypsy Moth III had been designed and built by Jack Tyrrell in Arklow, and Chichester always considered a better vessel than his circumnavigating Gypsy Moth IV. In Chichester's book 'The Lonely Sea and the Sky' he recounted how he knew how far Gypsy Moth IV had gone over by the indentation from a falling bottle of Whisky that had been gifted to him by Jack Tyrrell.


Recent times have seen large reductions in cargo and fishing and the shipyards have closed. However the presence of the port and associated maritime heritage contributes greatly to the character of the town. It retains its national shipping significance by being the headquarters of Arklow Shipping that maintains 37 cargo ships which is the largest fleet in Ireland.

Today Arklow is a thriving commuter town with many residents travelling daily to work in Dublin. With a population of 13,009, as reported in the 2011 census, it is the third-largest town in the county. The old Viking area of Arklow Town Marsh is a proposed Natural Heritage Area of ecological importance and artefacts from its Viking period are on display in Dublin’s National Museum of Ireland. The Abbey was destroyed in 1796 but the site is currently maintained as Abbeylands Park which is the location of the historic town, castle, church and graveyard. Two memorials commemorate the 1798 battle, one on Parade Ground and one on Coolgreany Road. Arklow’s maritime heritage is well remembered in its Maritime Museum, located at the Bridgewater Shopping Centre.

From a boating point of view, Arklow is an excellent place to wait out foul weather, provision up and attend to repairs in perfect security from all weather conditions. The safe berth it offers also makes it an ideal location to visit many local beauty spots of County Wicklow including Glenmalure, Glendalough and Avoca.

What facilities are available?

Diesel fuel is available from the fisherman’s dock, and water and electricity are available at the marina plus shower and toilet facilities. The pontoon at the Fisherman's Harbour has no toilets, showers or WiFi. It has water and power but no hoses. The town has a boatyard, a chandlery close to the river opposite the marina, and engineers but no sailmaker. Bottled gas is available locally in the town, along with all the shops, pubs and restaurants you would expect from a large provincial town, all within walking distance of the marina & dock. There are two superstores almost overlooking the marina.

Arklow has excellent transport links. Rail connections are provided by Iarnród Éireann along the Dublin-Rosslare railway line, including commuter and intercity services in and out of the capital. Bus Éireann provides several routes through Arklow, including the 002, 006, 133 and 384 services. Wexford Bus also operates several services day and night linking Arklow with Dublin Airport. It is also adjacent to the N11/M11 Dublin to Rosslare motorway.

Any security concerns?

There are no specific issues in Arklow, but as with any small provincial town lock up as you would do normally when the vessel is unattended.

With thanks to:

Paul Barrett, local boatman of many years and Brian Lennon. Photography with thanks to Michael Harpur, Brian Lennon, 私の写真, Karhallarn and David Quinn.