Clonakilty Harbour, or Ring, is situated on the southwest coast of Ireland, about twenty miles southwest of Kinsale at the head of Clonakilty Bay that lies between Galley Head and Seven Heads. It offers a tucked away anchorage off a remote pier where boats, that can take to the hard, may also lay alongside and dry.

Ring provides a good anchorage that is protected from all quarters with very good mud holding. The only exception to this is in strong south-westerlies, where at high water, it can become uncomfortable. Getting in, however, requires careful navigation. The entrance is restricted by a shallow bar and then a narrow channel that is subject to shallow water at low tide.

The approaches to Ring Quay are shallow and drying and can only be availed of in all but calmest conditions. Heavy seas break on the bar in any developed conditions with a southerly element. During these conditions entering or exiting are impossible.

Keyfacts for Clonakilty Harbour (Ring)

Position and approaches

Haven position

51° 36.244' N, 008° 50.921' W

Inside the harbour in 1.4 metres as marked on the Admiralty chart.

What is the initial fix?

This waypoint is on the five metre contour, half a mile out from the green perch indicating ‘Wind Rock’ and the harbour entrance. It is equidistant from Muckruss Head and Ring Head in inner bay. The perch lies on a bearing of thirty degrees from this waypoint.

What are the key points of the approach?

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What's the story here?

Clonakilty Bay is a bight that lies between Galley Head and bold bluff Seven Heads, or Leganagh Point. The bay is about ten miles wide and has a high rocky shoreline. Clonakilty Harbour is set into the northwest part of the bay, entered between Muckruss Head and Ring Head. The inner harbour is largely taken up by Inchydoney Island that once stood free of the mainland and is now linked by two causeways. To the northeast of Inchydoney Island, in an inner harbour, lies Clonakilty Harbour or Ring, that dries at low water save for a few channels.




Ring Quay is situated just over a ½ mile north of Ring Head and approached via a narrow channel that extends northward between Inchydoney Island and the eastern shore. It has two drying piers that are used by small fishing craft and some leisure craft. It makes for a beautiful haven but one that is more suitable for vessels that can ideally operate under power with drafts of 1 metre or less. Although it is possible to anchor afloat ideally it would be best if a vessel could take to the ground when the tide is away.




Boats typically anchor in the channel 400 metres south of the quay where about 1.4 to 1.7 metres will be found at low water. South Ring Quay has about 1.8 to 2 metres of water at its extremity, where vessels generally lie. Vessels that can take to the ground at low water lie alongside the pier.

How to get in?

Use Ireland’s coastal overview for Cork Harbour to Mizen Head for seaward approaches Clonakilty Bay is entered between Seven Heads and Galley Head. Its shores are high and rocky with the exception of a ½ mile stretch of sandy beach in the vicinity of Clonakilty Harbour. Seven Heads, its eastern extremity, is a bold bluff headland with an old signal tower standing at an elevation of 40 metres close north of Leganagh Point.




Two smaller World War II watchtower can be seen close southwest of the telegraph tower.





The western extremity of the bay is made known by the conspicuous 37 metres high Galley Head. It appears like an island from both west and east. The ruin of Dundeady Castle can be seen on the low neck that connects it with the mainland. A prominent lighthouse, a 21-metre high white tower, stands on the extremity of the headland.

Galley Head – lighthouse Fl (5) 20s 53m 23M position: 51°31.798'N, 008°57.210'W

A ½ mile west of Galley Head, and awash at high water, is the head's principal danger of Doolic Rock. The rock is steep-to on the north and east, but foul ground extends 300 metres to the southwest of it.




The deep-set Clout Rock lies ½ mile southeast of the head that with 9.6 metres over it has plenty of cover for leisure vessels but could be subject to breakers in heavy weather. Halfway between Clout Rock and the headland lies the Inner Clout. The Inner Clout has 5.5 metres over it that could present an issue in a deep swell. Around these rocks are depths of from 11 to 20 metres.





In good weather, leisure craft can use the channel between Doolic Rock and Galley Head. There is a transit that clears both Cloghna Rock, in Glandore Bay, and Doolic Rock. This is a line of bearing of 320°T of the pointed spire of Rosscarbery Cathedral just open of Creggan Point situated 1 mile to the southeast of the cathedral, and it leads between the Doolic Rock and Galley Head in from 16 to 20 metres of water.




Vessels will find no obstructions offshore of Clonakilty Bay on an approach to Seven Heads. All of Clonakilty Bay’s dangers fringe the inner shore. Most are well covered. From well to seaward the location of the entrance will be made conspicuous by the Inchydoney Island Lodge and Spa Hotel, situated on Inchydoney Island, with the bay's single stretch of sandy beach in the bay at its foot.




Outside of those in Dunworley Bay, Clonakilty Bays rocks are mostly deep. On the eastern side Sloop Rock, the outermost danger, has a depth of 3.2 metres and lies about 1-mile west-northwest ward of Lehenagh Point.

Sloop Rock - position: 51° 35.220’N 008° 48.222’W

The principal danger for leisure craft on the is the awash Sheep Rock that lies a ½ mile east by southeast of Ring Head.

Sheep Rock - position: 51° 35.476’N 008° 50.119’W

On the western side of the bay is Anchor Rock needs attention with any groundswell, with a least depth of 2.3 metres, and it lies ⅓ of a mile northeastward of Duneen Head.

Anchor Rock - position: 51° 34.800’N 008° 51.700’W

It is also advisable to keep at least ½ a mile from the coast between Galley Head and Ringlea Point situated three miles to the northeast.




Before making an approach it is important to check that there is sufficient water to cross the bar which has not more than 0.6 metres over it at low water. Vessels tide-waiting during offshore winds will find a good anchorage outside the bar, with regular soundings to the shore on a clean sandy bottom.




From the Initial Fix the Hotel, situated on Inchydoney Island, with its sandy beach will be prominent. Ring Head will be clearly visible and on closer approaches, the entrance’s West Cardinal Beacon will open close to the shore of Ring Head.



This is the Wind Rock marker at the entrance that is just awash at high water and dries to 0.5 metres.

Wind Rock - West Cardinal Beacon position: 51° 35 .677’N 008° 50.986‘W



Once Wind Rock perch is located, advance towards it on a bearing of 30°T and cross the bar. Continue to pass the Wind Rock West Beacon close to starboard.



Above Wind Rock the beach stretches almost entirely across from Inchydoney Island on the west side, and the deep channel runs close to the eastern shore. It runs close alongside the highland of Ring Head on its eastern side approximately 75 – 100 metres off the shoreline.



The channel has a low water controlling depth of about 0.2 metres at the entrance and 1.7 metres thereafter but there are some holes with 3.0 and 3.7 metres of water. After Wind Rock, it is marked by three starboard perches and one starboard buy on the east side. One last port buoy marks the channel's outer bend as it turns the headland and makes for the pier at Ring.




Proceed with a keen eye on the sounder up the access channel for approximately 1 mile until the quay at South Ring will open to the east.




Anchor in the channel at Ring according to draft. There are two small drying piers at the village alongside which craft can lie aground. The pier has 1.8 or 2.1 metres of water at its head, where vessels generally lie aground.




Clonakilty town is at the head of the harbour, 2 miles above Ring. It is one of the principal towns in West Cork and a popular resort. Depths drop off rapidly after the second pier at Ring but 1.5 to 1.8 metres are available over the mudflats at high water spring tides.

Why visit here?

Clonakilty, in Irish Cloich Na Coillte, sometimes Cloch Na gCoillte, is mostly referred to by locals as simply Clon. Cloich Na Coillte is derived from 'cloch', the Irish for 'stone' or 'stone building', and 'coillte' meaning 'woods', so 'stone (castle) of the woods'.




The name goes back to the 14th-century when a ten-mile strip of fallow woodland called Tuath na gCoillte, the land of the woods, divided the barony of Ibane (Ardfield) and Barryroe reaching the sea at Clonakilty Bay. A castle called Coyltes Castell stood between this, that in time became Cloch Na gCoillte, that was conjoined to be referred to as Cloghnykyltye and overtime became the area's present name. This castle is thought to have been on the site of the town's present Church of Ireland and a stone from the castle is now sited at Asna Square in Clonakilty town, which is known as 'The Kilty Stone'.




The area has been defended since prehistoric times as the, now reconstructed, Lios na gCon ringfort of the first millennium AD illustrates. Large scale castle construction took place throughout the area after the Norman Conquest when over 150 castles were built, both by the Normans and by local clan chieftains. Lord Arundel of the Strand is believed to have built one at Ring near Clonakilty. Castles were built during this time at Timoleague, Glandore, Seven Heads, Dun na nGafl (Dunagall near Baltimore) and Dn na Sead (Baltimore) according to the Annals of Innisfallen. Almost every headland of this area had a castle erected upon it.




There are scant remains of these tower houses because they were made from timber. By the second half of the 16th-century, the amount of timber tower houses in the area lead to a shortage of substantial trees. It is thought that the resultant deforestation led to the silting up of the important harbours the structures were built to defend such as here at Clonakilty and neighbouring Rosscarbery, and Timoleague.




The town of Clonakilty owes its importance to the family of Boyle. Following a succession of wars against English rule, that reached a finale in the Battle of Kinsale in 1601, Ireland saw the collapse of the old Gaelic order with the ensuing 'Flight of the Earls'. The plantation of the south by English Protestants now began in earnest. Sir Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Cork, arranged for 100 families to come, mainly from Somerset, to the ancient settlement of Cloich Na Coillte. In 1613, he obtained a charter of incorporation. The town prospered despite ongoing attacks by the dispossessed Irish.

Many fine buildings were erected up to as late as the 18th-century in which much of the town was built and the back of a buoyant linen industry. During the following centuries, its pleasant location at the head of the sea inlet became detrimental to the trade of the town. This was owing to the increased silting that began to prevent all but small vessels from approaching the harbour. But the town continued and is today the area’s provincial town.

Today Clonakilty's 5,000 permanent inhabitants' swell by as much as 20% during the summer season’s tourist influx. This is because it is a pretty, well-kept and well-established award-winning gateway to the scenic area of West Cork. Although the town has a historical feel, its new pedestrian-friendly streetscape boasts wide footpaths, cobbled paving and leafy trees. The town is also renowned for its colourful and meticulously maintained shop and pub facades, directional signs and street names. The centre of the town is very picturesque with meticulously maintained shop and pub fronts. All are painted in bright colours that are often further decorated by hanging baskets of greenery.




Although Clonakilty is a small town, it has a buoyant social scene. Most of the pubs offer some form of music and entertainment to suit all tastes. This ranges from traditional groups, local bands, karaoke, well-known Irish and international musicians and entertainers. It will be easy to find live entertainment most days of the week during the sailing season. Notable in the town is Clonakilty’s Roman Catholic Church which is a beautiful piece of architecture and is comparable to Cobh’s. The area is also noted for its model train attraction that overlooks the estuary, and a renowned annual Clonakilty Agricultural Show. The latter has made its black pudding and yoghurts famous.




Historically the area is notable as the birthplace of Michael Collins, leader of the IRA and later the Free State movement, which campaigned for independence from the United Kingdom around 1900-1921. He is widely regarded as one of Ireland's leading historical figures. He was killed during the Irish Civil War and a statue of Michael Collins was erected in Clonakilty near Emmet Square in 2002.




Those looking for the pleasures of the coastline will find one of the finest beaches in the country fronting Inchydoney Island, passed on the port hand side on entry. Inchydoney, called in old Irish documents Inis-Duine, the 'island of the man or person', the beach is a Blue flag beach with two vast stretches of sand, separated by a spur called the Virgin Mary’s Bank. That, plus the facilities of the extensive hotel above, make it a very worthwhile dinghy run on a fine sunny day. Inshore of Inchydoney Island, there are wonderful walks through picturesque countryside, that is hilly and primarily used for dairy farming. Apart from the lack of forestry, the coast is much as it was in medieval times.



From a boating perspective, Ring is a beautiful sandy estuary in one of the most beautiful parts of the country. It provides a quiet rural retreat for the visiting yachtsman with moderate draughts. Although it has little in the way of facilities, it does have two public houses, one of which serves very good food, to reward those who dared to cross the entrance channel.

What facilities are available?

There are no facilities available at Ring save for two public houses one of which serves very good food. The provincial town of Clonakilty, within 4km, will have almost anything that is needed. A taxi would be necessary to carry purchases back to South Ring.

Clonakilty is located 45 minutes on the main N71 through West Cork from Cork City
and is approximately 40 minutes from Cork International Airport. The airport has regular scheduled flights to Dublin, London, Birmingham, Manchester, Paris, Amsterdam and Frankfurt, to name just some of the destinations it serves.

Bus Éireann operates an extensive bus service to and from the town throughout the day and there are numerous private bus, hackney and taxi operators providing a 24-hour service in the town and out to Ring.

Any security concerns?

Never an issue known to have occurred to a vessel at Ring.

With thanks to:

Anthony McCarthy, local yachtsman.