Overview
Drumanoo Head was very nearly the site of a lighthouse. In the 1830s, as traffic into Killybegs grew, the headland at the harbour mouth was considered for a navigational light, but the Ballast Board went instead for the more exposed Rotten Island offshore, where the light was first lit in September 1838. Drumanoo never got its tower. Today it is a low, grassy headland above Donegal Bay near Killybegs, on the Wild Atlantic Way. The working light that marks the harbour entrance stands separately on Rotten Island, and the Irish Lights page on Rotten Island tells its story.
Be honest with yourself about what it is before you set out. There is a view over the bay towards Fintra and the open Atlantic, a stretch of rough grass and salt-washed rock, and quiet.
Seeing the headland
Leave the headland fields and exposed rocks undisturbed, and keep away from private fields. For a view of the bay, use public waterfront routes in Killybegs or check the visitor access at Fintra Beach. There are no facilities on the headland itself, so plan on bringing what you need.
Nearby
The sandy Fintra Beach is a short way east. For more on the coast’s seafaring past, working Killybegs and the Rotten Island lighthouse fill in the picture. West of here the road climbs on towards the Slieve League cliffs and the Glengesh Pass.