Ballydonegan Beach (Allihies)

Positioned towards the end of the rugged Beara Peninsula, Ballydonegan Beach is one of the most southwesterly in all Ireland. A generous sweep of near-white sand this beach is both remote and beautiful, set among a landscape of fields and rolling hills.

The beach here is also known as Allihies, and this is also the name of a nearby copper mine that operated until the 1960s. There are still a number of remains of the old mine buildings dotting the backdrop of the beach.

Perhaps the most remarkable thing about the mine is that without it we wouldn’t have quite such a beautiful beach. The quartz sand that was left over after processing the copper ore was washed down to Ballydonegan Beach over the decades and this is what gives the beach its sparkling white sand.

Ballydonegan is near the southern end of the Wild Atlantic Way, so receives a few more visitors than you would expect given its remote location. That doesn’t mean it is likely to be busy, although parking can be a little difficult on a sunny summer’s afternoon.