Croaghaun

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Cliffs of Croaghaun, looking towards Achill Head

3-D map

Croaghaun (Irish: Cruachán) is a mountain in County Mayo, Ireland. It has the highest cliffs in Ireland and the second-highest in Europe (664 metres).

Croaghaun is the most westerly peak of Achill Island, and its second-highest mountain. Its cliffs lie on the northern slope of the mountain. Contrary to popular belief, the cliffs at Slieve League in County Donegal are not Ireland's highest as they stand at 595 metres (Ordnance Survey of Ireland, 2007). The cliffs at Croaghaun can only be seen by hiking around or to the summit of the mountain, or from the sea. The cliffs are part of a vast array of sheer rock faces which start south of Keem Bay and loop around the uninhabited northwest of the island, by Achill Head and Saddle Head and east to Slievemore, at places dropping vertically into the pounding waters of the Atlantic Ocean. The views for the top of the cliffs are nothing short of breathtaking and the unusual corries and unique rock types make this location a hiker's paradise.