View of Murder Hole Beach from Rough Island, a tidal island

Boyeeghter Strand[1] or Boyeeghter Bay, (Irish: Bá Íochtair[2]) commonly known as The Murder Hole Beach, is a beach situated on Rosguill, a peninsula located on the north coast of County Donegal in the north-west of Ulster, the northern province in Ireland.[3] The beach lies at the north-eastern end of Rosguill, being located near Melmore Head.[3] It has cliffs, hills, dunes, and small caves. When the tide is in there are two beaches, which merge into one when the tide is out.[4] Rough Island is a small tidal island located approximately 15 metres offshore. The beach is not suitable for swimming.[5][6]

The area is undeveloped with no direct road access,[7] and significant traffic issues were reported during August 2020.[8][9] Prior to 2022, beach access was possible only via a route across private land,[6][10][11] and an increase in visitors during 2018 prompted a local landowner to post a notice about access concerns.[12] By April 2022, another local landowner had built a carpark and spent several "months developing a pathway at Melmore [..providing access..] from a different route".[6]

Etymology

The English name of the beach, Boyeeghter Strand, derives from the Irish Trá Bhá Íochtair meaning the 'strand of the lower (or northern) bay'.[1]

The common name of the beach, Murder Hole Beach, is rumoured to originate from the nineteenth-century, when a young woman reputedly fell from a cliff near the beach. Other reports suggest that the name is derived from how the dangerous currents make swimming perilous.[13]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Trá Bhá Íochtair / Boyeeghter Srand". logainm.ie. Irish Placenames Commission. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
  2. ↑ "Bá Íochtair/Boyeeghter Bay". logainm.ie. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  3. 1 2 Donegal (part) (Map). Discovery Series. Dublin: Ordnance Survey of Ireland (OSI). 2012. Sheet 2 (4th Edition).
  4. ↑ "Boyeeghter Bay". thewildatlanticway.com. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
  5. ↑ "Young girl swept out to sea by riptide at Murder Hole Beach, Donegal". extra.ie. Associated Newspapers (Ireland). 26 August 2019. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  6. 1 2 3 "Delight As New Public Pathway Opened To Stunning Murder Hole Beach". donegaldaily.com. Donegal Daily. 23 April 2022. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
  7. ↑ "WATCH: Murder Hole - Ireland's most mysterious secret beach". Independent.ie. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
  8. ↑ "Traffic is proving 'Murder' at famous Donegal beach". donegaldaily.com. Donegal Daily. 4 August 2020. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  9. ↑ "Traffic Mayhem at Murder Hole Beach". highlandradio.com. Highland Radio. 5 August 2020. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  10. ↑ "Bathers at famous Murder Hole Beach warned they risk bull attack". Independent.ie. 21 May 2018. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
  11. ↑ "Locals warn of dangers at the Murder Hole". donegallive.ie. Donegal Live. 12 July 2020. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  12. ↑ "Access to Murder Hole Beach Blocked for Public Safety". donegaldaily.com. Donegal Daily. 21 May 2018. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  13. ↑ "Watch: Donegal's Murder Hole Crowned Ireland's Top Hidden Beach". donegalwoman.ie. Retrieved 25 September 2019.

55°14′16″N 7°48′27″W / 55.23778°N 7.80750°W / 55.23778; -7.80750


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