Get in
[edit]
Map of Enniscrone
Highway N59 follows the coast all the way from Sligo to Galway. It cuts inland to bypass Enniscrone, turn off onto R297.
Bus Éireann 458 runs every couple of hours daily from Enniskillen across the border in County Fermanagh to Sligo (for trains and buses from Dublin), then west along the coast to Enniscrone and Ballina in County Mayo. To Enniscrone from Ballina is 20 min and from Sligo is an hour. The village bus stop is on Main Street, corner with Church Lane, by the hardware store.
Get around
[edit]Walk. No local taxi, it would have to come from Sligo.
See
[edit]- Cliff Baths next to Waterfront House Hotel are County Sligo's answer to Lisbon's Torre de Belém, a little white castle-cum-wedding cake perched on the beach, built in 1890. The building and baths within are long closed but you can get just as cold in the tide-filled pools outside.
- O'Dowd's Castle at the east edge of the village is the shell of a 17th-century mansion. Nearby is the equally scrappy ruin of Valentine's Church. Both were ruined by the invasion of 1798.
- A Boeing 767 sits south end of the village. In 2016 it was laboriously transported here from Shannon Airport, where it had been abandoned by the bankrupt Russian airline Transaero. It was supposed to form the centrepiece of an offbeat accommodation complex: old buses, railway carriages, why not a hovercraft or funicular cabin. The project flopped and the site is closed, but you see enough from the street.
- 1 Easky is a village 10 km northeast of Enniscrone on the coast road. The bus from Sligo comes this way. There are remains of another O'Dowd fortress, the turret of a 19th-century signal tower, and an abbey and graveyard. Easky has pubs and accommodation.
Do
[edit]
- Surfing here is relatively sedate and suitable for beginners.
- Seaweed baths are available, see County Sligo#Do for a description.
- Enniscrone Golf Club is southwest edge of the village. The Dunes championship course is 7033 yards par 73, Scurmore course is nine holes. Visitor day rates in 2025 are €235 April-Oct, less in winter.
- Wild Atlantic Way is a coastal itinerary from Donegal to Kinsale in County Cork, 2500 km in all. The section from Sligo through Enniscrone to Ballina is self-evident.
- Black Pig Festival is a week in late July. Various fun events and races, including racing on pigs, inspired by a legend of a giant pig chasing round the county until slain at Muckduff just south of the village. It was poisonous and couldn't be eaten.
Buy
[edit]- Centra is the main store, open M-Sa 7AM-10PM, Su 8AM-9PM.
Eat
[edit]
- Surf's Up cafe is open daily 9AM-4PM.
- Gilroy's Bar and Áit Eile Restaurant is open M-F 4-11:30PM, Sa noon-1AM, Su noon-11:30PM.
- Pilot Bar does good seafood daily 1-11PM.
- Spicy Affair serves Indian classics daily 5-11PM.
- Waterfront Hotel (see Sleep) has a good restaurant open daily for dinner plus Sunday lunch.
Drink
[edit]- McNulty's is on Main St. Hopkins is a trad pub open daily noon-midnight.
- Wild Atlantic Inn is 1 km northeast of the village on R297, at the junction with R298.
Sleep
[edit]- 1 Diamond Coast Hotel, Main St, Enniscrone F26 E9F9, ☏ +353 96 26000. Comfy modern hotel on main street. B&B double €150.
- Atlantic Caravan Park south end of the village nowadays only offers long-stay static caravans, no facilities for tourers, mobile homes or campers.
- 2 Ocean Sands Hotel, Main St, Enniscrone F26 Y3Y9, ☏ +353 96 26700, [email protected]. Good mid-range spa hotel. Dog-tolerant rather than friendly. B&B double €180.
- 3 Waterfront Hotel, Cliff Rd, Enniscrone F26 P9Y2, ☏ +353 96 37120. Smart comfy hotel with good restaurant. B&B double €170.
- Ballina 15 km south has a better choice of accommodation.
Connect
[edit]As of June 2025, Enniscrone and its approach roads have 4G from Three and Vodafone, but only a poor scratchy signal from Eir. 5G has not reached this area.
Go next
[edit]- Ballina is the gateway to County Mayo, wild and little-developed.
- Sligo is WB Yeats country, the base for exploring prehistoric Carrowkeel and the mountains of Knocknarea and Benbulbin.
- Strandhill near Sligo has bigger waves for surfing.