Erris Head

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title: "Erris Head" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["special-areas-of-conservation-in-the-republic-of-ireland", "headlands-of-county-mayo", "marine-reserves-of-the-republic-of-ireland", "protected-areas-of-county-mayo", "gaeltacht-places-in-county-mayo", "erris"] description: "Promontory in County Mayo, Ireland" topic_path: "geography/ireland" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erris_Head" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Promontory in County Mayo, Ireland ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox Protected area"]

Field	Value
name	Erris Head
alt_name	Ceann Iorrais
iucn_category	IV
map	Ireland
map_caption	Map of Ireland
map_width	300
photo	Erris Head.jpg
photo_caption	Erris Head
location	County Mayo, Ireland
coordinates
coords_ref
governing_body	National Parks and Wildlife Service (Ireland)
::

| name = Erris Head | alt_name = Ceann Iorrais | iucn_category = IV | map = Ireland | map_caption = Map of Ireland | map_width = 300 | photo = Erris Head.jpg | photo_caption = Erris Head | location = County Mayo, Ireland | coordinates = | coords_ref = | area = | visitation_num = | visitation_year = | governing_body = National Parks and Wildlife Service (Ireland) Erris Head () is a promontory at the northernmost tip of the Mullet Peninsula, located in the barony of Erris in northwest County Mayo, Ireland. It is used as a landmark by mariners and weather forecasters, and is also a scenic viewpoint, with views of the Atlantic Ocean and steep rocky cliffs. It is not served by any road and can only be reached by crossing a number of fields.

Special Area of Conservation

Erris Head has been designated a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) under the European Union's Habitats Directive.

This dry heath supports juniper, bearberry, crowberry and heather. There are wet flushes and areas of wet heath, and here grow blunt-flowered rush, three species of sundew and the rare marsh helleborine orchid.

Seabirds nest on the cliffs, with fulmars and great black-backed gulls being most numerous, and peregrine falcons and choughs also breed here. In winter, barnacle geese feed on the grasslands above the cliff. Irish hares and common frogs occur on the headland, and grey seals can often be seen at the foot of the cliffs.

Marine reserve

A section of sea, stretching 200 m from the base of the cliffs, is included in the conservation site. It was included because it is used by the seabirds nesting on the cliffs at Erris Head.

References

References

1. "Ceann Iorrais". Placenames Database of Ireland.
2. "Erris Head". Discover Ireland.
3. (November 2016). "Erris Head SAC (site code: 001501): Site Synopsis". [[National Parks and Wildlife Service (Ireland).

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::