Dromore West is a small village on the N59 between Sligo town and Ballina, where the road from the coast at Easky meets the main road south. The 2022 census recorded 292 people. The village sits on the Dunneil river, which runs through the middle and out to the Atlantic at Aughris Head a few kilometres north.
There is not a great deal in the village core - a pub, a shop, a small park. What there is around it is the Ox Mountains to the south and the long flat north Sligo coast to the north. Knockalongy, at 544 metres the highest point in the Oxes, rises directly behind the village; the climb from the village side is a serious bog-walk with no marked path. The coast at Aughris Head, ten minutes north on the back road, has a small fishing pier, a beach and one of the most consistently busy pubs on the west coast - The Beach Bar, an old thatched cottage. The R297 turns north here for Easky and the surf country.
Treat Dromore West as a quiet roadside village between bigger places. Use it as a coffee stop on the Sligo-Ballina drive, or as a base for the coast walks at Aughris and the Ox ridge above.
Three things every local will eventually mention. Read these and you've already understood more than most day-trippers do.
Dromore West sits at the N59 / R297 junction halfway between Sligo town and Ballina. The R297 turns north here for Easky and the coast.
Next stops → 02 The riverThe Dunneil river runs through Dromore West and out to Aughris Head and the Atlantic. A wooded river walk in the village. Salmon and sea trout in season.
Walks & outings → 03 The hillKnockalongy (544 m) is the highest summit in the Ox Mountains and rises south of Dromore West. A serious bog walk to the top.
Walks & outings →The reason to come back. The things every local will eventually tell you about, usually after the second pint.
Wear waterproofs. Bring a sandwich. Tell someone where you're going if it's the mountain.
There is no bad time. There are different times.
Salmon up the river. Coast walks dry by April. Knockalongy cleared of snow.
Aughris Beach Bar at its peak - sessions, chowder, late evenings on the headland.
Sea trout late August. Atlantic light at its best on the coast.
Wet, often dark. Knockalongy not the place to be. The Beach Bar is the warm answer.
If a local was sitting beside you, this is the bit where they'd lean in.
Aughris Head is five minutes off the main road and one of the better short cliff loops on this coast. The Beach Bar is the bonus.
There is no path and no shelter. The summit is a featureless bog dome in poor visibility. Pick a clear day.
Sligo to Dromore West is 35 minutes on the N59. Ballina is 35 minutes west. Easky is 10 minutes north on the R297.
Bus Éireann 446 (Sligo-Ballina via Enniscrone) stops at Dromore West.
No station - nearest is Sligo MacDiarmada (35 min) or Ballina (35 min).
Ireland West Airport Knock (NOC) is 1h. Dublin is 3h.