Easky is a small village on the north coast of Sligo, thirty kilometres west of Sligo town on the R297. The Easkey River runs out to the Atlantic here, the pier sits on the east bank with a ruined tower house on top of it, and either side of the river mouth two reef breaks throw up waves that have brought surfers from the rest of the world to this corner of the country for fifty years.
The surfing is the headline. The 1979 Pro/Am World Championships landed here when most of Ireland didn't know it had a coastline worth riding, and the Irish Surfing Association put its headquarters on the main street in 1995 and stayed. The breaks are not for beginners. In a winter swell with the wind right, the right reef in particular pulls in people who have surfed everywhere and come here on purpose. The rest of the time it's a fishing village of about two hundred and fifty people, a salmon river running through, a few pubs, a shop, weather coming in off the Atlantic with no warning.
The other two things to know about are old. Roslee Castle on the pier was built in 1207 - older than most things you will see standing in this country - and the locals saved it themselves in the 1980s when nobody else would. The Split Rock, a mile south of the village on the way to Dromore West, is a house-sized boulder dumped here by a glacier and cracked clean in two; the story says Fionn split it with a sword. Both are free, neither has a turnstile, and on a wet Tuesday in February you will have them entirely to yourself.
Three things every local will eventually mention. Read these and you've already understood more than most day-trippers do.
Left and right reefs at the mouth of the Easkey. The 1979 Pro/Am World Championships were held here. Irish Surfing set its headquarters in the village in 1995 and never moved.
Stories & lore → 02 Roslee CastleBuilt in 1207 for Oliver McDonnell, who came north to marry an O'Dowd. Held later by the McSweeneys. The locals formed a Save The Castle Fund in the 1980s and pulled it back from the edge.
Walks & outings → 03 Split RockA glacial erratic on the road south of the village, split in two. Folklore says Fionn MacCumhaill cleaved it with a sword strike after a throw from the Ox Mountains came up short. Walk through the gap three times and it shuts on you.
Stories & lore →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.
Quiet, fewer surfers, the days getting long. Salmon fishing opens. A good month for the castle and the rock without company.
Warmest, busiest by Easky standards, which still means not very. Smaller swells most days - a learning season at the breaks. Long evenings for the beach.
Surf season properly begins. Atlantic depressions stack up, the swell comes back, the serious surfers start to show. Storms are part of the deal.
The big swells are here and so is the weather to match. The pubs stay open. The shop stays open. Not much else does. Surfers come anyway.
If a local was sitting beside you, this is the bit where they'd lean in.
Both breaks are reef breaks over hard rock with serious currents at the river mouth. They are not learner waves on any day. Talk to someone in the village or at the surf centre before you go in. Strandhill is a beach break and a better classroom.
Local tradition says the rock will close on you. Take the photo from outside. The story is the whole point.
Roslee is held together by community repair work and weather. Loose stone, sheer drops, no rails. Walk around it. The view from the pier is the view.
Easky is a village of two hundred and fifty people. A pub or two, a shop, somewhere to stay if you book ahead. Sligo town and Ballina are both half an hour away if you need more.
Sligo town to Easky is 40 minutes west on the N59 then the R297 along the coast. Ballina is closer - 30 minutes east on the same R297. The coast road is the scenic one and the slow one.
Local Link Sligo runs a service between Sligo and Ballina via the north coast that calls at Easky. Limited daily, weekdays leaning. Check the current timetable - it is not a frequent route.
Nearest stations are Sligo and Ballina, both about 30-40 minutes by road. No rail to Easky.
Ireland West Knock (NOC) is 1h 10m by car. Donegal (CFN) is 2 hours. Dublin is 3.