Omeath is located on the southwest shore of the Carlingford Lough inlet that is set into Ireland's northeast coastline. It offers an anchorage off a small town with a drying slip from which a passenger ferry operates across to Warrenpoint Port at high water.

Omeath is a good anchorage for shallow draft vessels. Like most locations in Carlingford Lough it is exposed to southeasterly conditions where the opposite Warrenpoint would be a better option. The entire inlet is also subject to heavy squalls descending from the hills in northwest winds. The area may be accessed via Warrenpoint Port’s illuminated deep water shipping channel that runs the entire length of the lough. Careful navigation is generally required for this location owing to exceptional currents in the lower lough and at the entrance.

The immediate Omeath area is subject to silting and full of mud and sandbanks. Hence great care should be taken moving outside the marked channel.

Keyfacts for Omeath

Position and approaches

Haven position

54° 5.450' N, 006° 15.010' W

Approximately 500 metres west of the number 22 marker in the Warrenpoint Port channel, in a metre of water at LWS.

What is the initial fix?

500 metres due south of Hellyhunter, a south cardinal buoy Q(6) +FL1.15s. From here the line of the entrance’s leading light beacons may be picked up.

What are the key points of the approach?

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What's the story here?

Omeath is a small village with a slip located on the Cooley Peninsula near the head of Carlingford Lough inlet and on its southwestern shore. Omeath had a population of 600.

The slip and surrounding area dry out completely at low water. Vessels either have to take to the ground close-in or anchor well out in limited water. 1 metre of water, in excellent mud holding, will be found about 300 metres east by northeast of the head of the slip.

How to get in?

Seaward approaches are detailed in eastern Ireland’s coastal overview for Strangford Lough to Dublin Bay . Use the directions provided for Warrenpoint for approaches and the run up the No. 22 Port-hand marker, Fl.R.2s, in the Warrenpoint entrance channel and turn off to port for the town.

The area immediately offshore of Omeath dries out well beyond the end of the slip at low water. Anchor according to draft or conditions. Land at the slip that has water on the top half of the tide. At high water, the slip has about a half a metre alongside.

Why visit here?

Omeath, in Irish: Ó Méith, name comes from the Ui Méith tribe that settled here around the 11th century.

The tribe separated and settled into two territories; one called alternatively Ui Méith Tire or Ui Méith Macha from its inland and / or Armagh situation, the other Ui Méith or Ui Méith Mara on account of it bordering the sea. This became anglicised to the name of Ó Méith and finally Omeath. The inhabitants of the area in the ninth and tenth centuries were the Aighneachta. They called the area Cuailghne a contraction of Cuan Sminih Aigneach that meant the ‘Bay of the swim of Aigneach’.

When the Vikings first came to Karlingfjord, as they named it, they laid upon the shores for some time in harmony with their Irish neighbours. However, this changed when they become more aggressive and territorial. They plundered and destroyed the early Christian monastery of Cillansnimh, ‘Church of the Swim’, at Narrow Water in 841 A.D. and then the Viking leader, Horn, established a permanent naval base in Omeath around 851 A.D.

This caused considerable friction and an uneasy relationship with the natives from that time onward. The Viking Omeath stronghold held out for more than 70 years and they ruled the lough area from this seat. In 928 A.D. Muirchertach mac Néill, called Muirchertach of the Leather Cloaks, in old Irish Muirchertach na Cochall Craicinn drove them out of the area. Muirchertach's brother became High King Of Ireland and later his son Domnall ua Néill was crowned High King in 956.

The first inhabitation of Omeath may have been tied to the Viking invasion but the foundation of the present day village was an evolution from a railway station. This was part of the ‘Dundalk Newry & Greenore Railway’ that ran from Newry down along the lough to the port of Greenore and onward to Dundalk. It opened in August 1876 and was owned by the LMS who remained independent of the GNR(I) and CIE until its closure on 31st December 1951. It was formally wound up in 1957 and in its time it made Omeath a favourite resort for Northern Ireland day-trippers. But unlike its opposite Warrenpoint, Omeath never developed into a major residential centre.

During the time of the railway Omeath became a noted Irish speaking area and had its own college. The people of the Carlingford Mountains tended not to travel far into the anglicised parts, where the speaking of Gaelige had been banned. This caused the language and its rich tapestry of folklore to remain alive here in this remote hinterland. However, a decline was inevitable and in the 1950’s and 60’s the rich Gaelic tradition began to fade owing to economic migration to England and America. The college existed until the early twentieth century where the Park Hotel now stands. Seamus MacCurtha, one of the most respected regional poets lived in Omeath.

Today, nestled at the foot of the large ranges of the Carlingford Mountains, chief amongst them the 512 metres high Clermont Cairn and the 589 metres Carlingford Mountain, Omeath is a quiet sleepy village overlooking the beautiful Carlingford Lough. At low tide, the drying sandy shore, with stones and seaweed, makes the area popular with commercial winkle collectors. The small summertime ferry provides a close link to Warrenpoint across the border where small variances of local laws or currency exchange rates provide the occasional incentive to cross over.

Steeped in Irish history, and with an abundance of spectacular scenery, Omeath is another quiet stopover for a shallow draft vessel’s tour of Carlingford Lough.

What facilities are available?

Omeath is very small village that has a restaurant, pub, basic provisions and a petrol station. It has good road access located on the R173 regional road approximately 6 km from Carlingford and about 8 km from Newry.

Any security concerns?

Never an issue known to have occurred in Omeath.

With thanks to:

Brian McJury, Warrenpoint Harbour Master. Photography with thanks to Henry Clark, Oliver Dixon, Albert Bridge and Sandin Photography.