Carne is situated close north of Carnsore Point, the southeast corner of Ireland. It offers a small open harbour with a drying pier outside of which vessels may anchor or come alongside to dry out on sand behind the pier.

The harbour provides tolerable anchorage in conditions from northwest round to south where it is highly comfortable. Access is straightforward as the bay has a clear approach from the sea albeit between two unmarked outliers that lie well north and south of the approach path.

A watchful eye should be maintained at all times for lobster pot markers as they are prolific in this sailing area.

Keyfacts for Carne

Position and approaches

Haven position

52° 12.029' N, 006° 20.707' W

This is the anchoring area to the northeast of the pier in about 2 metres LAT.

What is the initial fix?

This is 1.2 miles east of the pier and on the outskirts of Saint Margaret's Bay. It is set on a line between the Splaugh and Fundale markers that take a coasting vessel just inside and to the west of The Bailies, and close outside to the east of Whilkeen and Collough rocks. A course of due west leads into the anchoring area from here.

What are the key points of the approach?

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What's the story here?

Carne is a small open harbour that is located in the south end of St Margret’s Bay on the southeast corner of County Wexford, about three miles south of Rosslare Europort and two miles north of Carnsore Point. It has a small village with a tidal pier that is used by a handful of local lobstermen. During the summer its Blue Flag beach attracts many visitors and holiday goers.




Carne affords a good anchorage for leisure craft with offshore winds but is completely exposed to anything from north round east to south and when the wind is southward of west a heavy swell rolls in. Outside of these conditions, it is a well-protected anchorage with good amenities onshore.

How to get in?

Use eastern Ireland’s coastal overview for Dublin Bay to Rosslare Harbour for seaward approaches.

From the initial fix track in due west to the pier area. At night the pier exhibits a light, Fl.R.3s6m4M, that is visible for four sea miles. The track in passes in between the two rock groups that flank St Margaret’s Bay; the Whilkeen Rocks, situated to the north, and Collough Rock, situated to the south.




Awash at high-water springs and drying to about 2.5 metres Whilkeen Rock is situated 800 metres out from the shore and can almost always be seen. It forms the extremity of a reef that partially uncovers at low water with foul ground extending ashore for a distance of 400 metres to the northeast and east of it.

Whilkeen Rock – unmarked position: 52° 12.234’N, 006° 20.051’W




A mile to the south of Whilkeen, just under a mile north-by-east of the Fundal Buoy, lies Collough Rock is located 0.6 miles east of Crossfintan Point. Incorrectly marked on British Admiralty charts with the symbol indicating 'awash at the level of Chart Datum' Collough Rock is a substantial rock and although mostly covered it dries to 0.9 metres at LWS. It is steep-to but foul ground extends 0.2 mile northeast and east of Collough Rock.

Collough Rock – unmarked position: 52° 11.450’N, 006° 19.803’W




Prepare to let go once 100 metres or so offshore of the pierhead and find a suitable area to the northeast of the pierhead according to draft and conditions. Holding over clean sand is excellent. Local fishermen have moorings off the harbour head that they are usually delighted to share, do however ask local boatmen for permission to use them.




Carne pier dries up to three quarters at low water. However, there could be just under a metre at any time, depending on silting and dredging near the outer end of the pier at low water. Many lobster boats use this area of the pier so vessels planning to come alongside should seek the advice of local boatmen.



The extended breakwater has been a recent addition to Carne pier and it has dramatically reduced swell conditions along the wall. This makes drying out on the hard flat sand there a possibility for vessels that can take to the hard. The pier has a slipway that is only available at high water.

Why visit here?

Carne, also known as Carna or in Irish Carnach is thought to derive its name from the Celtic word Carn, or more correctly An Carn, pronounced 'karn', which means 'a pile of stones'. These were often used to mark a burial site or provide a coastal navigation marker and the Celtic word has been borrowed into English as 'cairn'. John O'Donovan noted in 1838, in his Ordnance Survey Parish Namebooks, that Carne was called Cárnach meaning 'abounding in carns or heaps'. Close to Ireland’s low and indistinct southeastern-most headland, it would not be surprising that there was a marker of some sort sited here.

On this quiet and modest corner of Ireland, overlooked by Tuskar Rock Lighthouse, Carne is a small quiet and tranquil hamlet by any standard and it has a distinct feeling of remoteness about it. It is difficult to imagine that this quiet out-of-the-way backwater was, in the 1970s, a flashpoint for a national environmental outcry.

At the time the area was the proposed site for one, and eventually four, nuclear power stations to be used to produce electricity. The plans were first advanced in 1968 but the Irish Government only began to progress them in earnest after the 1973 energy crisis. A massive anti-power plant campaign took root nationally that also drew in some international support. The anti-nuclear and environmental groups organised a series of rallies that reached their seminal moments in a series of Carnsore Point concerts.

The concerts ran each August from 1978 to 1981 and featured the cream of the crop of the Irish musical scene who supported the cause. They included traditional legends like Clannad, Andy Irvine, Liam Weldon, Donal Lunny, Paddy Glackin who were backed up by soulful rock group Stagalee and Dublin New Wave bands Sacre Bleu, The Atrix and The Sinners. Amongst these Ireland's legendary folk singer Christy Moore stood central and Wexford writer Jim 'Doc' Whelan presented Christy with a song he wrote called 'Nuke Power' that Christy loved it and began performing it at gigs. The concerts were a massive success and served to bring to public notice the whole question of nuclear power in Ireland. In the face of the national outcry, the government’s nuclear plans were discreetly dropped.

In 2003 Carnsore Point became home to a number of wind generating stations, run by a subsidiary of the Electricity Supply Board. Christy Moore later wrote of the events that took place at Carnsore Point in his 2000 autobiography 'One Voice': It was my first time to become directly involved in a political campaign, and I was to meet many people who became lifelong friends and a few who became somewhat less than that. The festival was a huge success and opened my eyes to the potential of people power. It was a wonderful collective and to this day I still try to carry the message of Carnsore Point in my everyday life.




Today Carne is a very quiet location where a few lobstermen ply their trade from the pier. The harbour’s safe sandy beach, adjoining St Margaret’s Strand, brings good custom to the local caravan park. During a sunny summer spell, the beaches can get busy with kite surfers, families paddling and sea kayakers, but come evening time there will only be the odd local dog-walker about.




For those interested in striding out, Carnsore Point is a 4 km, or about a 50-minute walk. Slightly further afield is Our Lady's Island Lake which takes about an hour. This is the site of a monastery dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, on what was formerly a sea inlet. The brackish lake is technically a back-barrier seepage lagoon, one of only two in Ireland with the other being the nearby Tacumshin Lake. It has no outlet, but is separated from the Atlantic Ocean at the southern end by a sand and gravel bar 200 metres wide. Saltwater seeps through the barrier, while freshwater flows into the lake from run-off from the land. The lake is an important wildfowl reserve particularly attractive to bird watchers of unique birds that only breed here. The popular Lobster Pot restaurant, about 2 km from the pier, is passed on the way and it may provide an opportunity for those keen to sample some of Carne Pier’s harvest in a nice atmosphere.




From a boating perspective, Carne is a handy bolthole to wait out a tide for a few hours and a comfortable berth in a northwesterly to which Rosslare is exposed. Likewise, it is an ideal place to swing on anchor for a few nights in a nice quiet tranquil location. The Carne locals are very welcoming and with a pub plus a shop nearby, the cruising necessities are a short stroll up from the pier.

What facilities are available?

Carne is a quiet little anchorage with very little else apart from the pier and a pub. There is a public toilet on the pier itself and the pub is a short stroll to the north of the pier. Continuing beyond the pub there is a small shop that caters to the caravan park in the summertime. Rosslare Harbour with trains and bus services to Dublin is only a 10 to 15 fifteen minutes’ drive from Carne and Wexford town is 30 minutes away.

Any security concerns?

Never known an issue to have occurred in Carne. Unusually for such a small harbour it has 4 x 7 CCTV

With thanks to:

Phil Murphy, Kilmore Quay Harbour Master. Photography with thanks to Burke Corbett and Michael Harpur.