Top 10 Waterfalls in Ireland
Ireland's mild, wet Atlantic climate means water is never far away, and the country's mountains, glaciated valleys, and wooded glens hold waterfalls that run reliably all year — often fullest after the frequent rain rather than in any single melt season. Few are very tall, but many are beautifully set in ancient woodland or dramatic upland scenery, and most are easy to reach on short walks. The selection below spans the whole island. All ten are on the map.
1. Powerscourt Waterfall, Wicklow
Powerscourt Waterfall in County Wicklow is the highest in Ireland and the highest in the British Isles, dropping 121 metres in a broad fan over a cliff of granite and schist on the Dargle river. The rock face was smoothed by glaciers during the last ice age, and the river has cut a deep plunge pool at the base. Set in parkland at the foot of the Wicklow Mountains — part of the wider Powerscourt Estate, one of the great Anglo-Irish demesnes — it is reached by a signed drive from the estate entrance at Enniskerry village, about 20 km south of Dublin city centre. A short, easy walk from the car park leads to a viewing area at the pool. The falls are fullest from October to March after sustained Atlantic rain; on dry summer days they thin but never stop. The surrounding mixed woodland, much of it planted in the 18th and 19th centuries, frames the fall dramatically, and the dark-green mossy rock glows in overcast light. Entry to the waterfall area is ticketed separately from the estate gardens. A modest day fee is charged.
2. Glenariff Falls, Antrim
In Glenariff Forest Park in County Antrim, one of the famous Nine Glens of Antrim carved by glacial meltwater, two main falls are linked by the Waterfall Walkway — a short boardwalk trail that clings to the steep wooded sides of the glen. Ess-na-Larach (the mare's waterfall) is the lower and broader of the two, tumbling over dark basalt ledges; Ess-na-Crub (the waterfall of the hoof) is narrower and drops in a longer plunge. Both feed the Glenariff river, which drains to the sea at Red Bay on the Antrim coast. The glen has long been called the Queen of the Glens, and the surrounding oak and hazel woodland, hung with mosses and shield ferns, matches the description. The trail is about 3 km return and involves stepped paths, some steep. The falls flow year round and are most photogenic after rain, when mist rises through the trees. Glenariff village and the coastal road offer onward access to the Giant's Causeway to the north.
3. Torc Waterfall, Kerry
Torc Waterfall in Killarney National Park drops about 20 metres on the Owengarriff river at the foot of Torc Mountain, spilling from an overhanging rock shelf in a classic horsetail spray. The Owengarriff drains a wide boggy upland catchment between Torc Mountain and the Purple Mountain range, which keeps the fall vigorous even in drier months. It is reached via a short, paved, all-ability path from a large car park on the N71 Ring of Kerry road, about 6 km south of Killarney town — one of the most convenient major waterfalls in Ireland. A longer stepped trail climbs the hillside above the fall for elevated views over the tree canopy and across Muckross Lake below. Killarney National Park is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and holds Ireland's largest area of native sessile oak woodland; the trees around Torc are ancient, festooned with lichens, and particularly atmospheric in mist. The falls are busiest in summer; an early morning visit in spring or autumn gives quieter access and better light.
4. Glencar Waterfall, Leitrim
Glencar Waterfall in County Leitrim drops about 15 metres in a straight plunge over a limestone and shale cliff into a deep pool at the base of a wooded valley beside Glencar Lough, close to the Leitrim-Sligo border. The fall is one of several feeding the lough from the steep escarpment of the Dartry Mountains above, including the neighbouring Sruth-in-Aghaidh-An-Aird — sometimes listed as the highest unbroken waterfall in Ireland. W. B. Yeats, who spent boyhood summers in nearby Sligo town, immortalised Glencar in his poem The Stolen Child (1889) with the famous lines about the place where the wandering water gushes from the hills above Glen-Car. A short, accessible path from the roadside leads to a viewing platform at pool level; the fall can also be seen from a distance across the lough. It flows year round and is especially dramatic on windy winter days when the spray is blown back up the cliff, creating a ghostly curtain effect. The drive along the valley on the R281 is scenic in itself.
5. Assaranca Waterfall, Donegal
Assaranca Waterfall near Ardara in south-west County Donegal is a wide, tiered cascade that tumbles over a series of quartzite rock shelves, fed by the Altnabrocky river draining the boggy upland blanket of the Blue Stack Mountains to the east. Unlike many Irish falls set deep in woodland, Assaranca is essentially open, framed by gorse and heather on the surrounding slopes, giving it a raw Atlantic character. It is reached directly from a quiet coastal road off the R261, just a few kilometres north of Ardara — the car park is right beside the fall, making it one of the most accessible in the country. It runs hard after rain, which in this part of Donegal is very frequent: the area receives around 1,200 mm annually. A short walk below the main drop leads to a rocky beach at a tidal inlet. Combine it with the dramatic sea caves at Maghera (south of Ardara) and the sandy arc of Narin and Portnoo beach for a full day on this uncommonly beautiful stretch of the Donegal coast.
6. Mahon Falls, Waterford
Mahon Falls in the Comeragh Mountains of County Waterford is one of Ireland's most dramatic upland waterfalls, dropping roughly 80 metres in a long cascade down a glacial corrie wall. The Mahon river gathers on the broad plateau of the Comeraghs — a tableland of bog and coum lakes carved by ice — and makes a series of leaps over the corrie headwall. A well-signed car park off the Mahon Bridge road near Rathgormack gives access; the walk to the base of the falls is about 30–40 minutes each way along the valley floor, gaining modest elevation. The open bogland setting, with views south over the Waterford coast on clear days, is very different from the wooded glens more common in Irish waterfall scenery. In strong south-westerly gales — common here in autumn and winter — the falls can be entirely reversed, water blowing up the cliff and back onto the plateau in a striking spectacle. Best visited October to March for maximum flow and the chance of the upward-blowing effect.
7. Aasleagh Falls, Mayo
Aasleagh Falls (Eas Liath — the grey waterfall) on the Erriff river is among Ireland's most cinematic waterfalls, a wide, low drop spanning the full width of the river in a broad, stepped curtain as it exits Lough Nafooey and enters the head of Killary Harbour, Ireland's only true fjord. The fall drops only a few metres, but the sheer width and the silver arc of water against the dark mountain walls of Mweelrea and the Sheeffry Hills make it a compelling sight. It appeared in the 1990 film The Field, starring Richard Harris. The falls are beside the R335 road at the Aasleagh bridge and require no walk: visitors pull in at the roadside. The Erriff river above the falls is one of the most productive salmon and sea-trout rivers in Connacht; anglers can be seen working the pools in season. Aasleagh is a natural staging post on the scenic drive through the Delphi Valley, which connects the north Mayo coast to Connemara.
8. Glenevin Waterfall, Donegal
Glenevin Waterfall near Clonmany on the Inishowen Peninsula in the far north of County Donegal drops about 30 metres in a clean single plunge through a narrow wooded glen. The Sruhanlacken stream feeds it from the uplands of the Mamore Gap area. A well-maintained woodland trail with several timber footbridges follows the stream up through an enclosed glen of old hazel, ash, and rowan trees — about 1 km from the car park to the base of the falls — and the path continues above for a shorter loop back. The glen is managed as a community amenity by local volunteers, and the well-kept paths make it one of the most family-friendly waterfall walks in Ulster. An information board at the trailhead explains the local geology and natural history. The falls run year round and are particularly beautiful in May and June when the woodland is in full leaf, and again in October when the hazel colours gold. Inishowen is the largest peninsula in Ireland and is otherwise known for Malin Head, Ireland's most northerly point.
9. Tourmakeady Waterfall, Mayo
Tourmakeady Waterfall in County Mayo lies in a quiet wooded glen on the eastern shore of Lough Mask, tucked into the Partry Mountains. The stream descends in several steps through a mature mixed woodland of oak, birch, and ash before reaching the lough shore. The surrounding area is part of the Irish-speaking Gaeltacht — the village of Tourmakeady (Tuar Mhic Éadaigh in Irish) is a centre of the Connacht Irish dialect — adding cultural depth to the natural setting. A forest trail from the village leads to the falls; the walk is gentle and takes about 20–30 minutes each way. Lough Mask is one of the great limestone loughs of the west, renowned for wild brown trout, and the shoreline woodland around Tourmakeady is a nationally designated nature site. Far quieter than Torc or Powerscourt, this waterfall suits those who prefer solitude and the slow unhurried pace of the Irish west. Best after rain, when the stream is full and the mossy rocks gleam.
10. Devil's Glen, Wicklow
In the Devil's Glen near Ashford in County Wicklow, the Vartry river drops into a deep wooded ravine at the head of the glen, falling into the pool known as the Devil's Punchbowl. The drop is not especially tall — perhaps 10–15 metres — but the sheer dark walls of the ravine, cloaked in ancient oak and lichens, give it a brooding grandeur. The site is a National Nature Reserve and a remnant of the ancient oak forest that once covered much of Ireland. A trail network of several kilometres runs through the glen, including a signed sculpture trail with carved stone pieces set along the path. There is a car park on the R764 just north of Ashford village; the walk to the main waterfall viewpoint takes about 20 minutes. The deep plunge pool, the steep, moss-draped walls, and the dark canopy of gnarled oaks give the glen its diabolical name. The falls are fullest from October to March. The Devil's Glen is a short drive from Wicklow town and can be combined with Powerscourt for a full Wicklow day.
Planning an Ireland waterfall trip
Wicklow, close to Dublin via the M11 motorway, holds Powerscourt and the Devil's Glen within an easy day — a round trip of around 80 km from the city. The southwest (Torc, Mahon) pairs naturally with the Ring of Kerry and the Comeragh Mountains; Torc is 60 km south of Tralee and Mahon is near Carrick-on-Suir. The west and northwest (Aasleagh, Tourmakeady, Assaranca, Glenevin) reward a longer touring route through Mayo and Donegal, ideally taking three or four days. Glencar lies close to Sligo and fits a detour on the way north. Because Irish falls are rain-fed rather than melt-fed, the best time to see them at full power is simply after a wet spell — autumn and winter often deliver the most dramatic flow, while late summer can see them reduced. Spring offers a good balance of reasonable flow and longer daylight.
Why Ireland's falls flow all year
Unlike Alpine or Nordic falls that depend on a spring snowmelt, Ireland's waterfalls are sustained by frequent rain spread across the year, with the west and north receiving well over 1,500 millimetres annually in exposed coastal areas — some peaks in Kerry and Donegal recording over 2,000 mm. This means there is no dry season in the way there is in continental mountain ranges, and even modest streams keep their falls running through summer. The flip side is that the most spectacular displays come not in fine weather but in the wake of Atlantic storms, when rivers swell and falls like Mahon and Glencar can blow back on the wind. The best photography often happens in the hour or two after a storm passes — good light returns, flow is at its peak, and spray creates natural diffusion. Pack waterproof clothing and embrace the conditions: the wet, windy day is often the best waterfall day in Ireland.
Explore on the map
Every waterfall above is plotted on the interactive map — filter to plan a Wicklow day from Dublin, a Ring of Kerry loop, or a touring route through the glens of the west and north.