A French-built fishing boat abandoned on a windswept Donegal strand in 1977 and never moved, Bád Eddie is now the most photographed wreck on the north-west coast. It is free, open to the air, and best seen when the tide pulls back.
The boat, officially Cara na Mara (Friend of the Sea), was built in France and bought by local fisherman Eddie Gillespie, who beached it on Magheraclogher strand for repairs in 1977. The repairs never happened and the gutted wooden hull has been a local landmark ever since. It appeared in the video for In a Lifetime by Clannad and U2's Bono.
Magheraclogher (Bunbeg) beach opens into a vast expanse of sand, dunes, streams and rock pools as the tide drops. Note that swimming is described as unsafe when the tide is out, so check tide times and keep to the shore.
Decades of Atlantic wind and rain have reduced the boat to a skeletal outline, and the shifting light and tide make it one of north-west Ireland's most photographed subjects. Artists, poets and photographers return to it year after year.
There is nothing to buy at the wreck itself, so pack a picnic or snacks; the beach is a favourite spot for a flask and sandwiches and is listed as children-friendly and open to pets.
The hull is fragile and continues to collapse. Donegal County Council erected safety signage warning people not to climb on the shipwreck, and locals ask visitors to stay off it.
Other stops close by along this stretch of coast include Dunmore Strand (0.9 km), Illannamarve (2.3 km), Carrickfin Beach (3.9 km) and Bloody Foreland (7.8 km), with the long-abandoned Óstán Gweedore hotel overlooking the beach.
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