It is often said that climbing is a sport with no rules but many traditions. One deeply held tradition on these islands is that climbers place jamming devices into cracks on the rockface, to which a rope is then attached for safety.
A following climber then removes these devices while secured from above, thus ensuring no permanent change is made to the rock surface.
This works well on most climbing crags where there are plenty of cracks, but Ballykeeffe proved a dilemma. The artificially cut limestone has few natural breaks in which to place protection. Leading climbs on these routes is extremely dangerous – a falling climber would inevitably hit the ground.
Eventually, in what Kevin Higgins describes as “the second phase in the development of Ballykeeffe”, a decision was made, on safety grounds, to place permanent bolts in the rockface to which a safety rope could be attached. This decision made Ballykeeffe amphitheatre unique in being the only extensively bolted outdoor climbing area in the Republic.
Ultimately the bolting policy has proven to be of immense benefit – there has not been a serious climbing accident in Ballykeeffe. Another unintended, but welcome, consequence is that in recent years large numbers of European climbers have been attracted to Ballykeeffe, since bolted climbing routes remain a long-standing tradition in mainland Europe.
For further information see Ballykeefe Quarry, a rock-climbing guide by Gerry Fogg