Killala, Ireland

Killala, Ireland: Submarine Cable Landing Point

Killala is a village in County Mayo on the north-western coast of Ireland. Despite its small population of 562 as recorded in the 2016 census, it functions as an international submarine cable landing point, connecting Ireland directly to the United States via the North Atlantic. One submarine cable, AEC-1, makes landfall here, establishing Killala as a transatlantic terminus on Ireland's western seaboard.

The AEC-1 cable spans 5,521 kilometres across the Atlantic Ocean, linking Killala to the eastern seaboard of the United States. This single cable positions Killala within a transatlantic corridor, one of the most heavily trafficked routes in the global submarine cable network. While Killala hosts only one cable, its direct connection to the United States places it among Ireland's internationally significant landing points.

Cables Landing at Killala

AEC-1 is the sole submarine cable landing at Killala. Running 5,521 kilometres in length, the cable reached ready-for-service status in 2016, though its status was recorded as draft at that time. AEC-1 connects Ireland to the United States, forming a direct transatlantic link between the two countries. No additional endpoints beyond Ireland and the United States are recorded for this cable.

Regional Context

Ireland hosts 16 submarine cables across 14 landing points, and Killala's single cable places it among several Irish landing points of comparable scale, alongside Ballinesker, Ballygrangans, Castlefreke, and Clonshaugh, each of which also hosts one cable. By cable count, Killala ranks in the top 86% of Irish landing points, trailing busier hubs such as Dublin, which lands three cables, and Kilmore Quay, which lands two. Killala's distinction lies in its direct transatlantic reach, which differentiates it from other single-cable landing points whose cables may serve shorter or regional corridors.

Network Role

Killala functions as a single-cable transatlantic terminus. The AEC-1 cable it hosts spans the North Atlantic to the United States, making Killala one of the westernmost points in Ireland where international submarine cable infrastructure reaches land. As a terminus rather than a multi-cable hub, Killala does not offer the route diversity found at Dublin or Kilmore Quay, but it contributes a distinct transatlantic path to Ireland's overall submarine cable geography.

Within the broader Irish submarine cable graph, Killala's role is straightforward: it provides one direct link between Ireland and the United States, adding a geographically dispersed landing point along the north-western coast that complements the country's other transatlantic and regional connections established elsewhere.