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Native name: Acaill Bheag | |
|---|---|
 Achillbeg's lighthouse | |
  Achillbeg | |
| Geography | |
| Location | Atlantic Ocean |
| Coordinates | 53°51′N9°57′W / 53.850°N 9.950°W |
| Administration | |
| Province | Connacht |
| County | Mayo |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 1 |
Acaill Bheag (Achillbeg) is a small island in County Mayo, Ireland, just off the southern tip of Achill Island.
Its name means Little Achill.
Acaill Bheag was evacuated in 1965 after being inhabited for over 3000 years [1] and the inhabitants were settled on the main (Achill) island and nearby mainland. The main settlement was in the centre of the island, bounded by two hills to the north and south. There are a small number of holiday homes on the island, but they are usually empty for most of the year. Access to the island is from Cé Mhór, in the village of An Chloich Mhór (Cloghmore), by local arrangement. A lighthouse on Acaill Bheag's southern tip was completed in 1965.
A comprehensive book about the life and times of the island and the people and way of life there, "Achillbeg - The Life of an Island", by Jonathan Beaumont was published in 2005. [2]
In 2012, a small plaque was built on Achillbeg to celebrate 100 years since boxer Johnny Kilbane’s first championship win. [3]
The Irish artist Pete Hogan wrote a book about his time spent living on the island in 1983, The Artist on the Island: An Achill Journal which was published in 2013. [4]
The table below reports data on Achillbeg's population taken from Discover the Islands of Ireland (1999) [5] and the Census of Ireland.
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| Source: Central Statistics Office. "CNA17: Population by Off Shore Island, Sex and Year". CSO.ie. Retrieved 12 October 2016. (E2021 for 2016 figures) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Achill Island is an island off the west coast of Ireland in the historical barony of Burrishoole, County Mayo. It is the largest of the Irish isles and has an area of approximately 148 km2 (57 sq mi). Achill had a population of 2,345 in the 2022 census. The island, which has been connected to the mainland by a bridge since 1887, is served by Michael Davitt Bridge, between the villages of Achill Sound and Polranny. Other centres of population include the villages of Keel, Dooagh, Dooega, Dooniver, and Dugort. There are a number of peat bogs on the island.
Camille Souter was a British-born Irish abstract and landscape artist. She lived and worked on Achill Island and was a Saoi of Aosdána.
Clare Island, also historically Inishcleer, is a mountainous island guarding the entrance to Clew Bay in County Mayo, Ireland. Historically part of the kingdom of Umhaill, it is famous as the home of the 16th century pirate queen Gráinne O'Malley. The population of the island is 138 according to the 2022 census. To the south-west lies Inishturk (inhabited) and Caher Island (uninhabited), and to the north is Achill Island.
The MGWR Class D-bogie were first 4-4-0 operated by the Midland Great Western Railway (MGWR) of Ireland. They were rebuilt from MGWR Class D 2-4-0 locomotives in 1900/01 with the intention to use them on the Dublin to Sligo mainline but they proved underpowered for this work and were allocated to more suitable work around County Mayo, including Achill. This led to their nicknames of Mayo Bogies or Achill Bogies. Following the merger of the MGWR into Great Southern Railways (GSR) they also became designated class 530 or D16.
Inishbiggle is a small inhabited island off the coast of Ballycroy in County Mayo. Its name in Irish means "Vigil Island".
Jonathan Beaumont is an author of a number of books on Irish interest. He also works as a tour guide.
Connacht Irish is the dialect of the Irish language spoken in the province of Connacht. Gaeltacht regions in Connacht are found in Counties Mayo and Galway. Connacht Irish is also spoken in the Meath Gealtacht Ráth Chairn and Baile Ghib. The dialects of Irish in Connacht are extremely diverse, with the pronunciation, forms and lexicon being different even within each county.
Achill station served Achill in County Mayo, Ireland and was the terminus of the line which connected to Westport via Mallaranny (Mulranny) and Newport.
The MGWR class E was a small 0-6-0T steam locomotive class designed in 1891 by Martin Atock, the then locomotive superintendent of the Midland Great Western Railway (MGWR) and twelve engines were built. After the MGWR was merged into Great Southern Railways (GSR) in 1925 they were designated Class 551 or J26. They were also known as the Irish Terrier class.
Thomas Patten was an Irish volunteer in the Spanish Civil War.
Brian Rua (c.1648–?) was 17th century "prophet" or Oracle from Erris in County Mayo, Ireland. Papers relating to the life and the prophecies of Brian Rua, known collectively as "Tarngaireacht Bhriain Ruaidh" were destroyed, apparently by his own son, who lost his temper with his father when the two had one of their regular disagreements.
Charles T. Meide Jr., known as Chuck Meide, is an underwater and maritime archaeologist and currently the Director of LAMP, the research arm of the St. Augustine Lighthouse & Maritime Museum located in St. Augustine, Florida. Meide, of Syrian descent on his father's side, was born in Jacksonville, Florida, and raised in the adjacent coastal town of Atlantic Beach. He earned BA and MA degrees in Anthropology with a focus in underwater archaeology in 1993 and 2001 from Florida State University, where he studied under George R. Fischer, and undertook Ph.D. studies in Historical Archaeology at the College of William and Mary starting the following year.
Umhaill or Umhall was a Gaelic territory around Clew Bay in the west of what is now County Mayo, Ireland, comprising the baronies of Burrishoole and Murrisk. By the 12th century, its ruling dynasty were known as the Uí Máille (O'Malleys). Originally an autonomous part of the kingdom of Connacht, it later became one of the vassal territories of the Mac William Íochtar. Umhaill's last and most famous ruler was Grace O'Malley, nicknamed "the pirate queen". In 1576, during the Tudor conquest of Ireland, she agreed to the surrender and regrant policy, accepting English inheritance law in return for official title deeds to her lands. On her death the lands were inherited by her son Tibbot "na Long". Umhaill had a strong seafaring culture. Important sites associated with it include Carrickkildavnet Castle, Carrickahowley Castle, Granuaile's Castle and Clare Island Abbey.
Binn Mhór is one of the Maumturk Mountains of Connemara in County Galway, Ireland. At 661 metres (2,169 ft), it is the third-highest of the Maumturks, the 140th-highest peak in Ireland on the Arderin list, and 171st-highest on the Vandeleur-Lynam list. Binn Mhór is on the southern side of the pass of Máméan, on a small massif that includes Mullach Glas and Corcogemore ; this massif is at the far southeastern sector of the long north-west to south-east spine of the Maumturks.
The R319 road is a regional road in County Mayo, Ireland. It is the main road to Achill Island from the rest of the country.
The Wild Atlantic Way is a tourism trail on the west coast, and on parts of the north and south coasts, of Ireland. The 2,500 km driving route passes through nine counties and three provinces, stretching from County Donegal's Inishowen Peninsula in Ulster to Kinsale, County Cork, in Munster, on the Celtic Sea coast.
Dugort, sometimes spelled Doogort, is a historical village on Achill Island in County Mayo, Ireland. It is next to Slievemore mountain. There are two blue flag beaches in Dugort: Silver Strand which is located at the foot of the Slievemore Mountain and the Golden Strand which is located further east.
Edward Nangle was a Church of Ireland minister and the founder of the Achill Mission Colony. He established a Protestant mission on Achill Island, County Mayo, in 1834 and worked there for eighteen years with the aim of bringing Protestantism to the Native Irish Christians who were impoverished in large part due to the Penal Law policies of the Protestant Ascendancy. Edward Nangle was involved in evangelical attempts to convert Catholics to Protestantism. He opened a Christian school on the island where children were taught reading, writing, agricultural skills and Christianity as part of a Missionary Colony. His presence on the island led to some press coverage and parliamentary debates. The island itself was developed with a pier built at Dugort, a courthouse at Achill Sound and a road network between numerous key locations on the island. A plaque hanging in St. Thomas Church, Dugort, dedicated to Edward Nangle and erected by friends after his death, reads: "He devoted his life from the year 1834 to the welfare of the people of Achill among whom he lived for many years."
Bridget Patricia Byrne is an Irish writer of narrative nonfiction. Two of her books deal with historical events in nineteenth-century Achill Island.
Media related to Achillbeg at Wikimedia Commons
