Achillbeg

Achillbeg

Native name: Acaill Bheag
Achillbeg's lighthouse
Achillbeg
Geography
Location	Atlantic Ocean
Coordinates	53°51′N9°57′W / 53.850°N 9.950°W / 53.850; -9.950
Administration
Ireland
Province	Connacht
County	Mayo
Demographics
Population	1 (2016 census)

Mayo islands

Acaill Bheag, or Achillbeg, ^[1] is a small island in County Mayo, Ireland, just off the southern tip of Achill Island. The island is located within a Gaeltacht (Irish speaking) area. ^[1]

Name and history

The English name Achillbeg derives from the Irish Acaill Bheag meaning "Little Achill".

Having been inhabited for over 3000 years, Acaill Bheag was evacuated in 1965 ^[2] and the inhabitants were settled on the main (Achill) island and nearby mainland. A lighthouse on Acaill Bheag's southern tip was completed in 1965 to replace and coincide with the closure of the lighthouse on nearby Clare Island. ^[3]

A book about the life and times of the island and its people, Achillbeg - The Life of an Island by Jonathan Beaumont, was published in 2005. ^[4] The Irish artist Pete Hogan also 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. ^[5]

In 2012, a small plaque was built on Achillbeg to celebrate 100 years since boxer Johnny Kilbane's first championship win. ^[6] Though born in Ohio, Kilbane's father was from the area. ^[6]

Geography

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.^{[ citation needed ]}

Demographics

The table below reports data on Achillbeg's population taken from Discover the Islands of Ireland (1999) ^[7] and the Census of Ireland.

Historical population
Year Pop. ±% 1841 178 —     1851 149 −16.3% 1861 137 −8.1% 1871 93 −32.1% 1881 105 +12.9% 1891 113 +7.6% 1901 104 −8.0% 1911 117 +12.5% 1926 99 −15.4%	Year Pop. ±% 1936 67 −32.3% 1946 63 −6.0% 1951 54 −14.3% 1956 50 −7.4% 1961 38 −24.0% 1966 0 −100.0% 1971 0 0.00% 1979 0 0.00% 1981 0 0.00%	Year Pop. ±% 1986 0 0.00% 1991 0 0.00% 1996 0 0.00% 2002 0 0.00% 2006 0 0.00% 2011 0 0.00% 2016 1 —
Source: Central Statistics Office. "CNA17: Population by Off Shore Island, Sex and Year". CSO.ie. Retrieved 12 October 2016. (E2021 for 2016 figures)

References

1. "Acaill Bheag / Achillbeg Island". logainm.ie. Placenames Database of Ireland. Retrieved 9 December 2025.
2. "Achill Beg". loveachill.ie. Retrieved 10 February 2023.^{[ dead link ]}
3. "Achillbeg Lighthouse". irishlights.ie. Commissioners of Irish Lights. Retrieved 9 December 2025.
4. Beaumont, Jonathan (28 February 2005). Achillbeg: The Life of an Island. The Oakwood Press. ISBN   0853616310.
5. Hogan, Pete (3 February 2014). The Artist on the Island: An Achill Journal. The Liffey Press. ISBN   9781908308498.
6. McNulty, Anton (12 June 2012). "Statue of former boxing champion unveiled". The Mayo News . Retrieved 17 October 2024.
7. Ritsema, Alex (1 January 1999). Discover the Islands of Ireland. The Collins Press. ISBN   1898256675.