Dooagh | |
|---|---|
Village | |
 The road to Dooagh, the westernmost village on Achill Island | |
  Dooagh Location in Ireland | |
| Coordinates: 53°59′31″N10°05′02″W / 53.9918954°N 10.0838816°W | |
| Country | Ireland |
| Province | Connacht |
| County | County Mayo |
| Elevation | 30.6 m (100.4 ft) |
| Population | 567 |
Dooagh (Irish : Dumha Acha) is a village located on Achill Island in County Mayo, Ireland. It is best known for the nearby Keem Bay, a Blue Flag beach.
Between May 2017 and January 2019, Dooagh beach had 300 metres (1,000 ft) of golden sand. Previously, the sand was completely washed away in a storm in 1984, leaving a rocky foreshore that remained until the sand was restored by an unusually high tide in April 2017. The new sandy beach was reported as causing an increase in tourism to the village. [2] Dooagh beach washed away for a second time in early 2019. [3]
Dooagh is located on the R319 regional road.
Bus Éireann route 450 (Dooagh—Keel—Westport—Murrisk—Louisburgh) serves the village six times daily on weekdays; three times on Sundays. Connections to Ireland West Airport and Dublin are available at Westport [4]
The nearest rail services are at Westport railway station, 62 km (39 mi) away. There are several trains a day from Westport to Dublin Heuston via Athlone.[ citation needed ]
Dooagh has a number of bed and breakfast establishments and self-catering apartments. There are two public houses, Lourdie's and Gielty's Bar and Restaurant, which sometimes host traditional Irish music sessions. The bar and nightclub in the Wavecrest Hotel is open seasonally.[ citation needed ]
The road to the west of Dooagh leads over Croghaun Mountain to Keem Strand, which has views over Clew Bay. A turning off the Keem Road leads to Lough Acorrymore, surrounded by scree slopes and now dammed to supply water for the entire island. [5] The seaward side of Croghaun has high cliffs, the island's highest.
On the road from Dooagh beach towards Lough Corrymore stands Corrymore House, once the home of Captain Charles Boycott, [5] a British land agent whose ostracism by his local community in Ireland as part of a campaign for agrarian tenants' rights in 1880 gave the English language the verb "to boycott", meaning "to ostracise". Captain Boycott moved to Corrymore House after his residence at Keem was burnt down. The American artist Robert Henri also lived there at one time, [5] having bought the house in 1924. [6]
In the centre of Dooagh is a monument to Don Allum, the ocean rower who was the first to row across the Atlantic in both directions, and who completed this feat on reaching Dooagh village near to this point. [7]
Achill has five pipe bands, Dooagh Pipe Band being one of these. Dooagh Pipe Band was founded on 17 March 1947 with a membership of eleven. [8]
Scoil Acla, an Irish traditional music summer school, takes place annually in Dooagh. Scoil Acla was established in 1910. Artist Paul Henry was an active member of Scoil Acla and in 1912 directed the play Casadh an t-Sugain (The Twisting Of The Rope) by Douglas Hyde. The school gradually went into decline, but was revived in 1985. [9]
Dooagh National School serves the Dooagh, Pollagh and Keel areas, and has 36 pupils and two teachers. The school was built in 1959 and renovated in 2001. [10]
Achill Archaeological Field School is based at the Achill Archaeology Centre in Dooagh. It was founded in 1991 and is a training school for students of archaeology and anthropology. The school is involved in a study of the prehistoric and historic landscape at Slievemore, incorporating a research excavation at a number of sites within the Deserted Village of Slievemore. [11]
Each July, on the second weekend of the month, the village plays host to a festival which includes traditional Irish currach racing, food, games, music, and an historical exhibition. The first Dooagh Day took place on Sunday 12 July 2015.[ citation needed ]
 |
Achill Island is the largest of the Irish isles and lies off the west coast of Ireland in County Mayo. It had a population of 2,345 in the 2022 census. Its area is around 148 km2 (57 sq mi). Achill is attached to the mainland by Michael Davitt Bridge, between the villages of Achill Sound and Polranny. A bridge was first completed here in 1887. Other centres of population include the villages of Keel, Dooagh, Dooega, Dooniver, and Dugort. The parish's main Gaelic football pitch and secondary school are on the mainland at Polranny. Early human settlements are believed to have been established on Achill around 3000 BC. A significant geographical feature of the island is peat bog. The parish of Achill consists of Achill Island, Achillbeg, Inishbiggle and the Corraun Peninsula.
County Mayo is a county in Ireland. In the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, it is named after the village of Mayo, now generally known as Mayo Abbey. Mayo County Council is the local authority. The population was 137,231 at the 2022 census. The boundaries of the county, which was formed in 1585, reflect the Mac William Íochtar lordship at that time.
Westport is a town in County Mayo in Ireland. It is at the south-east corner of Clew Bay, an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean on the west coast of Ireland. Westport is a tourist destination and scores highly for quality of life. It won the Irish Tidy Towns Competition three times in 2001, 2006 and 2008. In 2012 it won the Best Place to Live in Ireland competition run by The Irish Times.
Denis Gallagher was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician. He served as Minister for the Gaeltacht on two occasions.
Charles Cunningham Boycott was an English land agent whose ostracism by his local community in Ireland gave the English language the term boycott. He had served in the British Army 39th Foot, which brought him to Ireland. After retiring from the army, Boycott worked as a land agent for Lord Erne, a landowner in the Lough Mask area of County Mayo.
Louisburgh is a small town on the southwest corner of Clew Bay in County Mayo, Ireland. It is home to Sancta Maria College and the Gráinne O'Malley Interpretive Centre.
Keel is a village on Achill Island in County Mayo, Ireland.
Knockcroghery is a village and townland in County Roscommon, Ireland. It is located on the N61 road between Athlone and Roscommon town, near Lough Ree on the River Shannon. The townland of Knockcroghery is in the civil parish of Killinvoy and the historical barony of Athlone North.
Laytown is a village in County Meath, Ireland, located on the R150 regional road and overlooking the Irish Sea. Historically it was called Ninch, after the townland it occupies. Together with the neighbouring villages of Mornington, Bettystown and Donacarney, it comprises the census town of Laytown–Bettystown–Mornington–Donacarney, which recorded a population of 15,642 in the 2022 census.
Mulranny —sometimes spelled as 'Mallaranny', 'Mulrany', 'Malaranny', 'Mullaranny', 'Mullranny' or 'Mulranny'—is a seaside village on the isthmus between Clew Bay and Blacksod Bay in County Mayo, Ireland. Mulranny, located at the foot of the Nephin Mountain Range, has a number of blue flag beaches and a coastal lagoon. The Corraun Peninsula, which contains three mountain peaks, is situated across Clew Bay.
Renmore is a suburb of Galway, Ireland, around 2 km east of the city centre. Renmore runs east along the coast and south of Dublin Road, from the shore of Lough Atalia on its west side to Lurgan Park on its east. The area, which includes Ballyloughane beach, is home to approximately 5,000 people.
Bettystown, previously known as Betaghstown and transliterated to Beattystown/Bettystown, is a village in County Meath, Ireland. Together with the neighbouring villages of Laytown, Mornington and Donacarney, it comprises the urban area of Laytown–Bettystown–Mornington–Donacarney with a combined population of 15,642 at the 2022 census. During the Celtic Tiger, with increasing property prices in Dublin, Bettystown expanded to cater for large numbers of commuters to Dublin. The area was well known before that as a spot for Dublin summer holiday visitors, with a number of caravan parks and seaside amusements.
Slievemore is the second highest peak on Achill Island after Croaghaun, in County Mayo, Ireland. Its elevation is 671 m (2,201 ft).
Dún Ibhir is a Gaeltacht village on Achill Island in County Mayo, Ireland.
Tomás Ó Raghallaigh (1881-1966) was an Irish language academic and writer.
Tóin an tSeanbhaile is a small village located on the north east point of Achill Island, Ireland. It lies within the Mayo Gaeltacht.
Dumha Éige is a village in the south west of Achill Island on the west coast of Ireland in County Mayo. It is in the Gaeltacht and is the home of Coláiste Acla. It once had a National School. The scenic area is part of the Achill Atlantic Drive. Dumha Éige/Dooega has a Blue Flag beach, a church, a pub and guesthouse.
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.
Eva O'Flaherty was an Irish nationalist, Parisienne model, patron of the arts and London milliner who founded a successful knitting industry on Achill Island.
