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|---|---|
| Bóthar R319 | |
 The Michael Davitt Bridge on the R319 connects Achill Island to mainland County Mayo. | |
| Route information | |
| Length | 35 km [1] (22 mi) |
| Location | |
| Country | Ireland |
| Primary destinations | |
| Highway system | |
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 road is the main route onto Achill Island from the mainland (via the Michael Davitt Bridge) and connects the N59 at Mulranny (a national secondary road to the rest of Ireland) via Keel and Dooagh to Keem Strand on the island, 35 kilometres (22 mi) away. [2] [1]
The first part of the route follows the Great Western Greenway, a former railway line extension from Westport towards Achill. [3] It gets gradually narrower and windier as it approaches Keem Strand, ending with a series of hairpin bends before a car park next to the beach. [4]
The first bridge over the Achill Sound was constructed in 1887. It was rebuilt in 1947 and again in 2008, the latter costing €5 million. [5]
The road is part of the Atlantic Drive on Achill Island, and popular with holidaymakers. [6] [7] The remainder of the Atlantic Drive route around Achill is signposted onto local roads where they follow the coastline more closely. [8]
The road is narrow and uneven in places, and below the standard required for modern road traffic. [9] In April 2017, the bridge between Mulranny and Tonragee was reduced to one lane of traffic as it had become unstable. Repairs were carried out throughout the year. A local councillor complained that the works were not considered important by the Department for Transport as it was only a regional road, as opposed to the nearby N59. [10] In 2019, a local group petitioned the Department of Transport and Mayo County Council to urgently improve three bridges along the R319. [9]
In 2023, the local council complained again about a lack of investment on the road. One councillor said it had "more humps and hollows than a camel’s back", explaining around €3 million was needed to bring the road up to acceptable safety standards. [1]
Achill Island is the largest of the Irish isles and lies off the west coast of Ireland in County Mayo. It has a population of 2,594. Its area is 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. The island is 87% peat bog. The parish of Achill consists of Achill Island, Achillbeg, Inishbiggle and the Corraun Peninsula.
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.
Gob an Choire or Gob a' Choire, formerly anglicised as Gubacurra, is a Gaeltacht village in County Mayo, Ireland. It lies on the east coast of Achill Island and is the first settlement one reaches after crossing the Michael Davitt Bridge, a swing bridge that joins Achill Island to Corraun Peninsula on the mainland. In ancient times the southern entrance was guarded by Carrickkildavnet Castle.
The Michael Davitt Bridge is a swing bridge on the R319 road in County Mayo, Ireland that crosses from Achill Island to the Mainland.
Keel is a village on Achill Island in County Mayo, Ireland.
The Midland Great Western Railway (MGWR) was the third largest Irish gauge railway company in Ireland. It was incorporated in 1845 and absorbed into the Great Southern Railways in 1924. At its peak the MGWR had a network of 538 miles (866 km), making it Ireland's third largest network after the Great Southern and Western Railway (GS&WR) and the Great Northern Railway of Ireland.
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.
Dooagh is a village located on Achill Island in County Mayo, Ireland. It is best known for the nearby Keem Bay, a Blue Flag beach.
Achill station served Achill in County Mayo, Ireland and was the terminus of the line which connected to Westport via Mallaranny (Mulranny) and Newport.
Dún Ibhir, meaning "Ibhir's stronghold", or "Ibhir's fort" is a Gaeltacht village on Achill Island in County Mayo, Ireland.
The Corraun Peninsula, also spelt Currane, is a peninsula in County Mayo, on the west coast of Ireland. It extends out from the mainland towards Achill Island.
Bun an Churraigh or Bun a' Churraigh is a small Gaeltacht village in the north of Achill Island in County Mayo, Ireland. The village has a national school, a Roman Catholic church, and formerly had a monastery. It had two shops and a post office in the year 2000, but these shut in 2007. Today it is home to the Bunnacurry Business Park, which houses Achill Turbot and Western Woodcraft. The village also has a number of B & Bs.
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.
The Great Western Greenway is a greenway rail trail in County Mayo, Ireland. It is 42 kilometres long and begins in Westport and ends in Achill, passing through the towns of Newport and Mulranny as it runs along the coast of Clew Bay. It is an off-road trail intended for use by cyclists and walkers. It follows the route of the former Achill extension of the Westport railway line, which was constructed in the 1890s and closed in 1937. An estimated 300 people cycle and walk the trail each day, which was constructed at a cost of €5.7 million. The first section, from Newport to Mulranny, was opened in April 2010. It was named as the 2011 Irish winner of the European Destinations of Excellence award. The full route was opened by Taoiseach Enda Kenny, T. D. and Minister of State for Tourism and Sport, Michael Ring, T. D., on 29 July 2011.
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.
The Seven Arches Bridge is a historic bridge in Newport, County Mayo, Ireland.
The Dublin-Galway Greenway is a partially completed 'coast-to-coast' greenway and partial rail trail, in Ireland, funded by the Department of Transport, which is due to become the western section of EuroVelo EV2, a cycle route from Galway, Ireland, crossing Europe and ending in Moscow, Russia. The 276 km route was planned to be completed by 2020. It is due to be the fourth greenway in Ireland, after the Great Southern Trail, the Great Western Greenway and the Waterford Greenway.
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.