Achill Island () in County Mayo is the largest island off the coast of Ireland, and is situated off the west coast.

It is believed that at the end of the Neolithic Period ( around 4000 BC ), Achill had a population of 500 – 1, 000 people.

Achill has a long history of human settlement and there is evidence that Achill was inhabited as many as 5, 000 years ago.

Grace O ' Malley's Castle Kildamhnait Castle is a 15th century tower house associated with the O ' Malley Clan, who were once a ruling family of Achill.

One of Achill's most famous historical sites is that of the Achill Mission or ' the Colony ' at Dugort.

Kildamhnait on the south east coast of Achill is named after St. Damhnait, or Dymphna, who founded a church there in the 16th century.

The historic Valley House is located in The Valley, near Dugort in the north-east of Achill Island.

Lynchehaun is said to have returned to Achill on two occasions, once in disguise as an American tourist, and eventually died in Girvan, Scotland, in 1937.

Keem BayAchill Archaeological Field School is based at the Achill Archaeology Centre in Dooagh, which has served as a catalyst for a wide array of archaeological investigations on the island.

It was during his early trips to Achill prior to the outbreak of World War I that Henri painted extensively and is reputed to have done portraits of almost all the children in Dooagh village.

The largest island in Connacht, and the island of Ireland, is Achill.

Westport House is situated in an impressive parkland setting with a lake, terraces, gardens and magnificent views overlooking Clew Bay, the Atlantic Ocean, Achill, Clare Island and Ireland's Holy Mountain, Croagh Patrick.

The Great Western Greenway is a greenway rail trail that follows the route of the former Midland Great Western Railway branch line to Achill, via Newport and Mulranny.

This road is a basic 2 lane road, and suffers from chronic congestion, particularly in the summer months when thousands of tourists have to negotiate the bottleneck on route to neighbouring Westport and Achill.

In Achill Island the curach is built with double gunwales.

From the southwest part of the bay eastwards are Louisburgh, Lecanvey, Murrisk, and Westport ; north of Westport is Newport, and westwards from there lies Mulranny, gateway to Achill.

Although he seems to have ceased experimenting with his technique after he left Achill and his range is limited, he created a large body of fine images whose familiarity is a testament to its influence.

The bridge from Achill Island to the mainland is named after him.

Note: The second picture on this page is not in fact Rockfleet castle, but another of Gráinne O ' Malley's castles, Carrickildownet Castle ( Irish: Carraig Chilldamhnait or Caisleán Charraig Chilldamhnait, also called Caisleán Ghráinne-Gráinne's Castle )-it is on the Atlantic Drive on Achill Island, east of Cloughmore.

It lies on the east side 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.

Achill Sound is also the name of the waterway separting Achill Island from the Irish mainland.

Acaill Bheag was evacuated in 1965 and the inhabitants were settled on the main ( Achill ) island and nearby mainland.

The Kirkintilloch Burning Disaster in 1937 fulfilled the second part of the prophecy, when the bodies of ten victims were carried by rail to Achill.

Personal photo by Kanchelskis on it :, see: it: Immagine: Achill Slievemore. JPG.

Denis Gallagher was born in Currane, by Clew Bay, facing Achill Island, County Mayo in 1922.

After receiving an inheritance, Boycott was persuaded by his friend, Murray McGregor Blacker, a local magistrate, to move to Achill Island, a large island off the coast of County Mayo.

He moved to Achill Island in 1913 to write, learn Irish and ( like others of the Gaelic Revival ) gain an appreciation of Irish culture, as perceived by many of his contemporaries to uniquely exist on the western seaboard.

After 159 years of faithful service the lighthouse was taken out of service on 28 September 1965, replaced by the modern Achillbeg Island lighthouse on the south side of Achill Island.

Following the closure of the Achill line in 1937, there was little work for them to do, but one served on the Claremorris to Ballina branch for a time, another was occasionally used between Portarlington and Athlone and a third member of the class ended its days as a stationary boiler at Broadstone depot. The others seem to have found their way by degrees to Athlone and Broadstone.

Redesignated as the Class 530 or Class D16 by the Great Southern Railways, and repainted overall dull battleship grey instead of the lined green livery they carried in MGWR days, they served the Achill line reliably to the last.

A full description of the locomotives, a line drawing and many illustrations may be seen in the book Rails to Achill ( a history of the Achill line ) by Jonathan Beaumont, published in 2002 by the Oakwood Press, Usk, Monmouthshire.

In 2008 the paper was the first to expose the controversial fundraising activities of the House of Prayer run by self proclaimed visionary Christina Gallagher in Achill, Co Mayo.

The Michael Davitt Bridge is a swing bridge in County Mayo, Ireland that crosses from the Corraun Peninsula to Achill Island.

There are between 500-600 native Irish speakers in Achill parish.

From the south side of the bay, between Clare Island and Achill, Bills Rocks can be seen.

Tryon chose the nickname ' Achill admiral ' for himself, from the name of a small island midway between the two bases.

Gob an Choire or Gob a ' Choire ( English name: Achill Sound ), formerly anglicized as Gubacurra, is a Gaeltacht village in County Mayo, Ireland.

In 1894, the Westport-Newport railway line was extended to Achill Sound.

* Achill Sound

They were originally planned for use on the Mullingar to Sligo mail trains, however they were poor steamers and proved to be underpowered for this work being transferred soon afterwards to the Westport – Achill branch line in western County Mayo — a highly scenic line which passed through the small town of Newport and the village of Mallaranny before reaching the western seaboard at Achill Sound.

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