Stunning Achill Island
This will be our second ‘home’ on Connemara’s Calling. Achill is the largest island off the Irish Coast having a total area 57 square miles and joined to the County Mayo mainland by the Michael Davitt Bridge.
Wild, windy and stunningly beautiful, Achill is a popular Summer holiday destination for the Irish, proudly having five ‘Blue Flag’ picture postcard beaches. It’s the most mountainous island off Ireland so there’s plenty of dramatic hillwalking for us walkers. We’ll walk along the some of the highest sea cliffs in Europe and climb Croaghaun (668m) with its five picturesque corrie lakes. We see some rare Arctic alpine flora on its peak such as wild juniper, a possible remnant from the Ice age.
The island has a long history of human settlement with megalithic tombs and promontory forts dating back 5,000 years. Achill people were severely affected during the Great Irish Famine and our guide will bring us to the haunting Slievemore deserted village. We will also visit the 16th century ‘pirate queen’ Granuaille’s (Grace O’Malley ) home at Kildavnet Tower. This remarkable woman is revered as a fierce warrior, with the added intrigue that her adventures and battles were effectively undermining the authority of the British rulers of the time. Such was her power that Queen Elizabeth called her for a summit to negotiate British access to the Irish western seaboard which Granuaille controlled.
Achill’s remote location and magnificent landscape has attracted a long list of interesting characters, from artists and writers to inventors and innovators seeking inspiration. Parts of Achill are in the Irish speaking ‘Gaeltacht’ area and you will more than likely hear Irish being spoken in the villages and on visits to the island’s very friendly pubs!
Achill has ancient association with the eagle (in fact, its name is an anglicised form of Eccuilli - Eagle Island). It was the last breeding place in western Ireland of the white-tailed eagle. The golden eagle became extinct here in about 1912. A number of rare bird species are still found on the island including the chough and peregine falcon.
Connemara’s Calling walkers will be treated to two days in holiday cottages high above the village of Dooagh with spectacular views across the bay to the Minaun Cliffs.
