Check before you travel
The Achill Archaeological Field School (Scoil Seandálaíochta Acla) is, as of 2026, in transition and listed for sale or lease. The University of Galway has confirmed that accredited courses will not run in summer 2026. Guided tours, site visits and future programmes are not guaranteed, so contact the school directly before planning a trip around it. With that caveat stated plainly, the school is still the best route into the island’s archaeology.
Founded in 1991 at the Achill Folklife Centre in Dooagh on Achill Island, it is Ireland’s longest-running archaeological field school, and for three decades it has trained students and led visitors across more than 5,000 years of settlement on this stretch of the Wild Atlantic Way.
The Slievemore project
The school’s central work is the Deserted Village at the foot of Slievemore, a 19th-century settlement abandoned during the Great Famine. The founding project set out to document the 84 surviving drystone houses, their lazy-bed fields, and the Rundale system of shared open-field farming that once worked this ground.
The digging has since reached much further back than the village. Excavations now cover the whole timeline of the island:
- Neolithic court and portal tombs, among the oldest standing structures in Ireland.
- Bronze Age hut sites and carved stone heads.
- Early medieval ringforts and coastal promontory forts.
- Post-medieval dwellings at sites such as Caraun Point, with evidence of early Atlantic settlement.
Courses
For over thirty years the school ran training accredited by the University of Galway, from one-week introductory digs to ten-week residential programmes worth up to 18 ECTS credits. Alumni have gone into archaeology and anthropology worldwide, and the recurring praise is the low tutor-to-student ratio and the range of sites, from Neolithic tombs to Second World War observation posts. Past offerings included a Trainee Supervisor Course, an evening lecture series, and specialist training in maritime archaeology and landscape survey. Anyone hoping to study should watch the official website for the return of courses.
Guided tours and the landscape
When tours run, in the peak season of roughly April to September, they are half-day or full-day walks led by qualified archaeologists. Recurring stops:
- Slievemore Deserted Village: the pathways linking the three clusters of houses up the rugged slope.
- Caraun Point: an early medieval site of drystone dwellings and a shell midden dated to the 8th–10th centuries; excavation here turned up marine shell, butchered bone and rare green glass, evidence of Atlantic trade and diet.
- Cromlech Tumulus: a Middle Bronze Age house site on Slievemore, tied to the nearby Neolithic tombs.
- Keem Bay and Corraun: tours often run on to the post-Famine settlement at Keem Bay and the cliffs of the Corraun Peninsula.
For those who cannot get there, the school has worked with the Archaeological Institute of America on ‘Interactive Digs’, putting student notebooks, field updates and artefact photography online.
Research and publications
Founder Dr Theresa McDonald has done much of the work of getting Achill’s archaeology into print. Her 2016 book Booleying in Ireland examines booleying (boilghe), the seasonal movement of cattle to mountain pasture, drawing on finds from Slievemore. The school also produces an illustrated Guide to Archaeological and Historical Sites on Achill, Achillbeg and the Corraun Peninsula, covering 6,000 years across 85 sites, sold through local bookshops and the school’s online shop.
Visitor information
The school sits inside the Achill Folklife Centre, a short drive from Achill Sound, with classrooms, an exhibition titled 25 Years Exploring an Atlantic Island, a lab for artefact analysis and specialist library resources.
- Address: Achill Folklife Centre, Dooagh, Achill Island, Co Mayo, F28 HK11
- Phone: +353 87 6772045 (or +353 86 1755838 from within Ireland)
- Email: info@achill-fieldschool.com
- Parking: on-site car park with wheelchair-accessible spaces
- Accessibility: the campus has accessible facilities, but most archaeological sites involve uneven ground, so anyone with mobility needs should call ahead
Getting there
- By car: the N59 to the Michael Davitt Bridge onto the island, then signs for Dooagh; the Folklife Centre is signposted.
- By bus: Bus Éireann runs to Westport and Achill Sound; from Achill Sound it is a short taxi ride or walk to Dooagh.
- By air: the nearest airport is Ireland West Airport Knock, about 1 hour 30 minutes by car.
Nearby
- Achill Sound – the island’s main village, with a harbour and the start of several coastal walks.
- Keem Bay – a Blue Flag beach below a ruined 19th-century village and an old Coast Guard station.
- Bartragh Island – reachable by boat, good for a quiet walk and birdwatching.
- Ballycroy National Park – inland, protecting the Wild Nephin landscape.