Overview
The last families left Achillbeg in 1965, and no one has lived here since. Acaill Bheag – ‘Little Achill’ – is a 150-hectare island off the southern tip of Achill Island in County Mayo, reached by a ten-minute ferry from the pier at Cé Mhór (Cloghmore). What you find is a landscape of grassy hills, drystone field walls, roofless cottages and the squat concrete tower of the lighthouse. There are no shops, no roads and no facilities of any kind.
The island sits within a Gaeltacht area, so Irish is the everyday language of the neighbouring community on Achill, though Achillbeg itself now keeps only a handful of holiday homes, mostly empty outside summer.
History and community life
Human presence here goes back over 3,000 years. For centuries the island held a community that lived on fishing, farming and seasonal migration: many islanders left each summer to pick potatoes in Scotland, returning in the autumn to face the Atlantic winter.
In the early 1900s the island school was run by a teacher named Francis Hugh Power, known locally as An Paorach. He taught the children music, chess and backgammon, and the memory of him survives in the island’s oral history. By then the population was already falling to emigration and the plain difficulty of island life, and in 1965 the last families were resettled on Achill and the mainland.
If you want the fuller story, Jonathan Beaumont’s Achillbeg: The Life of an Island and Pete Hogan’s The Artist on the Island both cover life before the evacuation.
The Johnny Kilbane connection
World featherweight boxing champion John Patrick Kilbane was born in Cleveland, Ohio, but his father’s people came from Achillbeg. Kilbane held the featherweight title from 1912 to 1923, the longest unbroken reign in the division’s history. A plaque near the pier, unveiled in 2012 for his centenary, marks the link.
The forts
Achillbeg has three Iron Age promontory forts: Dún Kilmore, Dún Beag and Dún Gurrough. The earthworks guard the western and southern cliffs above the Blind Sound, and Dún Kilmore is the one to walk to. It holds a stone altar, a holy-water font and a small burial ground (cillín), with a drystone gatehouse and surrounding fosse added when the walls were reinforced in the late medieval period. A nearby early-medieval hillside enclosure contains a crude cross of the kind found on St Columcille’s stone on Iona. The Achill Archaeological Field School has recorded the sites in detail.
The lighthouse
The lighthouse went up to fix a problem: the Clare Island light sat too low and was often lost in fog. Work began in May 1964, with materials landed by service tender. A tractor was floated over on a raft built by a local tradesman, and islanders lent donkeys to haul the loads up to the site, where the Commissioners of Irish Lights’ workforce and local men raised the square concrete tower.
It was inaugurated on 28 September 1965 by Ernest Benson, Chairman of the Commissioners of Irish Lights, on the same day the Clare Island light was put out. The tower stands 9 metres tall, with the lantern 56 metres above mean high water, flashing every five seconds. The light is sectored red and white to warn of hazards such as Bills Rock, with a range of 16 nautical miles for the white light and 18 for the intensified red. Since 1991 it has been unmanned, monitored remotely from Dún Laoghaire.
Wildlife and landscape
The ground is heathland, grassy slope and low cliff, grazed year-round by a small flock of sheep. With no one to disturb them, gulls, razorbills and guillemots work the rocky shore, and the shifting Atlantic light draws landscape photographers.
What to see and do
The roofless village sits in the centre, between two low hills, and the lanes and field walls still read clearly enough to show how people lived. It is the most affecting part of a visit. From there, footpaths lead west to Dún Kilmore and its views across the Blind Sound to Achill. The lighthouse is reachable along the shoreline, with an information board on its sectors and history, and panoramic views to Achill, Clare Island and the open sea. The Kilbane plaque is a short walk from the pier.
Practical information
Getting there
- The ferry leaves from the pier at Cé Mhór (Cloghmore), on Achill’s southern tip, operated by Achillbeg Ferry. The crossing takes about ten minutes each way.
- Book ahead, particularly in summer and at weekends, online or by phone.
- By road, take the R319 off the N59 towards Achill Sound and on to Cloghmore. The pier is signposted, with a small car park.
Costs and contact
- Fares vary by season; check the website, but reckon on roughly €10–€20 for an adult.
- Phone: 083 381 6276
- Email: info@achillbegferry.com
- Website: https://achillbegferry.com/
Tips for visitors
- Two hours is enough to walk the village, the forts and the lighthouse.
- Bring waterproofs, a windproof layer and boots. There are no paved paths and the weather turns fast.
- The terrain is uneven, with steps at the landing and rough ground throughout, so it is not suitable for wheelchairs or anyone with limited mobility.
- Carry all your own food and water. There is nothing on the island.
- Experienced kayakers paddle the Blind Sound, but currents run strong and unpredictable; attempt it only in calm conditions with proper safety gear.