Overview
The Michael Davitt Bridge is the only road onto Achill Island, carrying the R319 across Achill Sound from the Corraun Peninsula in County Mayo. The one you drive today is the third to stand here: a 390-tonne swing bridge, opened in 2008, that still turns on a central pivot when a tall boat needs through. Most people cross it without a second glance, which is fair enough – but it’s a genuinely unusual piece of working engineering, and it has been the island’s lifeline for more than 130 years.
Three bridges since 1887
Before any bridge, islanders crossed by ferry or waded the sound at low tide, and people and horses were lost to the tidal surge doing it. The first bridge, authorised by the Board of Trade and named after the land-reform campaigner Michael Davitt, opened in 1887, built for horse-drawn traffic at a cost of around £5,000.
By the 1930s it was too narrow and worn for motor cars. Mayo County Council’s replacement opened in 1949 at a cost of about £20,000 and served for six decades, until its swing mechanism began to fail in the 2000s.
The current bridge, opened in the summer of 2008, was designed by Malachy Walsh & Partners and built by SIAC Construction. Its cable-tensioned lines nod to the work of the Spanish engineer Santiago Calatrava.
The swing mechanism
The 2008 bridge is 225.5 m long and 6.5 m wide, and weighs about 390 tonnes. Unlike most modern opening bridges it is still worked by hand: an operator turns a wheel to release the lock and swing the deck clear for taller vessels. Because that takes real effort, the bridge is kept shut for everyday traffic and opened only for scheduled sailings or heritage events. Its 130th anniversary in 2017 was marked with a parade of yachts and traditional Achill yawls – one of the few times in recent years anyone’s watched it swing. If you’re hoping to catch it open, don’t build a trip around it; check for a sailing-club or county-council event first.
At night, integrated LED lighting picks out the deck, which is when the bridge is at its best for a photograph – arrive around dusk and give it a few minutes as the light drops.
Beyond the bridge
The crossing is the gateway to the rest of Achill. Turn north and the road runs on toward Achill Sound village and, further out, Keem Bay and the deserted village under Slievemore; turn south for the ruins of Kildavnet Castle. The bridge is also where the Great Western Greenway reaches the island, so cyclists riding the Westport–Achill route cross here. For wilder ground, the boglands and trails of Ballycroy / Wild Nephin National Park are a short drive back on the mainland.
Getting there
- By car: From Dublin, the M6 to Castlebar, then the N5 to Westport and the R319 out to Achill Sound – roughly four hours all in.
- By bus: Bus Éireann route 450 runs between Westport and Achill several times a day; Local Link 460a connects Achill Sound with Castlebar.
- By train: The nearest stations are Castlebar and Westport, both on the line from Dublin Connolly.
Free short-stay parking is in Achill Sound village – there are no bays on the bridge approach itself. If you’re on foot, remember the carriageway is the crossing, with only narrow paths alongside, so mind the traffic.