achill island

Achill, Ireland's largest offshore island and one if its most spectacular, is joined to the mainland by a bridge at Achill Sound. With a population of some 3,000 people, it is 22 km (14 miles) long and 19 km (12 miles) wide. The island carries the distinction of having received five European five Blue flag Beach awards.

Achill's steep hills rise steeply from the sea, and the island possesses some of the most amazing cliff faces in Europe. Its famous Atlantic Drive reveals some of Achill's most glorious scenery: bogland and poor farmland mingling with heather and fuschia hedges. On the southern coast of Achill are the strange Cathedral Rocks and at the western end is Croaghaun which rises from the sea to a height of 665m (2129ft). The lower slopes of Slievemore mountain were home to 'the colony' a Protestant mission established in 1834 to help convert Catholics. It offered education, food, clothing and shelter to the children as a reward for becoming Protestant. Achill has attracted painters and writers over the years who have been captured by the beauty of the island. <