Achillbeg
| Achillbeg Irish: Acaill Bheag | |
 Achillbeg, seen from the lighthouse on Clare Island | |
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| Location | |
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| Location: | 53°52’1"N, 9°57’13"W |
| Grid reference: | L715926 |
| Data | |
| Population: | 0 |
Achillbeg is a small and now uninhabited island in County Mayo, just off the southern tip of Achill Island. Its name is the Irish Acaill Bheag, which means simply 'Little Achill'.
History
Achillbeg was evacuated in 1965 and the inhabitants were settled on the main island, Achill, and on the nearby mainland. The main settlement was in the centre of the island, bounded by two hills to the north and south.
There are a small number of holiday homes on the island, but they are usually empty for most of the year. Access to the island is from the village of Cloghmore, by local arrangement.
A lighthouse on Achillbeg's southern tip was completed in 1965.
Art and literature
A comprehensive book about the life and times of the island and the people and way of life there, "Achillbeg - The Life of an Island", by Jonathan Beaumont was published in 2005.[1]
The Irish artist Pete Hogan wrote a book about his time spent living on the island in 1983, The Artist on the Island: An Achill Journal which was published in 2013.[2]
References
- ↑ Beaumont, Jonathan (28 February 2005). Achillbeg: The Life of an Island. The Oakwood Press. ISBN 0853616310.
- ↑ Hogan, Pete (3 February 2014). The Artist on the Island: An Achill Journal. The Liffey Press. ISBN 9781908308498.
