Ireland (Lonely Planet, 9th Edition) - Fionn Davenport [378]
Achill Cliff House Hotel Restaurant ( 098-43400; www.achillcliff.com; Keel; mains €21-26; lunch Sun, dinner nightly) Locally caught seafood like black sole on the bone with creamy tarragon sauce or herb-crusted baked cod is the order of the day here, but tasty alternatives include ginger and orange roast duckling.
Supermarkets on the island include Sweeney’s, located just across the bridge as you enter Achill, and Costcutter, in Keel.
Drinking & Entertainment
Annexe Inn ( 098-43268; Keel; from 6pm) This cosy little pub delivers the best traditional music sessions year-round. It has music almost nightly in July and August, and at weekends the rest of the year.
Club Zamba ( seasonal opening periods vary) The DJ at Achill Head Hotel’s club (see above) consistently fills the dance floor.
Getting There & Around
Bus Éireann ( 096-71800) services run from Ballina and Westport Monday to Saturday year-round, with nine stops on the island, including at Dooagh, Keel, Dugort, Cashel and Achill Sound.
Call ahead to organise summertime bike rental ( 098-43125).
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BANGOR ERRIS
pop 295
This unexceptional little village is the start or end point for the 48km Bangor Trail, which connects Bangor (Bain Gear) and Newport. It’s an extraordinary hike that takes walkers through some of the bleakest and most remote countryside in Ireland. Unfortunately, you’ll need several 1:50,000 OS maps to cover the trail.
Bus Éireann ( 096-71800) runs an evening bus Monday to Saturday (and an additional noon bus in July and August) from Ballina (€11.40, one hour).
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BALLYCROY NATIONAL PARK
Covering one of Europe’s largest expanses of blanket bog, Ballycroy National Park ( 098-49888; www.ballycroynationalpark.ie; admission free; visitor centre 8am-5.30pm) was founded in 1998 and became fully operational in 2009. It is a gorgeously scenic region, where the River Owenduff wends its way through intact bogs. The park is accessible from the Bangor Trail (above).
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MULLET PENINSULA
Dangling some 30km into the Atlantic, this thinly populated Gaeltacht peninsula feels more cut off than many islands, and has a similar sense of forsakenness. However, you’ll find pristine beaches along its sheltered eastern shore. The main settlement is the functional little town of Belmullet (Béal an Mhuirthead).
Information
Atlantek Computers ( 097-82255; Carter Sq, Belmullet; per hr €6; 9.30am-9pm Mon-Fri, 10am-6pm Sat) Internet access.
Bank of Ireland (Carter Sq, Belmullet) Has an ATM and bureau de change.
Erris tourist office ( 097-81500; Barrack St, Belmullet; 9.30am-4.30pm Mon-Fri Easter-Sep)
Post office (Main St, Belmullet)
Sights
The road south from Belmullet loops round the tip of the peninsula to rejoin itself at Aghleam. Near Blacksod Point are the remains of an old church, and the view across the bay takes in the spot where La Rata Santa Maria Encoronada, part of the 1588 Spanish Armada, came in and was later burned by its captain.
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PIPELINE PROTEST
Mayo’s far-flung northwest has made national headlines in recent years. A David-and-Goliath-like battle continues over the construction of a high-pressure raw gas pipeline between Mayo’s offshore Corrib gas field (owned by a consortium of Shell, Statoil and Marathon Oil) and refinery at Bellanaboy.
Fearing the pipeline poses health and safety risks to residents, Shell to Sea (Shell chun Sáile) campaigners advocate refining the gas at sea (as it is off County Cork). Offshoot organisation People of Kilcommon (Pobal Chill Chomáin; also known as Gas to Glinsk) proposes moving the refinery to the largely uninhabited Glinsk area to the east. Shell’s position is that the pipeline is beneficial for job creation and the nation’s gross domestic product and energy supplies.
Protests ensued when local landowners from Rossport, who became known as the ‘Rossport Five’, rejected compulsory acquisition orders for Shell workers