A village on a channel
Achill Sound (Gob an Choire) sits on the narrow tidal channel that separates Achill Island from the mainland. It is a Gaeltacht village and the main service centre for the island, and the Michael Davitt Bridge crosses here, linking the island to the mainland’s Corraun Peninsula. It makes a base for cycling and a stop on the way to the island rather than a destination in its own right.
Walk or cycle the greenway
The Great Western Greenway runs through Achill Sound and continues towards Cashel. Use the published route map, follow the signs at road crossings and allow for the return if you are going one way. The mainland section goes towards Mulranny.
Check Achill Tourism for current visitor information. Stay back from the channel and give working areas and boat access space.
The bridge and the Corraun Peninsula
The Michael Davitt Bridge is a swing-bridge, first opened in 1887 and rebuilt in 2008. West of it lies the Corraun Peninsula (Currane), a near-island spur of the mainland reaching toward Achill and a strongly Irish-speaking area. The ground rises to two hills, Knockletragh (452 m) and Corraun Hill (524 m), over a patchwork of bog, native woodland and glacial lakes. The red-pink Dalradian bedrock gives the Corraun hills their colour.
History
- Carrickkildavnet Castle: a 15th-century Anglo-Norman tower guarding the southern mouth of the sound. It is not open to the public, but it carries the maritime story tied to Grace O’Malley (Gráinne Mhaol).
- Spanish Armada wreck site: tradition places the wreck of the San Nicolás de Prodaneli, driven ashore in a storm in 1588, at Tourglass on the Corraun shore. An interpretive viewpoint marks it, looking out over Clew Bay and Clare Island.
- Napoleonic signal tower: a ruined rectangular stone tower on the summit of Corraun Hill, once part of Britain’s early-19th-century coastal telegraph network between Clew Bay and Blacksod Bay.
- 19th-century salmon industry: the Scottish entrepreneur Alexander Hector introduced commercial bag-net salmon fishing in the 1850s, with ice-houses to hold the catch before it went to Achill Sound. One of the best-preserved ice-house remains is at Dooaghbeg, where two stone gables stick out of the ground; the Achill Archaeological Field School uses it to study the area’s industrial and ecological history.
The Atlantic Drive
Achill Sound opens onto the Atlantic Drive, a coastal route you can drive, cycle or walk. It splits in two:
- Loop 1 (Corraun Peninsula): from Mulranny, along the north shore of Clew Bay past the beach at Mulranny and the Armada memorial. The road runs through Dooghbeg and Bolinglanna to Currane, where the ruins of a 19th-century garden can still be made out.
- Loop 2 (Achill Island): from the bridge, south along the sound past Kildavnet Church and the O’Malley tower house. At Cloughmore the road swings to the open Atlantic and boulder-strewn headlands, with the uninhabited island of Achillbeg and its promontory forts offshore, then climbs to a vantage over Ashleam Bay before dropping to Dooega and the heights of Minaun.
Stay on public roads and signed paths, and leave gates, fields and ruins as you find them.
Walking and cycling
The Great Western Greenway is the easy way to see the area on foot or by bike, following the route map rather than improvising across farmland. The Corraun hills give wide views across the sound and, on a clear day, towards Croagh Patrick, but the weather turns fast, so bring waterproof footwear and layers, and check the ground and access before you head uphill.
Practical information
- Getting there: Achill Sound is on the R319 on the way onto Achill Island, a long drive from Westport. Check Bus Éireann timetables for current services.
- Bridge and channel: keep clear of the channel and boat access points.
- Visitor information: Achill Tourism lists current information on services and places to stay.
- When to go: late spring to early autumn gives the most reliable weather and the longest light. September brings quieter roads and autumn colour on the peninsula.
Nearby
- Ballycroy National Park – a short drive north for blanket-bog walks, forest trails and birdwatching.
- Mulranny – the gateway village for the Atlantic Drive, with a beach, the Mulranny Causeway walk and the mainland end of the greenway section.