ACHILL ("

See also:

• EAGLE (Fr. aigle, from the Lat. aquila)

Eagle ")  , the largest island off Ireland, separated from the Curraun peninsula of the west coast by the narrow Achill Sound . Pop . (1901) 4929 . It is included in the county Mayo, in the western parliamentary division . Its shape is triangular, and its extent is 15 M. from E. to W. and 12 from N. to S . The area is 57 sq. m . The island is mountainous, the highest points being Slieve Croaghaun (2192 ft.) in the west, and Slievemore (2204 ft.) in the north; the extreme western point is the bold and rugged promontory of Achill Head, and the north-western and south-western coasts consist of ranges of magnificent cliffs, reaching a height of 800 ft. in the cliffs of Minaun, near the village of Keel on the south . The seaward slope of Croaghaun is abrupt and in parts precipitous, and its jagged flanks, together with the serrated ridge of the Head and the view over the broken coast-line and islands of the counties Mayo and Galway, attract many visitors to the island during summer . Desolate bogs, incapable of cultivation, alternate with the mountains; and the inhabitants earn a scanty subsistence by fishing and tillage, or by seeking employment in England and Scotland during the harvesting . The Congested Districts Board, however, have made efforts to improve the condition of the people, and a branch of the Midland Great Western railway to Achill Sound, together with a swivel bridge across the sound, improved communications and make for prosperity . Dugort, the principal village, contains several hotels . Here is a Protest-ant colony, known as " the Settlement " and founded in 1834 .

There are antiquarian remains (cromlechs,

stone circles and the like) at Slievemore and elsewhere .