Day 3 Sunday, July 27, 2014

Itinerary For Today – Sun 27th – Westport- Achill island- Croagh Patrick – Westport

Westport – Matt Molloy’s Pub With Mick Lavelle Playing the Fiddle

Matt Molloy iis the Irish flutist in Ireland’s most famous traditional music band, The Chieftains.  While Matt travels around the world with the Chieftains you will occasionally find him and/or his wife at the pub.
In this picture you see one of Ireland’s most famous “liltists” – Mick LaVelle.  Shawn, mom, and I were personally entertained by Mick for more than two hours in the back room of Matt Molloy’s pub when we visited Shawn in Tullycross.
Sadly, Matt dies this past October or November. But he was a unique character and remains one of my favorite memories of our trips to Ireland.  If you click the following link, you can read an interview a writer had with Mick just a few weeks before he died: Mick Lavelle

ACHILL ISLAND

CROAGHAUN CLIFF

KEEM BAY 
Be prepared for breathtaking views on this trip. The first time I saw Achill I told mom, “this is where I want to live”. You won’t want to leave and after you do, you will always want to come back here. Irish pirate Grace O’Malley lived most of her life here with her O’Malley clann. O’Malley Messner is aptly named after this fiery Irish female pirate.  Grace O’Malley was born on Clare island which is located in Clew Bay off the coast of Westport.

Achill Island (/ˈækəl/; Irish: Acaill, Oileán Acla) in County Mayo is the largest island off the coast of Ireland, and is situated off the west coast. It has a population of 2,700. Its area is 148 km² (57 sq mi). Achill is attached to the mainland by Michael Davitt Bridge, between the villages of Gob an Choire (Achill Sound) and Poll Raithní (Polranny). A bridge was first completed here in 1887, replaced by another structure in 1949, and subsequently replaced with the current bridge which was completed in 2008. Other centres of population include the villages of Keel, Dooagh, Dumha Éige (Dooega) and Dugort. The parish’s main Gaelic football pitch and two secondary schools are on the mainland at Poll Raithní. Early human settlements are believed to have been established on Achill around 3000 BC. A paddle dating from this period was found at the crannóg near Dookinella. The island is 87% peat bog. The parish of Achill also includes the Curraun peninsula. Some of the people of Curraun consider themselves Achill people, and most natives of Achill refer to this area as being “in Achill”. There are between 500-600 native Irish speakers in Achill parish. In the summer of 1996, the RNLI decided to station a lifeboat at Kildownet.