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| ACHILL ISLAND, COUNTY MAYO.-Achill, situated at the northern entrance to picturesque Clew Bay, in the county Mayo, is conceded to be the most considerable island off the shore line of Ireland. It is some sixteen miles in length by seven in width, and is as rugged a spot of ground as Europe can boast of. The channel that separates it from the mainland is a mile or more in breadth, and is noticeable for the fury of its current in stormy weather. Two magnificent mountains-Slievemore and Slieve-Croghan-each over 2,000 feet in height, tower to the clouds from its rocky surface. Slieve-Croghan is renowned for the grandeur and abruptness of its precipices, which beetle above the wild waves of the sea. Heather, wild grass and stunted juniper trees constitute the vegetation, such as it is, of Achill. Its 4,500 people live mainly by fishing and dwell, for the most part, in huts of the most primitive form of construction. The sketch shows the handsome modern village of Dugort-called by the rural folks "the settlement,"-situated at the foot, and sheltered by the gigantic cone,of Slievemore. It is a sea-bathing resort, made up of pretty cottages, hotels, a police barrack and a coastguard station. An Episcopalian church, built in 1855, occupies the foreground of the picture. |
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