page_title: List of islands of County Mayo
hierarchical_section_title: List of islands of County Mayo
caption_attribution_description: English: Keem Bay, Achill Island Co. Mayo, Ireland Keem Bay on Achill Island, (Acaill, Oileán Acla) County Mayo in Ireland is a perfect horseshoe bay containing a popular Blue Flag beach at the head of a valley between the cliffs of Benmore to the west and Croaghaun mountain on the east. At the southern end of the valley, the beach is sheltered to the west by Moyteoge Head, while at the northwestern end of the valley the cliffs of Benmore connect with the spectacular mile long promontory of Achill Head. This spar is the most westerly point on Achill and tails off with two sea stacks called Gaoí Saggart and Carrickakin. Keem is accessible for cars via a clifftop road that was constructed in the 1960s along the route of an older track. This road also crosses a local geological boundary, exposing a seam of amethyst quartz in the cliffside. Amethyst is a semiprecious stone with a magnificent purple to voilet coloration, said in folklore to have a number of properties including as a love charm, as protection against thieves and drunkeness, and as an aide to sleep. Keem Bay was traditionally used by fishermen on Achill Island and is undoubtedly the location of the artist Paul Henry's famous painting 'Launching the Currach' (1910, on display in the National Gallery of Ireland). Until fairly recently the waters of Keem Bay were home to the basking shark as well as grey seals and numerous varieties of fish. In the 1940s and 50s the basking shark was hunted by local fishermen at Keem Bay using traditional canvas covered curraghs and directed by spotters situated on the cliffside on Moyteoge Head. The oil of the basking shark was extracted for export as a fine grade lubricant for the aerospace industry. The largest specimen of the porbeagle shark caught by rod-and-line in Irish waters was caught off Keem Bay by Dr. O'Donnell-Browne in 1932. It weighed 365lbs. Croaghaun is the most westerly peak of Achill Island and stands at 664 metres. On the northern slope of the mountain lie the highest sea cliffs in the country and also the highest in Europe. The cliffs are part of a vast array of sheer rock faces which start south of Keem Bay and loop around Achill head onwards to Slievemore, dropping almost vertically into the pounding waters of the Atlantic Ocean.
context_page_description: This articles lists the islands of County Mayo, the mainland of which is part of the island of Ireland. Included in this list are named offshore and freshwater islands as recorded by Ordnance Survey Ireland or the Placenames Database of Ireland. Additionally, areas of ecological significance related to both offshore and freshwater islands, designated by the National Parks and Wildlife Service, are also listed.
  Although County Mayo has hundreds of offshore and freshwater islands, only a handful of islands and island groups are large enough to be distinguishable on a typical map of the county, namely Achill Island, Clare Island and Inishturk, along with the island clusters of Duvillaun, Inishkea, Clew Bay and the major loughs. There are over 100 islands which are greater than 10 acres in area. The largest island is Achill, which extends to 148 km², making it Ireland's largest offshore island.
  Due to its abundance of bays, inlets and offshore islands, Mayo has the longest coastline of any county in Ireland, at 1,168 km or approximately 21% of the total coastline of the State. The geology and geomorphology of the county and its islands is among the most varied and complex in Ireland.
context_section_description: This articles lists the islands of County Mayo, the mainland of which is part of the island of Ireland. Included in this list are named offshore and freshwater islands as recorded by Ordnance Survey Ireland or the Placenames Database of Ireland. Additionally, areas of ecological significance related to both offshore and freshwater islands, designated by the National Parks and Wildlife Service, are also listed.
  Although County Mayo has hundreds of offshore and freshwater islands, only a handful of islands and island groups are large enough to be distinguishable on a typical map of the county, namely Achill Island, Clare Island and Inishturk, along with the island clusters of Duvillaun, Inishkea, Clew Bay and the major loughs. There are over 100 islands which are greater than 10 acres (4.0 ha) in area. The largest island is Achill, which extends to 148 km² (37,000 acres), making it Ireland's largest offshore island.
  Due to its abundance of bays, inlets and offshore islands, Mayo has the longest coastline of any county in Ireland, at 1,168 km (726 mi) or approximately 21% of the total coastline of the State. The geology and geomorphology of the county and its islands is among the most varied and complex in Ireland.  Islands such as those at Clew Bay are low-lying, formed when rising sea levels drowned a vast field of drumlins, while others like Clare Island and Achill are characterised by mountains and towering sea-cliffs, of which Croaghaun are the third-highest in Europe, at 688 m (2,257 ft)
  The bedrock geology of the islands is broadly divided into two groups. Those north of Clew Bay such as Achill and the islands off the Mullet Peninsula are generally of ancient Dalradian age, similar to Donegal and the Grampian Highlands. Inishglora contains some of the oldest rocks in Ireland, at 1.75 billion years old. Further south, the islands are much more diverse. Clare island alone is composed of Cambrian, Ordovician, Silurian and Carboniferous terranes sutured together. Geologically, the Clew Bay islands themselves are the youngest in the county, formed during the Lower Carboniferous about 350 million years ago.
  The county's offshore islands - and islands off the west coast of Ireland generally - developed their own distinct culture and traditions stretching back centuries. Records from the 1841 Census show that 47 of County Mayo's offshore islands were inhabited, with a combined population of approximately 10,000.These islands were decimated by the Great Famine, resulting in either widespread or total depopulation. Towards the end of the 19th century the population of the larger islands began to recover somewhat, only to be set back by emigration following independence. The Irish government initially encouraged the evacuation of the islands due to the cost of providing services to them, further hastening the decline.
  Today, the islands are recognised by the State as an integral part of Ireland's national heritage, preserving the remnants of a unique aspect of Irish culture. The remaining inhabited islands receive support and funding through the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. As of the 2016 Census, there are 2,700 people living on 14 of the county's offshore islands (of which 2,440 live on Achill), accounting for 1.87% of the county's population.
caption: Achill is Ireland's largest island
exif: {}