If even the Wild Atlantic Way isn’t remote enough for you, turn west to the Mullet – a T-shaped peninsula pointing down into the Atlantic. On the sheltered eastern side, you have Ellie Beach. To the wild west, the roaring Atlantic.
The Spanish Armada and Norwegian Whalers found safe havens here, and the Mullet was also a departure point for emigrants to North America. Blue flag beaches and wild walking territory line the journey to the southern tip of the Mullet – which ends at Blacksod Harbour.
Blacksod Lighthouse, the peninsula’s handsome punctuation mark, played a crucial role in one of the most momentous decisions of the Second World War: when to launch Operation Overlord – the D-Day invasion of occupied France in June 1944.
The Allies needed accurate predictions of sea conditions in the Channel, and relied on weather reports from the Sweeney family – who were running the Lighthouse at the far west of Europe. The invasion was due to take place on 5 June, but they reported low pressure jeopardising its success. D-Day was postponed by 24 hours.
Their descendent, Vincent Sweeney, says that while the location might feel like the end of the world, it is globally connected.
“We’re not so isolated in one way. It’s a haven when some people are in distress at sea; we look after them.” Once again, he uses a phrase I heard many times on our journey: “it’s in our blood.”
The Mullet feels like an island, but isn’t. In contrast, Achill is an island – the largest isle off the coast of Ireland – yet you can reach it with a bridge across the Atlantic, or at least a short stretch of it. The arched span takes you to one of the most special places I know. The road snakes along the side of an ancient cliff, which, over aeons, is crumbling into the ocean.
The writer Graham Greene came to Achill Island in search of inspiration and many movie makers have come here in search of superb backdrops – including the creators of the Banshees of Inisherin. This highly acclaimed and multi-award winning film is set on a fictional island off the west coast of Ireland – but the location was real enough – including a lonely house on Keem Bay at the far west of Achill. If you loved the movie, you’ll adore the place where key scenes were filmed.
Considering the remoteness of this far-flung fragment of Ireland, you may be surprised to learn that Achill was once connected with the rest of Ireland by rail. In 1897 Ireland’s Great Western railway opened from…
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