Achill Island (; ) 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 . 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), Dooniver, The Valley 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.