The Deserted Village

As with many areas in the West of Ireland, Achill Island was badly hit by the potato famine and emigration. There is a stark reminder of this at the deserted village, in which numerous house ruins can be seen as you walk along a road that presumably was the main street through the village.

Deserted Village - Achill Island
Deserted Village – Achill Island

In the land below, evidence remains of the strip farming with the mounds and furrows clearly visible to this day.

Furrowed Field
Furrowed Field

There isn’t really much room to squeeze in arable land between the bog below and the rough ground of the moor above. To just sit and wonder here is some experience.

Footnote: This post was scheduled last week before the photo challenge ‘Abandoned’ was announced for the week. While this photo could easily fall into that category there are plenty of opportunities for images to fit the theme, so I will be using some newly taken images for this competition. Stand by for these, I modestly think they may be worth waiting for!

17 thoughts on “The Deserted Village

  1. I thought these images were perfect for “Abandoned”.

    Fascinating to see the remains of the furrows in the fields.

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    1. I agree, I had already scheduled the post when the subject of ‘abandoned’ came up. However, we have lots of opportunities for the theme of this week. Keep your eye out. 😃

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  2. These are gorgeous MM . I can imagine it very bleak and stark in many weather conditions, with the historical aspect as Ksbeth says they are quite haunting too .

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  3. Amazing. My hubby and I were just talking about going to Ireland and Scotland sometime. His ancestors are dare I say, Scottish. I’d like to see both. Beautiful photos as always MM. 🙂

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      1. haha I used to be pretty good but can’t golf anymore. I’m happy to sit in the cart and take pictures. Hubby is a 4 hcp. Yeah, I’ll just sit there and watch. 😛

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      1. oh, indeed it would. and to find out their stories of how they left and why they chose to go where they did. i love the idea of projects like that

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