Dún Ibhir (anglicised as Dooniver),Placenames Database of Ireland
/ref> meaning "Ibhir's stronghold", or "Ibhir's fort" is a

Gaeltacht ( , , ) are the districts of Ireland, individually or collectively, where the Irish government recognises that the Irish language is the predominant vernacular, or language of the home. The ''Gaeltacht'' districts were first officially reco ...

village on

Achill Island Achill Island (; ga, Acaill, Oileán Acla) in County Mayo is the largest of the Irish isles, and is situated off the west coast of Ireland. It has a population of 2,594. Its area is . Achill is attached to the mainland by Michael Davitt Br ...

in County Mayo,

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

Geography

Dooniver is located on the east coast of Achill Island. Surrounding villages include

Askill Askill () is a small village in Achill, County Mayo, Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is ...

, The Valley: Tóin an tSeanbhaile and Bunnacurry. The

townland A townland ( ga, baile fearainn; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a small geographical division of land, historically and currently used in Ireland and in the Western Isles in Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of Gaelic orig ...

of Dooniver is broken into a number of subsections, including Bullsmouth, Claddagh, Dooniver, The Brae, Baile na locha (Lakeside), Dionn, Áird Mhór, New Road and Sebastopol. Dooniver has a number of beaches including Dooniver strand and Bullsmouth Beach. Just off the village is the island of Innisbiggle.

Census

The following list taken from The Mayo County Council Website shows the population of the village in the years 1841-1921.

Facilities and amenities

Dooniver has a number of amenities, including a National School, hall,

garage A garage is a covered structure built for the purpose of parking, storing, protecting, maintaining, and/or repairing vehicles. Specific applications include: *Garage (residential), a building or part of a building for storing one or more vehicle ...

plant hire Equipment rental, also called plant hire in some countries (in the UK for instance), is a service industry providing machinery, equipment and tools of all kinds and sizes (from earthmoving to powered access, from power generation to hand-held ...

, headstone maker and coffee shop. There is a

bed and breakfast Bed and breakfast (typically shortened to B&B or BnB) is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast. Bed and breakfasts are often private family homes and typically have between four and eleven rooms, wit ...

and

caravan park Caravan or caravans may refer to: Transport and travel *Caravan (travellers), a group of travellers journeying together **Caravanserai, a place where a caravan could stop *Camel train, a convoy using camels as pack animals *Convoy, a group of veh ...

. The village has one

postbox A post box (British English; also written postbox; also known as pillar box), also known as a collection box, mailbox, letter box or drop box (American English) is a physical box into which members of the public can deposit outgoing mail inten ...

, one bus stop and is served by Bus Éireann 440 once a day in each direction.

Education

Dooniver has a National School (founded in 1910). The National School was originally in Bullsmouth, but was later moved. Students had a choice of going to either McHale College or Scoil Damhnait which is located in Pollranny in the Achill area but now go to the new Colaiste Pobail Acla.

Sport

Dooniver Swifts played in the Mayo Association Football League during the 1950s. There is a GAA pitch in the area called St. Joseph's Park. Dooniver is a part of the St. Colman's (Dooniver, Askill, The Valley, Dugort and Dookinella) local GAA team and the 'DVDs' (Dooniver, The Valley, Dugort) soccer team. The professional boxer Johnny Kilbane has relatives in the village.

Gallery

Image:dooniver.jpg, Sea view looking onto Inishbiggle image:dooniverr.jpg, Dun Eibher image:dooniver sign.jpg, Dooniver sign File:Dooniver swifts.jpg, Dooniver Swifts in 1950s

References

External links

The official Dooniver website

Achill Tourism

Logainm Dooniver

Collins map of Dooniver
{{County Mayo Villages in Achill Island Gaeltacht places in County Mayo Towns and villages in County Mayo Gaeltacht towns and villages Townlands of County Mayo Articles on towns and villages in Ireland possibly missing Irish place names