Inishbiggle
small inhabited island off the coast of County Mayo, Ireland
Inishbiggle (Irish: Inis Bigil) is a small inhabited island off the coast of Ballycroy in County Mayo. Its name in Irish means "Vigil Island".
The island is unique in that it is traditionally both a Gaeltacht and Protestant.
Geography
The island is situated between the northeast of Achill Island and the mainland, and is accessed by boat from either Doran's point at Ballycroy or Bullsmouth, Dooniver on Achill Island. The island is 2½ km x 1½ km, or 650 acres (2.6 km2) in area.
Description
The main activities are sheep and cattle farming, fishing and winkle picking. Facilities on the island included a school and a post office, both now closed.
Plans to build a cable-car link across the Bullsmouth Channel, one of the strongest currents in Europe which separates the island from Achill, had been under discussion since 1996, but have now been abandoned. Planning permission for the cablecar was denied by Mayo County Council, on the grounds that, "It would be visually obtrusive in an area of special scenic importance, that it would create traffic problems and that it would devalue houses in the vicinity."
Unpredictable currents in the channel during winter months can render the island inaccessible, even though the passage during fair weather is about ten minutes in the traditional boat, the currach. Emergency access is by helicopter.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Inishbiggle” as small inhabited island off the coast of County Mayo, Ireland. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as small inhabited island off the coast of County Mayo, Ireland. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 14, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q3777879. VIAF identifies the subject as 3015151247940644270002. Authority coordinates are 53.996, -9.904. 1 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1996.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Inishbiggle”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Inishbiggle primary sources, Inishbiggle archive and Inishbiggle research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Inishbiggle”?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Inishbiggle” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.