placenamesDooega
Dumha Éige
Dooega's sheltered inlet has supported small-boat fishing, though its early pier proved vulnerable to the sea. A hillside monument remembers a man born in the village who died defending the Spanish Republic.
The name
A reliable full-name meaning has not been established here. The recorded Irish and English forms are given without an unsupported translation.
Recorded forms
- Dumha Éige · Irish · main form · validated name
- Dooega · English · main form
Place & story
A pier lost before the inspector arrived
Major Robert Ruttledge-Fair's report to the Congested Districts Board in April 1892 recorded that Dooega's small pier, built by the Piers and Roads Commission in 1886, had already been washed away. He identified the lack of safe shelter for boats as a major obstacle to developing Achill's fisheries. Among the places he proposed for a refuge was Camport in Dooega Bay, although he acknowledged that substantial expenditure would be needed. [2]
Currachs at the harbour
Darina Tully's Audit of Maritime Collections, published by the Heritage Council in 2006, recorded about fifteen currachs at Dooega Harbour. They were maintained for seasonal salmon fishing and represented the local Achill design. The audit described the collection as community based and the boats as being in varying states of repair. This is a dated record of working craft at the harbour, rather than an inventory of boats surviving there today. [3]
Remembering Thomas Patten
Thomas Patten was born in Dooega and died fighting for the Spanish Republic in 1936. His memorial stands on a hillside beside the village, with inscriptions in Irish, Spanish and English. Historian Maurice J. Casey's research for the Virtual Spanish Civil War museum traces part of its fundraising to supporters in New York. Sean Fitzpatrick of the National Graves Association unveiled it on 28 October 1984; fellow Achill volunteer Patrick Burke attended. [4]
Geographic information
- Place type
- Population centre
- County
- Mayo
- Barony
- Burrishoole
- Civil parish
- Achill
- Coordinates
- 53.91424, -10.02436 (approximate)
- Logainm ID
- 1414508 ↗
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Dooega. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Achill District: report to the Congested Districts Board,27April1892, sections20and32 · Major Robert Ruttledge-Fair; transcription hosted by Achill Tourism
- Audit of Maritime Collections, October2006: Dooega Harbour · Darina Tully for the Heritage Council
- Thomas Patten memorial · Maurice J. Casey, Virtual Spanish Civil War museum
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2012-02-16. How this page was prepared.