Tóin an tSeanbhaile

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Tóin an tSeanbhaile is a small Irish-speaking village on the northeast tip of Achill Island, County Mayo, Ireland. It is part of the Mayo Gaeltacht and is sometimes called Tonatanvally. The name means “the end of the old village.”

Geography and nature
- It sits on a flat plain bordered by low hills and the sea. Ridge Point is to the north and Sruhill Lough is to the south.
- Nearby places: southeast is Dún Ibhir (Dooniver), west is Dúmha Goirt (Dugort), and south is Bun an Churraigh (Bunacurry).
- Bedrock is mainly schist and gneiss. The south has blanket bog; the north and west have machair and rocky shores.
- Lakes in the area include Lough Gall (the bright lake), Loch na mBreac (the lake of the trout), Lough Doo (the black lake), and Sruhill Lough (a tidal lake). Brown trout and some sea trout live here; Lough Gall is stocked with rainbow trout.
- A machair near Lough Doo is a Special Area of Conservation. The site is important for mosses and liverworts, with some rare species found here. The southern area is a Natural Heritage Area because of its unique blanket bog.

History and archaeology
- Tóin an tSeanbhaile is one of Achill’s oldest settlements. Its name means “the end of the old village.”
- There are several prehistoric sites: a Cairn near Bun an Churraigh, a Midden, Ringfort and Enclosure on Caraun Point, and a Crannóg in the village center.
- A cillín burial ground for unbaptised children is at Caraun Point.
- In the 19th century, the Lambart family owned much of the land and built a hunting lodge. In 1894 Agnes MacDonnell was attacked at Valley House, a story that became famous in plays and novels. The estate was later bought by the Gallagher family and today operates as a bar and hostel.

Population and nature
- The 1911 census counted about 253 people; today the population is around 113.
- The area is rich in wildlife. Marine mammals and basking sharks are seen offshore, and many birds visit the coast. The machair and bog areas host various plants, including bog mosses, heathers, and many grasses and reeds. The lakes have plants such as pipewort, bogbean, and sundews, and the nearby hills have a mix of bog and heath.

Amenities
- The village has a primary school (built in 1914), a soccer pitch (Fr. O’Brien Park) and the home ground of Achill Rovers, a Roman Catholic church, a pier and blue-flag beaches, a pitch and putt course, plus a bar and hostel.
- There is one postbox and one bus stop. Bus Éireann route 440 serves the village once a day in each direction.