Lynotts, ACHILL, Mayo

Mountain walks are just one reason to visit Ireland's biggest island. Add five Blue Flag beaches, a deserted village and a cosy micropub", (Lynotts) says Pól Ó Conghaile of the Irish Independent...he continues

"The first time I pass Lynott's pub, I drive on. It's closed. It's also tiny and nondescript, hidden away among old barns. The second time, I stop. By then it's evening, and the glow exuding from an age-old hearth casts the place in a whole other light.

Inside, the pub looks fit to accommodate 30 souls at a squeeze. Old benches and tables sit on worn-stone slabs, the walls are lined with antique advertisements for Guinness and Old Gallagher's Snuff, and there's a spinning wheel above the fireplace. Nothing feels contrived.

Lynott's has been a pub since the 1800s, and if that's not enough authenticity, check its listing on the local tourism site: "No radio. No TV. No phone. No food." "