The bleak remains of more than 80 houses in this deserted village at the foot of Mt Slievemore are slowly being reduced to rock piles, a poignant reminder of the island's past hardships and a vanished way of life. Research into why the village was abandoned is ongoing; some historians think that the Potato Famine helped prompt villagers to emigrate or move closer to the sea and its alternative food sources. The adjacent graveyard compounds the desolation.