History of Belmullet Co Mayo:

History Of Belmullet Town

Belmullet (Beal an Mhuirthead) is a pleasant town situated on the narrow neck of land between Broad Haven and Blacksod Bays, at the entrance to the Mullet peninsula. Local landlord, William Carter, founded it around 1825 and it quickly developed into the principle town in the barony of Erris. It is becoming a popular tourist location.

The Erris area of North Mayo is rich in folklore, tradition and history

and the ancient parish of Kilcommon which once comprised the whole of  "mainland" Erris was the largest parish in Ireland until its division into the present-day parishes of Kilcommon, Belmullet, Kiltane and Ballycroy.

The history of this ancient parish, in the Diocese of Killala, is a     veritable odyssey beginning 5,000 years ago with the era of Ceide Fields and moving all the way down pre-history to the Columban monks who settled in Erris in the seventh century, the Composition of Connacht and the fate of the Spanish Armada in the sixteenth; the arrival of Oliver Cromwell in Ireland and the Shaens in Erris in the seventeenth century, the landing of the French in Killala in the eighteenth, the famine and evictions of the nineteenth, and the Congested Districts Board which at the turn of this century found that, of the 2,297 houses in Erris, only 512 had more than one room.

 Erris and it's history are chronicled in many publications wherein Erris people, at home and abroad, can find a deeper knowledge and appreciation of the land of their birth and an awareness and love of their precious Irish and Christian heritage.

In 1715 Sir Arthur Shaen began building a small town on a wet and marshy area near ‘The Mullet’ peninsula in the extreme north west of the barony of Erris. To drain this marshy area and to form a passageway from Blacksod bay into Broadhaven Bay, Shaen had a canal excavated which would allow small boats to pass from one bay to the other. A sluice was erected at the Blacksod Bay side to allow traffic to and from the Mullet peninsula to pass along the shore. At a later date a bridge was erected to span the canal. Development of the town proved to be a slow process, and subsequently the canal was in a state of disrepair by the mid 1700's.

By the early 1800’s Belmullet consisted of just a few thatched buildings, and it was not until the 1820’s that any degree of development took place. In 1820 the first post Office in the Erris region was opened, while in 1822 the Coastguard was established in the town. This was also the time when the real architect of Belmullet’s growth, William Henry Carter became involved, inheriting much of Shaen’s land in Erris.

Of major importance was the new road between Belmullet and Castlebar, which was completed in 1824. This enabled horse drawn carriages to visit the area for the first time, although there were no hotels or inns for visitors. Tradesmen from all over Mayo were brought in to begin work on developing the infrastructure of Belmullet. Progress over the next few years was more rapid, utilising Granite and Sandstone from Blacksod to build a number of buildings including the impressive ‘Erris Hotel’ in the town centre.

In 1826 a quay, large enough to accommodate vessels of 100 tons was also built at Belmullet. This helped to accelerate the importation of goods, especially from Britain, which now included tea, sugar, beer, wine, coal and grain.

Belmullet’s development was further strengthened by the introduction of a dispensary and a doctor in 1830. By this time the population of the town had grown to over 500. A Catholic Church was built by subscription in 1832 to serve the growing congregation. Another important development in 1832 was the introduction of a daily postal service to Ballina. Post would be collected from the Post Office, and this service also meant the availability of daily newspapers in Belmullet for the first time. A byproduct of this growth was the need for a Courthouse, which was built in 1833 to hold the weekly court sessions.

By the late 1830’s two important new roads were being constructed, one to Newport, the other to Ballycastle. Also at this time, the export of meal to England began and a Protestant Church was built in 1843.

In October 1845 the Government sanctioned a grant of £5,000 to match the total of £4,000 raised locally to facilitate the building of a canal, which would unite Broadhaven and Blacksod Bays. Work on the canal began in 1845, but was it not completed until 1851. This was due to the intervention of the famine, which had a particularly devastating effect on the Erris region. A report in 1851states that the canal was being used extensively, and also mentions the use of a swivel bridge.

Another development in the 1840’s was the introduction of a fishing station in a bid to exploit the coast’s natural resources. This was opened in 1847 to wash and cure fish, and boat building also went on here. The station was forced to close due to the act of fishermen who were imprisoned for the theft of flour from a passing ship. This was another by-product of the famine, which was wreaking havoc on the town. Many people were starving to death while soldiers guarded tons of meal, some of which was to be sold to the people, some of which was to be exported.

The news of Belmullet’s plight spread far, and as a consequence visitors to the town dried up. A workhouse and fever hospital was urgently needed, and one was quickly erected on the site of the present hospital. The head of the Treasury, Charles Trevelyan, notoriously decreed that relief was to only be given to workhouse people. This had the effect of severely overcrowding the workhouses, with up to 3,000 people being recorded at one time in Belmullet. Throughout the late 1840’s the numbers in the workhouse dropped considerably, and by the early 1850’s when the potato crop became re-established, the population of the workhouse had decreased to several hundred.

Throughout the 1850’s the mail service developed rapidly between Belmullet and Ballina, and more importantly, between Ballina and Dublin. This increased both the availability of newspapers, and the wider use of the postal service.

In 1865 the Government passed the Sewerage Utilization Act. In the following years, several plans to introduce a new Water System to Belmullet were discussed and proposed, but none came to fruition. In 1882, however, the town received its first water supply from the springs at Carne.

Throughout the second half of the 19th century, many proposals were made regarding the development of a railway line in to Belmullet and the Erris region. Three routes were surveyed and discussed:

1.   Route One: Ballina - Ballycastle - Belmullet

2.   Route Two: Newport - Mulrany - Belmullet

3.   Route Three: Ballina - Crossmolina - Belmullet

Many people along these routes lobbied for the railway lines to pass through their district. However the merchants of Belmullet were more sceptical, and feared that the introduction of a railway line would adversely affect their trading position, putting Ballina within easy reach of the population. Plans for a railway to Blacksod, which would have served trans-Atlantic shipping , were therefore postponed.

Many still pressed the authorities for a rail line, and this movement gained momentum during the latter days of the First World War, when it was proposed that a line would improve lines of communication between both London and Canada, and London and the USA. However, when the war ended in 1918, the hopes for a railway service to Backsod ended with it.

One of the first notable events in the twentieth century to occur in Belmullet was the installation of carbide gas powered street lamps. These however were poorly positioned and gave off very little light.

This state of affairs did not affect the lively social life however, which Belmullet enjoyed at the time. There was a lively local dancing scene, a mountain climbing club, a billiard hall, a football club, and a cycling club.

Another notable event was the celebration of Midnight Mass for the first time, to usher in the new century. The famous writer, John Millington Synge, author of The Playboy of The Western World, visited Belmullet in 1904, and reported: 'Belmullet in the evening is noisy and squalid, lonely and crowded at the same time and without appeal to the imagination. So at least one stays for a moment. When one has passed six times up and down hearing a gramophone in one house, a fiddle in the next, then an accordion and a fragment of a traditional lullaby, with many crying babies, pigs and donkeys and noisy girls and young men jostling in the darkness, the effect is not indistinct. All the light comes from doors or windows of shops. Last night was St. John’s Eve and bonfires were lighted all over the country, the largest of all being placed at the Town Square at Belmullet. Today, again, there was a large market in the square, where a number of country people, with their horses and donkeys, stood about bargaining for young pigs, heather brooms, homespun flannels, second hand clothing, blackening brushes, tinker’s goods and many other articles.'

In 1910 a motor mail service was introduced between Belmullet and Ballina. These vehicles also carried passengers, but the service was discontinued after a year due to the poor state of the roads. Another development in transport was the boat service to convey goods between Belmullet and Ballina, which began in 1913.

Protestantism in Belmullet

The Protestant Church in Belmullet. The church, built in Famine times ( 1843) was in use until the 1980's. Since then it has fallen into disrepair. A local group was formed recently to undertake the refurbishment of this beautiful building with the purpose of opening it as a cutural centre which would be of benefit to the community. Rita Nolan, the local author and historian and Marianne from Iorras Domhnann told us about the historical background of the church and showed us the beautiful granite stonework in the building.

The Barony of Erris

The barony of Erris (from the word Iar Ros meaning the western promontory) is located in North West Mayo, with Broadhaven Bay to the north and the wild Atlantic to the West. It is an area characterised by its spectacular scenery and unspoilt natural beauty. This consists of rugged cliffs along the north coast, beautiful and tranquil islands including the stags of Broadhaven, the Iniskeas, Duvillaun and Inisglora and miles of sandy beaches such as those of Portacloy, Rinroe, Doohoma, Elly and Mullaghroe. Further inland is a vast area of Blanket bog, the largest such habitat in Europe.

The native Irish language can still be heard in the Gaeltacht areas of Erris, and Colaistí Samhraidh Gaeilge (Irish Summer Colleges) are hosted in Ceathrú Thaidhg, Eachléim and Cuan Oiligh every Summer. The area is steeped in culture and here you will find an easy-going traditional lifestyle intact.

According to mythology the four Children of Lír (Clann Lír) are buried on the Island of Inisglora. These four children were turned into swans by their jealous stepmother and doomed to spend 900 years on the bleak waters of Ireland, before they finally reclaimed their human form and were buried there. Another tale is the Táin Bó Flitihis, a cattle raid which brought Queen Meave and her army from Rath Cruacháin in Roscommon on a journey through Erris.

Erris is also a land of writers and poets. Riocaird Bairéad who is buried at Cross Graveyard penned the well known poem Eoghan Cóir, a satire on landlordism in Erris with particular reference to Binghams Baliff. Gweesalia/Geesala (Gaoth Saile) is said to be the setting for John Millington Synge’s famous play the Playboy of the Western World and for Padraic Mháire Bhán written by Seán O’Ruadháin of Doolough, which describes the Black and Tan period.

Many archeological sites do not have the landscape some of which you will see in the course of travelling through Erris. The Céide Fields at Behy on the North Coast is the most extensive Stone Age monument in the world. Farmers lived here in an organised fashion before the pyramids in Egypt were built. There are numerous promontory forts along the coast. Monasteries flourished on the Islands of Inisglora (St.Brendan), Duvillaun and the Iniskeas (St.Colmcille). The remains of beehive cells, early churches and decorated cross slabs are to be found here. Cross Abbey is associated with St. Brendan the Navigator – a sea voyager of the 6th century. At Faulmore is St. Deirbhile’s church with its Romanesque doorway, her grave and holy well. In the parish of Ballycroy is Fahy Castle, associated with the legendary Irish Sea Queen, Grace O’Malley (Granuaile).

Another feature of the landscape is the Tír Sáile Sculpture Trail which extends from Ballina to Blacksod. This unique project was undertaken in 1993 to commemorate 5000 years of habitation in Co. Mayo.

Geologists will find at Annagh Head, gneisses which are 2000 million years old- the oldest rocks recorded to date in Ireland.

Of particular interest to the Birdwatcher is the Mullet Peninsula which is home to the endangered corncrake and the only Irish nesting place of rare Red Necked Phalarope. It was on the north coast of Mayo that the last Golden Eagle in Ireland was resident. By 1912 only to were known in the country, one in Erris and another in Donegal. The Mayo Eagle was last seen in 1931.

Many travellers have journeyed into Erris, among them Maxwell, Otway, Praeger, Westropp and Knight. The following are observations made by them: “From north to east of Achill, lies the Barony of Erris, the wildest, loneliest stretch of country to be found in all of Ireland. The western shore is low and broken, and the heather there often gives place to poor pasture or tillage….The northern coast of Erris, on the other hand is grandly precipitous, with cliffs up to 800 feet high, set with jagged promontories, deep gullies and outlying stacks, the whole forming the finest piece of cliff scenery in the country” (R.L.Praeger, The Way That I Went, p.196)

W.H. Maxwell in his `Wild Sports of the West’ states that “it is a district of unspoiled natural beauty and into this landscape poets, painters, sportsmen and antiquarians have come, in search of beauty, pleasure and knowledge”.

Come and follow in their footsteps and discover for yourself what makes this a mysterious land alive with legend, heritage and adventure. A wide choice awaits- swim or laze on the blue flag beaches, tread on the largest living bogland in Europe, enjoy walks on sea cliffs or visit the many historic sites. The Golfer may enjoy an 18-hole world championship links over 6,690 yards of some of the lovliest terrain in Ireland and the fisherman the rich sea waters around Erris, where over 39 species of fish have been caught.

Go n-eirí an bóthar leat agus tá siúl againn go mbainfidh tú taitneamh as do chuairt linn I gceantar álainn, draíochta Iorrais.

St.Deirbhle

At St.Deirbhle well we go to get holy water for our eye sight. We have to say a prayer befor getting the water. There is a wall not so far from the well were you go in and out three times and then you will never drown. People from far away come to get the holy water. It's painted white and blue. It is very beautiful. Some people leave money in the the water because it is so holy. It's only a small well but there's a lot of space inside for people. We think its only paint outside. Deirbhle was a patron saint of eye ailments. Nowadays there are many stories about Deirbhle. You can find St.Deirbhle's well in Falmore behind Belmullet. Our teacher brought us there about a month ago.

A hertige centre iin Aughleam is named in honour of St Deirbhile, who came to this area in the sixth century, from her native County Meath. She was of noble lineage and her father was Cormac MacDaithi. St Deirbhile, accompanied by St Geidh from Inis Geidhe and St Muirdeach from Ballina, travelled to the Synod of Bishope in Ballysadare, to meet with St Colmcille in 585 AD (Annals of Connacht).

St Deirbhile's Pre-Norman Church

Situated at Fál Mór is an old church and graveyard which are dedicated to the saint, whose remains are interred here according to tradition. Deirbhile's Church is one of the most ancient in Ireland, built in excellent granite stone and is now a national monument and probably dates to the Early Christian Period. The ruins as they appear today were probably built in the twelfth century replacing or incorporating an earlier structure. Folklore has it that if you can pass through the small east window three times, heaven is your reward.

St Deirbhile's Blessed Well

St Deirbhile's Well lies a short distance to the north of the church. The water from this blessed well is alleged to have curative properties for eye complaints. A pilgrimage takes place annually to the well on August 15th in honour of St Deirbhile.

Cross Abbey

At Ionad Deirbhile you can read the history of Cross Abbey and its ancient burial ground which contains the graves of Dean Lyons and the poet Riocaird Bairead.

Close to Inishglóra is thought to have an early Christian monastic settlement which became a 'Priory' dedicated to the Blessed Virgin from the 14th century and a dependant on Ballintubber Abbey for its revenue.

The Great Famine

1845 - 1849 in Co Mayo, Ireland

County Mayo was one of the counties to suffer most and in commemoration the following article was included in a report from Mayo County Council.

The first reports of blight appeared in September 1845. For one third of the country's population, the potato was the sole article of diet. In County Mayo it was estimated that nine tenths of the population depended on it. Any other crops or farm animals a smallholder had, went to pay rent. A potato famine was a great calamity. However, the damage to the crop in 1845 was only partial and most had enough to get through that winter. Government relief measures and local charity also helped. 1846 brought disaster. Most of the crop was destroyed by the blight, particularly in the west. In August, The Telegraph newspaper in Castlebar reported:

'The dreadful reality is beyond yea or nay in this county. From one end to the other the weal has gone forth that the rot is increasing with fearful rapidity. We regret to say no description of potatoes have escaped. One thing is certain, the staple food of the people is gone: and the Government cannot too soon exert themselves to make provision to provide against certain famine'.

As the death toll mounted, the countryside was seized with panic and despair. There were mass gatherings throughout the county where lamentations went out to landlord and government. One such public demonstration was held in Westport in August 1846. The Telegraph reported:

'About mid-day some thousands of the rural population marched into town to have an interview with the Most Noble the Marquis of Sligo: he talked with them: deplored the visitation with which God had afflicted the land: told them he would instantly state their condition to the Government, in order to obtain them relief; and that as to himself, he would go as far as any landlord in the country to redress the grievances of his tenantry. The Noble Marquis assured them that no exertions of his should be spared to obtain for them, from Her Majesty's Government immediate employment'

As a relief measure, the government imported large quantities of maize from America which became known as 'Peel's brimstone' because of the ill effects it had on the digestive system. Local relief committees were established. Under the Poor Law Act of 1838, Mayo was divided into five areas or unions which administered relief: Ballina, Ballinrobe, Castlebar, Swinford and Westport. Each union was required to maintain a workhouse where local paupers could be fed and housed.

Workhouses soon became overwhelmed by numbers seeking admittance and many starving people were turned away. Relief schemes introduced in 1846 included giving employment on public works such as road making, breaking stones, drainage works, pier and bridge building. The Corrib to Mask canal was one such scheme. Men were paid 8 to 10 pennies a day, while women and children got 6 pennies. Some unscrupulous overseers favoured relatives in granting employment, often at the expense of the most needy. Gaining employment did not guarantee security. In February 1847 the Tyrawly Herald reported an inquest at Coolcran:

'The deceased was employed at the public works, and on Saturday morning he went to the hill of Gurteens to meet the pay clerk where, in company of other labourers, he remained until night, but no clerk making his appearance, the others went off and he remained behind. Having got quite weak, he requested a girl who was passing to tell his wife to come and meet him, and upon the wife's arriving at the place, she found him dead. A verdict of "death from starvation" was returned'

Such reports were common. Great work in helping the poor came from many organisations and individuals at home and abroad. Clergy of all denominations were prominent in relief measures. The Society of Friends (Quakers) opened soup kitchens in many areas, distributed seed and also clothing, as many people were in rags, having pawned whatever clothing they had. At Christmas in 1846, the rector of Crossmolina received a donation with the following note:

Rev. Sir - We the children belonging to the Moulton National School, in the Parish of Davenharm, (Cheshire) having heard from our beloved patroness, Mrs Harper, of the distress that is so prevalent in our sister Island, have given up our annual treat to the relief of our suffering sisters in Ireland; We humbly trust that our offering, (small as it may appear) will be accepted by those who have kindly undertaken to alleviate the sufferings of our brethren.

In the spring of 1847, The Mayo Constitution reported:The preparations for the tillage of the Iand has been completely overlooked. There has not been 100 acres prepared for seed in this county by 'the poor farmers'.

After two successive years of blight, many people chose to eat whatever seed they had rather than risk planting. Ironically in 1847, there was no blight, but there was no crop either. 'Black 47' saw the advent of fevers such as typhus which rapidly spread through the weakened population. Workhouses were crammed with fever patients. Auxilary workhouses were opened and fever sheds erected. Dr Daly reported from Newport in May 1847:

'Fever, dysentery and diarrhoea are greatly on the increase, beginning with vomiting, pains, headache very intense; coming to a cnsis in about seven days, relapsing again once or twice, from which death occurred through mere debility or diarrhoea, caused and kept up by bad food, principally Indian meal, supplied to them in small quanitities, and which they invariably swallow after only a few minutes boiling and sometimes cold and raw. The greatest mortality is among the labourers, men and women, on public roads, in cold, wet, boggy hills'.

In March 1847, a large body of starving people gathered in Louisburgh seeking assistance from the relieving officer. He informed them that they would have to apply to the Board of Guardians who were to meet next day at Delphi Lodge, ten miles away. Having spent the night in the open, they proceeded on foot to Delphi. When they reached Delphi, the Board were at lunch and could not be disturbed. When they finally did meet with them, assistance was refused. That day it rained and snowed and there was piercing wind. On the return journey to Lousiburgh, many perished.

In June, 1847, The Mayo Constitution reported that fever and dysentery were committing ravages in Ballindine, Ballinrobe, Claremorris, Hollymount, Ballina, Westport and Belmullet.

Many who cared for the sick and hungry caught fever themselves. In April 1847, The Telegraph reported the death of Rev Patrick Pounden in Westport of fever, caught in the discharge of his sacred duties, and rendered fatal by the exhaustion of mind and body in the course of his unremitting labours for the relief of the poor and needy - the famishing and the dying - in his extensive district'. In September Dr Lavelle of Shrule died of fever.

The starving sick crowded into towns in the hope of securing help. The Telegraph reported the situation in Westport in September.

'From the town to the Quay, on the Workhouse line, the people are lying along the road, in temporary sheds, constructed of weeds, potato tops . . . . on the road to Rosbeg, similar sheds are to be met with, with poor creatures lying beneath them. On the Newport line, the same sickening scenes are to be encountered'.

In the area around Shrule, the Reverend Phew described how

The Tyrawly Herald described the situation at Leigue Cemetery in Ballina: 'in some places the graves are so shallow that portions of the coffins are visible above ground'.

Often coffinless bodies were carried through streets for burial. Workhouse dead were buried in mass graves. Some dead were buried where they died, in fields, on the side of the road. Often to avoid contracting fever, neighbours simply tumbled a victims cabin around the body.

The Landords at the beginning of the famine in 1845 and 1846 many landlords reacted with compassion, some reducing rents. Even Lord Lucan involved himself in relief measures but by 1848, he was enforcing wholesale evictions of tenants unable to pay rents on his lands around Castlebar and Ballinrobe. Equally infamous was Sir Roger Palmer who owned 90,000 acres in Mayo. In July 1848, The Telegraph reported how

at Islandeady his 'crowbar invincibles', pulled down several houses, and drove forth the unfortunate inmates to sleep in the adjoining fields. On Thursday we witnessed the wretched creatures endeavouring to root out the timber of the houses, with the intention of constructing some sort of sheds to screen their children from the heavy rain falling at the time. The pitiless pelting storm has continued ever since, and if they have survived its severity, they must be more than human beings'.

The Earl of Lucan 'Wholesale Evictions'.

In contrast, other landlords like George Henry Moore,

were more caring. In June 1849, Fr James Browne, PP of Ballintubber and Burriscarra wrote:

'I never heard of a single tenant being evicted, either by himself or his agent; he sent over from London at an early stage of the famine, a sum of £1,000 for the poor on his estates, as a free gift, besides orders to his steward to give a milch cow to every widow on his property'.

The potato failed again in 1848 and there was partial failure in 1849. For many, emigration had become a means of escape. By 1851, it is estimated that one million Irish people had died and another million had emigrated, many leaving from Mayo ports for England, America and Australia. The 'Elizabeth and Sarah' sailed from Killala in July 1846 for Quebec with 276 passengers. By the end of the voyage, 8 weeks later, 42 persons had died due to overcrowding, lack of food and water and insanitary conditions. Such voyages were common.

Over the period 1841-1851, the population of County Mayo fell by 29% from 388,887 to 274,499. Emigration became a long term legacy of the famine with each successive census showing a steady decline in the population of County Mayo to a low of 109,525 in 1971.

Belmullet, Co. Mayo

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Belmullet was one of the new Poor Law Unions created in Ireland between 1848 and 1850. Belmullet Union formally came into existence on 29th September 1849 and was formed from the western part of the Ballina Union. Belmullet Union occupied an area of 278 square miles. The population falling within the union at the 1891 census was 14,333. In 1905, it comprised the following electoral divisions:

Co. Mayo: Bangor, Barroosky, Belmullet, North Binghamstown, South Binghamstown, Glenamoy, Glencastle, Glenco, Goolamore, Knockadaff, Knocknalower, Muingabo, Muings, Rath Hill, Sheskin.

The Guardians met at 11am on alternate Saturdays.

The new Belmullet Union workhouse was erected on a 7.5-acre site at the north of Belmullet. Designed by the Poor Law Commissioners' architect George Wilkinson, the building could accommodate 500 inmates. Its construction cost £5,700 plus £1,145 for fittings etc.

The site location and layout are shown on the 1905 OS map below.

Belmullet workhouse site, 1905.

The design was similar in size and layout to workhouses such as those at Claremorris and Newport which were built at around the same time. A dispensary was located at the workhouse entrance and a separate fever hospital to the south-east of the main building.

The former Belmullet workhouse site is now the location of the Belmullet Community Hospital.

Inishkea Islands

Aughleam, Belmullet, County Mayo, Ireland

The islands are rich in amazing scenic beauty, rare wild life and numerous Archaeological sites.

The island of Inishkea North is best known for its early Christian monastery which flourished here between the 6th and 10th centuries AD.

The Baileys

The most conspicious features of the island are three large dunes, known locally as the Baileys - the Bailey Mór, Bailey Beag and Bailey Dóighte located on the east of the island.

A brief excavation of the largest mound, the Bailey Mór revealed the ruins of a number of buildings. Among other cross-slabs on the mound there is one unusual slab of a stylized crucifixion scene. The other cross-slabs vary in design and may be dated to the late 7th to 8th centuries AD. As the island itself is relatively flat, the Baileys provide excellent views of the west coast of Erris and expanse of the Atlantic Ocean.

Other Monuments

On the north-east coast of the island there are the possible remains of a number of Megalithic Tombs, built during Neolithic (Stone Age) period c.3500 to c.2000 BC.

On the south-west of the island there are the remains of a small church, dedicated to St Colmcille in the early Christian period and a purple ink which was used to illuminate the manuscripts was exported from here to other monastic sites.

There are 15 - 20 slabs in total on the islands.

On Inishkea South there are cross-slabs and pillars. One to the north of the harbour is a stone with a cross inscribed on it, located at the centre of two circles of stones. This appears to be a Pre-Christian monument 'christianized' at a later date.

Rusheen, a tidal island to the east of Inishkea South was once the site of a whaling station, the remains are still evident today. This was set up by the Norwegians in 1907.

Flora and Fauna

The Inishkea Islands are composed of gneiss ridges (200 million years old) covered with sand forming a unique, if harsh, habitat for the many species of flora and fauna which inhabit them. While the Inishkeas contain more than 200 plant species, the dominant vegetation type on both the islands is a Plantago-Sweard type of plant community consisting of shortgrasses.

The Inishkea islands are of major importance to both resident and migrating birds with over 85 types having been recorded. The Mute Swan, the Peregrine and the endangered Corncrake are just some of the birdspecies which benefit from the peace and protection of the islands. The short grasses of the islands have led the Inishkeas to be of international importance as wintering ground for Barnacle Geese.

The lowlying coasts of the islands are home to large numbers of grey seal while sharp-eyed visitors can occasionally see Dolphins and Whales out to sea.

Whaling & Whalebone

·        At Ionad Deirbhile Heritage Centre there is a vertebra and a rib of a large whale on display which was washed ashore at Blacksod lighthouse.

·        History of the Arranmore Whaling Company (1907) and the Blacksod Whaling Company (1909) can also be viewed.

History of the Lighthouses

·        The history of the 4 lighthouses - Blackrock (1864), Blacksod (1866), Broadhaven (1845) and Eagle Island (1839). This shows the great maritime importance of the local coastline.

·        Also on display a ship's storm lantern, lens and a bouy courtesy of the Commissioners of Irishlights.

Historical insert edits

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MAYO (County of), a maritime county of the province of CONNAUGHT, bounded on the east by the counties of Sligo and Roscommon, on the north and west by the Atlantic Ocean, and on the south by the county of Galway. It comprises an area, according to the Ordinance Survey, of 1,355,048 statute acres, of which 871,984 are cultivated land, 425,124 are unprofitable mountain and bog, and 57,940 are under water. The population, 1821, amounted to 293,112; and in 1831, to 367,956.

At the period when Ptolemy wrote, the Nagnatae were the inhabitants of the whole of the county, with the exception of a small portion of its southern extremity, into which the Auterii, who were settled in the north-west of Galway, had penetrated. The city of Nagnatae, together with the rivers Ravius and Libnius, are supposed by some to have been in this county, but others fix its site in the adjoining county of Sligo. M. Vaugondy's map of ancient Connaught, published by Mac Geoghegan, furnishes the following names of the territories which composed it, and of their respective baronies: Irrosdomnion, being the barony of Erris; Calrigiamulghemurisk-in-Amalgaid, and Hy-Fiachra-Aldhne, Tyrawley ; Coranne, Gallen ; Con-macne-Quiltola, Clanmorris and Kilmain ; Kierrige de Lough Nairn, Costello ; Hymalia or Umaille, Murrisk.

In Speed's Theatre of Great Britain, published in 1676, the names of the territories, which appear to have taken from those of the ruling septs, commencing from the most northern, are Arras Dondenell, O'Dondey, O'Mac Philben, Mac William Burck, Carew Mac Ville Uterhday, O'Males, Mac Jordan, baron of Exeter, near which territory is noted the forest of Kellelon, and the barony of Akill, being the only baronial division mentioned. In the brief description annexed to the map it is stated "that Mayo, in the Roman Provincial called Magee, is replenished both with pleasure and fertility, abundantly rich in cattle, deer, hawks, and plenty of honey." O'Connor's map of Ireland, which professes to give the names and locations of the settlers at the commencement of the 17th century, mentions only the names of Mac William Burke, Jordan, Mac Phillip, Mac Costello or Nangle, Dillon, and Fitzmorris.

The ancient chronicles state that at the commencement of the 4th century the whole of Connaught was taken from the Firdomnians, a branch of the Firbolgs, who had held it till that time under the Milesians. The remote situation of the county has prevented it from being much noticed in the annals of the different revolutions which have since occurred. Shortly after the English invasion, De Courcy entered the province; but it does not appear that he penetrated far westward, having been driven out after a severe defeat by Cornelius Mommoigi and Donald O'Brien, King of Limerick. Roderic O'Conor, the last of the independent sovereigns of Ireland, died in the monastery of Cong, on the verge of this county, in 1198, after which its history presents a blank until, in consequence of the assassination of William de Burgo, third Earl of Ulster, to whose ancestor, Hubert de Burgo, the greater part of the province, including this county, had been granted by King John, Edmond de Albanach or the Scot, one of his kinsmen, ancestor to the Earls of Mayo, renounced his allegiance to the English government, threw off the English dress, adopted the language and apparel of the native Irish, and assumed the title of Mac William Oughter, or "the further" to distinguish himself from another member of the family who had acted in the same manner in the more southern regions of the province, and had called himself Mac William Eighter, or "the nearer."

The county remained in an unsettled state, nearly independent of British rule, until the time of Elizabeth, in the eleventh year of whose reign the whole province, which had hitherto been divided into the two counties of Connaught and Roscommon, was made shire ground, and the boundaries and subdivisions of this portion of it were defined, at which time it took its present name from the village and monastery of Maio, situated on a river which falls into Lough Carra. The Mac Williams still continued to exert a powerful control, for the annals of the town of Galway inform us that, in consequence of the disturbed state of the country in the neighborhood of that town, numbers of Galway people took refuge with Mac William Oughter in Mayo, and were the founders of the several respectable families of Galway name which still hold large estates there.

When Sir Henry Sidney, lord-deputy, visited Galway in 1575, several of the Galway exiles returned and applied to him for protection; and Mac William Oughter himself submitted by oath and indenture. This Mac William was father to the celebrated Grace O'Malley, better known in the romantic history of the times by the name of Grana Uile: she, however, was so far from being led to submission by her father's example, that it was deemed necessary to send a body of troops to storm her castle of Carrick a-Uile, near Newport; but so spirited was the defence made by this singular woman, that the assailants, instead of accomplishing the object of their expedition, narrowly escaped being taken prisoners, which would have been inevitably attended with loss of life. In 1586, the province was again visited, for the purpose of confirming it in the habits of English law, by Sir Richard Bingham, who held a session at Donemony,  in this county. One only of the de Burgos, Thomas Roe, held out on this occasion against the royal authority, in a castle in one of the islands in Lough Mask, within sight of the governor.

The under-sheriff, who was sent to reduce him to obedience, was wounded in the attempt, as was Thomas Roe himself, who died of his wounds. Two others of the de Burgos were afterwards executed for sedition and for conspiring against Bingham's life. The composition then agreed upon by the people was 10s. per annum for every quarter of land containing 120 acres. According to the return of a jury on this occasion, the county comprised 1448 quarters, whereof 248 were exempted; the rest paid £600 per annum and contributed 200 foot and 40 horse for general hostings within the province, at their own expense, when required, and 50 foot and 15 horse for general service throughout Ireland. Before Sir Richard quitted the country, he had taken all the de Burgos into protection by an order from the government, but, on his going to Dublin, they were instigated, through the promise of assistance from the Scotch, to revolt again, on which he proceeded to Ballinrobe, where, having uselessly spent several days in endeavouring to bring them back to their duty, he hanged their hostages, marched to Ballintubber, and sent out his kerne and foot-soldiers into the woods and mountains with such success, that he forced them all to submit in a few weeks, and drove away a booty of between 4000 and 5000 head of cattle, after which he defeated a body of 2000 Scots that had landed near Sligo to give them assistance. A third journey was made into Connaught in 1589, by Sir Wm. Fitzwilliams, lord-deputy, who then received the submissions of O'Flaherty, William the blind Abbot, and others of Mayo and Tyrconnell.

Although the county was visited with a large share of the confiscations consequent on the termination of the war of 1641, and on the restoration of the Stuart family, no remarkable event connected with that period occurred within its limits; neither was it internally agitated by the military movements in the subsequent war between the rival kings in 1688, and its political aspect presents a perfect blank until the year 1798, when its tranquility, which had remained undisturbed during the dreadful internal struggle that convulsed the north-eastern and south-eastern extremities of the island in the earlier part of that year, was broken by the unexpected appearance of a small French squadron on its northern coast, which landed near Killala a force of about 1100 men under General Humbert. The town, which was nearly defenseless, was taken after a trifling resistance; the bishop of Killala, with his family, was made prisoner; arms were distributed to all the country people who chose to accept them; and the invading army, thus reinforced by a numerous but disorderly body of auxiliaries, proceeded to Ballina, whence the garrison fled on its approach. It thence advanced to Castlebar through mountain defiles deemed impassable, and therefore left unguarded; here it was opposed by General Lake with 6000 men, but, after a very short resistance, the British army gave way on all sides, and left the enemy completely masters of the country. Thence the French general proceeded by Foxford and Collooney, where his advance was checked for a short time by the gallantry of a small detachment under Col. Vereker, and marched by Dromahaire and Manor-Hamilton in Leitrim, till, having crossed the river Shannon at Ballintra, his further progress was prevented by the main army of the British under the Marquess Cornwallis, to whom he surrendered, after a short resistance, at Ballinamuck. Castlebar, when evacuated by the French, was re-occupied by the British troops, who defended it successfully against an attack of a body of 2000 insurgents. Killala, which was still possessed by the latter under the command of a few French officers, was then attacked and taken by storm, with the loss of between 400 and 500 of its defenders, after having been 30 days in their possession. This scene of blood terminated by a court-martial, by which several of those most forward in having had recourse to French assistance were consigned to military execution.

The year 1820 was marked by very serious disturbances in this and the neighbouring county of Galway, arising from abuses in the levying of taxes, and county and parish rates; the insurgents took the name of Ribbonmen, and kept the country in alarm for some time by their nocturnal depredations, but were finally suppressed by the power of the law. Two years afterwards it suffered from famine, owing to a failure of the potato crop; but the horrors of so dreadful a visitation were much relieved by the prompt and liberal contributions which were forwarded on the first intimation of the extent of the calamity from every part of England, through a committee sitting in London.

This county is partly in the dioceses of Elphin and Achonry, but chiefly in those of Killala and Tuam. For purposes of civil jurisdiction it is divided into the baronies of Burishoole, Carra, Clanmorris, Costello, Erris, Gallen, Kilmain, Murrisk and Tyrawley. It contains the incorporated market and assize town of Castlebar; the market and post-towns of Ballina, Ballinrobe, Crossmolina, Clare, Foxford, Ballaghadireen, Swinford, and Newport-Pratt; the sea-port, market and post-towns of Westport and Killala; the small sea-port of Belmullet; and the post-towns of Cong, Hollymount, and Ballyglass; the largest villages are those of Baal or Ballagh, Ballycastle, Rathlacken (each of which has a penny post), Minola, and Shrule.

It sent four members to the Irish parliament, two for the county, and two for the borough of Castlebar; but since the Union its sole representatives in the Imperial parliament have been the two members returned for the county at large. The county constituency consists of 301 £50, 277 £20, and 747 £10 freeholders and leaseholders; and 15 £50 and 10 £20 rent-chargers; making a total of 1350 registered voters. The election takes place at Castlebar. It is included in the Connaught circuit; the assizes and general quarter-sessions are held at Castlebar, where the county prison and court-house are situated; quarter-sessions are also held at Ballinrobe, Westport, Clare, and Ballina, each of which towns has a court-house and bridewell.

The local government is vested in a lieutenant, a vice-lieutenant, 32 deputy-lieutenants, and 124 magistrates; besides whom are the usual county officers, including four coroners. There are 46 constabulary police stations, having in the whole a force of a chief and sub-inspector, a paymaster, 9 chief and 42 subordinate constables, and 208 men, with 13 horses. Under the new arrangements of the constabulary police act, the residence of the chief inspector, and the headquarters of the police force of Connaught, are at Ballinrobe, and occupy the cavalry barrack there, in which all the young men and horses for the service of the province are to be trained.

Along the coast there are 18 coast-guard stations, 6 in the district of Westport, having a force of 6 officers and 52 men; 6 in that of Belmullet, with 3 officers and 37 men; and 6 in the district of Killala, with 6 officers and 50 men; each district is under the control of a resident inspecting commander. The county infirmary, at Castlebar, is supported by a government grant of £100 and by Grand Jury presentments of £500 per annum. The district lunatic asylum is at Ballinasloe, and there are dispensaries at Westport, Galway, Ballyhaunis, Cong, Erris, Ballina, Gallen, Carra, and Burrishoole, maintained by subscriptions and Grand Jury presentments in equal portions. The amount of Grand Jury presentments for 1835, was £27,051.14s.7¼d, of which £6025.3s.20¼d., was for the repairs of roads, bridges, etc.; £9457.9s.6½d., for the public buildings, charities, officers' salaries, and incidents; £5565.7s.9d., for the police, and £6003.14s.1½d., for repayment of advances made by Government.

In the military arrangements the county is included in the western district, and contains seven barrack stations, two for artillery and infantry at Castlebar, one for infantry at Ballaghadireen, two for cavalry and infantry at Ballinrobe, and one for infantry at each of the towns of Westport, and Foxford, affording in the whole accommodation for 52 officers and 1104 non-commissioned officers and men, with 99 horses.

The surface of the county varies extremely, from the bleak and rugged mountain to the fertile plain. The baronies to the east of the lakes, and part of Tyrawley, are champaign and productive. In the flat country bordering on Loughs Mask and Carra there are many miles of rocky ground which at a distance appears like an immense sheet of white stone, but on a nearer approach is found to consist of layers of projecting rock in parallel lines, rising from one to three feet above the surface, like flag-stones pitched in the ground upon their edges, and all, however varying in shape, size, or relative distance, having the same direction; fissures of great depth are found in some of their narrowest interstices.

The northern part of Tyrawley barony is level and adorned with numerous villas and country seats. In travelling south from Kilcummin head the land by degrees swells into hills, the tops of which are covered with heath, while the sides and valleys are green and remarkably fertile; these hills gradually change their character to that of the bleak and barren mountain which stretches in a continuous tract sixty miles long and seven miles broad, from Erris in the west to the Ox mountains of Sligo, in the contrary direction. In this range, no variety meets the eye from Nephin to Westport, except in the glen of Bohedon and the extensive woods that sweep along the windings of the Colnabinna river, the banks of which are fringed with verdure of exquisite hue.

The western part of the county is overspread with an immense mass of mountain and bog, very difficult to access; the central parts of this wild country are occupied by a range of lofty mountains, commencing at Nephin and extending in a north-western direction to Knocklettercuss, and in a western to Achill island; this great mountain chain divides the country into two parts; that between its western base and the sea is covered with bog, as is also the greater part of the eastern division, besides which all the gently acclivities and mountain summits are covered with a thin stratum of black bog. No arable ground occurs in these districts except in the narrow valleys of the rivers and in irregular patches along the shore.

There is another range of mountain commencing at Dunfeeny bay and stretching along the northern coast to Broad haven, beyond which the peninsula of the Mullet is flat and capable of cultivation, except where covered with sand. The northern coast is particularly wild, and the rocky cliffs which extend along its whole length are generally perpendicular, and in some parts the surface of the land at top overhangs the sea; their average height is 400 feet. In many places the edge of the cliff is the highest point of the land, so that the water which falls from the surface within 20 yards from the brow flows southerly from the sea.

Along the high bold coast to the west, as far as the Stags of Broadhaven, are caverns extending a great way under the surface, and vaulted overhead with immense flags. One of the most remarkable of these is nearly opposite the Stags, near Dunkechan; it extends several hundred yards under the land, is roofed with stone, and wide enough to admit several boats to enter abreast, which may be done in calm weather. But the greatest natural curiosities of this county are the caves of Cong, on the confines of the county of Galway, through which the superfluous waters of Lough Mask take their subterraneous course to Lough Corrib. Nephin, 2640 feet in height, is, in magnitude and form, extremely grand, its summit being generally enveloped in clouds; it is situated at the extremity of an immense bog, in the centre of which is Lough Conn, and is separated from the rest of the great chain by the deep glen of Kilnabreena. Its form, when viewed from the south or east, is conical, the sides steep, frequently rocky and rugged, but the summit rounded and covered with alpine plants. The regularity of its northern face is interrupted by a deep ravine, the precipitous sides of which disclose the internal structure of the mountain. From the western side of the glen of Kilnabreena rises the mountain of Berreencurragh, 2290 feet high, similar to Nephin, but more irregular and rugged. Nephin Beg, another mountain in the same range, and of similar formation, is but 1846 feet high. The mountains which form the western part of the great chain are also more rugged and have peaked summits, particularly Maam, Thomoish, and Croughletta. The ridge of the Barnagee mountains lies south of Nephin; their northern side is extremely steep and abrupt. Three passes, about two miles distant from each other, lead through them to the plain country in the south; the central and most important of these is called the pass of Barnagee. Through it the French force penetrated unexpectedly in 1798, in its march from Ballina, in consequence of which the king's troops were taken by surprise at Castlebar and routed. The other passes are that of Mossbrook, near Lough Conn, and Glan Island on the side of Westport. The summit of the central pass, which is a very long and steep hill, commands a fine view of Castlebar and the adjoining plain, with Croagh Patrick rising in the distance. The whole of the district south of the valley from Lough Conn to Newport, except the space occupied by the mountains of Barnagee, is thickly interspersed with hills of different forms; those lying between Lough Conn and Loughs Carra and Mask stretching in accordance with the line between the former and latter lakes; those proceeding to Clew bay to an elevation of 2530 feet, embracing from its summit a magnificent prospect of the neighbouring bays and islands, with the amphitheatre of Erris, Burrishoole and Connemara; this mountain may be divided into two parts; the base, composed of a group of undulating flat-topped hills rising to a considerable height; and the Reek, which towers above them in the form of a cone.

The romantic fables of the country have fixed on this as the spot from which St. Patrick drove all the venomous reptiles of the island into the sea; it is still a favourite place for devotional rites. The southern part of the barony of Murrisk rises into steep mountains, of which Muilrea, the highest in Connaught, has an elevation of 2733 feet.

The lakes are numerous, and several are of large size; the principal lie in a direction north and south from the borders of Galway to Killala. A small part of the northern portion of Lough Corrib is considered as belonging to the county; this lake is navigable, unless in very dry seasons, for boats of from 10 to 20 tons to its most northern extremity at Cong, a distance of about 30 miles from the sea. A narrow isthmus of high and rocky land, about two miles across, here separates it from Lough Mask. The latter lake is 10 miles long by 4 broad, with two arms about a mile distant from each other, stretching into Joyce's country, the larger projecting four miles, the lesser three; the lake is navigable up the Ballinrobe river, within 1-1/2 miles of Ballinrobe town. The 'gillaroo' trout, which is remarkable as having a gizzard larger than that of a turkey, but never any roe, is found in it; both red and white trout are also taken. The water of Lough Mask is 36 feet above the summer level of Lough Corrib, and the former pours the whole of its redundant waters into Lough Corrib, through numerous subterraneous caverns, beneath the isthmus above noticed; from these caverns the water emerges in numerous fountains near the village of Cong, whence it flows in a rapid stream, turning several powerful mills, until it mingles with the waters of the lower lake. Lough Carra is a very picturesque sheet of water, seven miles long by three broad, studded with woody peninsulas and islands; this lake assumes an appearance not observable in other collections of fresh water, its colour being greenish while that of others is invariably blue; a peculiarity attributable to the shallowness of its water, which covers a bed of pale yellowish marl. Lough Dan, the next in order, is much smaller than any of the others in the range; it is also called Castlebar lake, because its eastern extremity is close to the town of that name. Lough Conn is a fine piece of water, fifteen miles long by five broad, interspersed with islands on which are ruins of castles and of monasteries, and having its borders fringed with woods and ornamented with mansions and villas; it communicates with the towns of Foxford and Crossmolina, and stretches within two miles of Ballina, and ten of Killala. At the south-eastern extremity of Lough Conn is Lough Cullen, sometimes called the Lower Conn; it is separated from the lake of that name by a narrow strait, over which a bridge named Pontoon bridge was built, on the formation of the new mail line to Sligo. An extraordinary phenomenon is visible here in the alternate ebbing and flowing of these great lakes; the water is seen sometimes rushing with great force through the channel beneath Pontoon bridge into Lough Cullen, while at others it runs with equal force from the lake into Lough Conn, and this is often observable when the waters of the upper lake are much swollen by floods from the mountains, while the lower lake or Lough Cullen, is the natural outlet of the whole of this immense volume of water.

The shores of both lakes being composed in many places of a fine red sand, the line of high water mark can be distinctly traced several inches above the water, and then in the space of an hour, without any apparent cause, the water rises again to the higher level in the one lake, while it is low water in the other; numerous unsatisfactory conjectures have been stated relative to this extraordinary fact. Besides the lake now mentioned there are many others; the principal are Upper and Lower Lough Aile, Lough Urlor, Lough Samore, Lough Skye, Beltra Lake, Kerramore Lake, and other smaller lakes near Foxford, Manilla, Ballinrobe, Shrule, Annagh, Ballyhaunis, Ballagh and Kinturk. In this county, like that of Galway, there are numerous turloughs, which in winter and wet seasons cover large tracts of land, and at other times afford excellent pasture.

The coast is indented by numerous bays. The mouth of the river Moy forms its north-eastern extremity; this river is inaccessible to large vessels on account of its bar, on which there is but three feet of water. Killala bay admits vessels of ten feet draught only at spring tides, but small vessels can proceed as far as the abbey of Moyne. Two miles from Killala is the low peninsula called Kilcummin head, on which the French effected their landing in 1798. On the western side is the village of Inniscroan, the best fishing-place on the coast; and near it is a peninsula called Ross, between the inlets of Killala and Rathbran, which is curiously indented by the sea at high water.

 Dunfeeny bay is of little importance for nautical purposes, but is remarkable for an insulated rock called Downpatrick head, the perpendicular cliff of which affords five distinct sections of the horizontal strata of its formation. From this bay westward the coast is a precipitous cliff for many miles, confining within its interior an extensive uncultivated bog; this lofty formation continues to Broadhaven, a bay seven miles in breadth at its mouth, by four or five in depth; it has two principal arms, the eastern of which receives two considerable rivers; the best entrance to the haven is less than half a mile in width, and the inlet within it winds for nearly seven miles to the isthmus which connects the flat and sandy, yet fertile, peninsula of the Mullet with the main land.

Broadhaven is merely a fishing station, where open boats only are used; flat fish is abundant. The northern end of the peninsula is precipitous and rugged; and near it is the narrow and rocky cove of Portuafranka. Its south terminates with the point of Saddle head, a considerable hill of red granite, which opens into Blacksod bay, a spacious haven with good shelter and water sufficient for any number of ships, which penetrates inland for several miles, until it meets the isthmus of Belmullet, by which it is separated from Broadhaven. Clew bay forms a noble and well-sheltered expanse of inland water, fifteen miles long and seven broad; its entrance is screened through one-third of its breadth by Clare island; and the inner or eastern extremity is occupied by a vast multitude of small islets, which, with the adjoining creeks and inlets, form a variety of safe road-steads and harbours capable of admitting vessels of every class. These islands are composed of a deep loamy soil on a limestone substratum; many of them are accessible by foot passengers at low water.

The towns of Newport and Westport are built at the inner ends of two of those inlets, and are provided with quays, to which vessels of ten feet draught may approach at high water. The islands and channels on the Westport side of the bay are protected by a very singular natural breakwater of shingle and boulder stones, which stretches from the entrance of Westport harbour to the southern shore under Croagh Patrick. There are in this line of beach six navigable openings, the most important of which, leading to Westport, is marked by a small lighthouse built by the Marquess of Sligo. Clew bay possesses many picturesque and attractive features. Among the most striking are the lofty conical peak of Croagh Patrick, the lofty mountains of Erris and Benabola (Ben Bulbin) on the south; those of Nephin and Cartinarry, together with the hills of Achill, on the north; on the east are the flourishing ports above named, with the fine domain of the Marquess of Sligo; and in the west Clare island, rising majestically to check the fury of the Atlantic. The southern horn of this bay is called Bui Naha, or the Yellow head, whence the shore is wild and uninteresting, until it reaches Killala bay. This bay, which separates the counties of Mayo and Galway, penetrates eleven miles into the interior between steep and lofty mountains, and is uniformly about half a mile in breadth, being throughout an excellent harbour for large ships, though occasionally subject to squalls from the hills.

Off the coast are numerous islands, the most remarkable of which, exclusively of those in Clew bay, are Achill and Achill-beg, Clare, Caher, Innisbofin, Innishark, Innisturk, Darilan or O'Darilan, Ox, Inniskeamore, Inniskeabeg, Cahir, Innisdallow, Ballybeg, Innisgort, Innisbeg, Innistegil, Annagh, Barnach, Inniskeragh, Eagle island, and Innisglore, Many of them are large and thickly inhabited. Eagle Island, situated off the Mullet, and about one league south-west from Erris, or Urres Hea, has two lofty light-houses, erected in 1836.

The soil in the champaign country is chiefly a dark brown sandy and gravelly loam on a limestone bottom; in some parts it is light and moory. In the districts in which bog prevails are ridges of limestone gravel, called escars, in some places three miles long, ¼ of a mile broad at the base, and from 30 to 60 feet high; they spontaneously produce many varieties of trees, which seldom attain any size, in consequence of their exposure when young to the cattle. The rocky pastures in which oak and hazel brushwood grow spontaneously are excellent for fattening. The tendency to produce rich grass also shows itself in many parts of the mountainous regions. On passing the junction between the primary and secondary rocks, a striking improvement in the appearance of the verdure is observable; some of these secondary hills contain limestone, and the water is so strongly impregnated with this mineral, that calcareous depositions are found in large quantities on their banks. The sand along the shores of Broadhaven and Blacksod bay is most silicious; yet with a slight manuring of sea weed, it produces excellent barley and potatoes. In these districts the inhabitants are much annoyed by the drifting sand, which is reduced to such a degree of comminution, as to penetrate even into the works of watches. Marly gravel, the substratum of all the hills, was found, when removed for the purpose of covering roads, to change the growth of the spot it fell on from heath to grass; the discovery of which quality led to its liberal use in reclaiming the summits of hills and moory tracts hitherto nearly unprofitable.

Wheat is grown in the southern and champaign parts; potatoes, oats, barley, and flax in the more elevated districts. But the greater portion of the latter division is under pasture, as the grass is found to be suitable for rearing young cattle, though it is not rich enough to fatten them. The farms in the grazing districts are in size from 100 to 500 acres. The general term of a lease is one life, or 21 years; a non-alienation clause is common; and latterly another has been occasionally introduced, by which a stipulated allowance is to be made to the tenant out of the reserved rent, for every acre of land reclaimed.

The manures are limestone gravel, especially for reclaiming bog and mountain; limestone, which is very general, and used wherever a supply of fuel for burning it can be had; composts of bog mould and farm manure; and, near the sea-coast, shell-sand and weed. Paring and burning is very prevalent, notwithstanding the penalties inflicted on the practice by act of parliament; the land, when so treated, produces tolerable crops for a few years, but is afterwards barren for a considerable length of time. When burning has been repeated three or four times, it has been found necessary to renovate the soil by a coat of bog mixed with earth or farm rubbish. In reclaiming bog, which is done by limestone gravel to the thickness of an inch, or by white marl, it is observed that when the heath dies, as it does in about three years, daisies and white clover show themselves, indicating that the land is fit for tillage. The plough is an implement little used in the boggy and mountainous parts; the long narrow spade, which supplies its place, is called a "loy."

 In Erris a spade of still more unusual construction is found to answer best in light sandy soils; it consists of two iron blades, each about three inches broad, with a space of an inch and a half between them, fixed on a two-forked shaft like two loys. The old and clumsy agricultural implements are rapidly giving way to those of a more improved description; the slide car is nearly extinct even in the mountains. Yet still the cottiers' implements are mostly limited to the spade and sickle, and the manure is carried to the field and the produce to market in wicker panniers on horses' backs or on the shoulders of women. In general, the ploughing is too light and the sowing too late in the season, hence the harvest of every kind of crop requires the farmer's attention simultaneously.

Wheat is cultivated to some extent, but potatoes and oats are the main crops; green crops are more frequent than formerly; flax is raised only on the headlands or corners of a field for domestic use. The most favourite breed of horned cattle is a cross between the old Leicester and the native stock; but the native cow is still preferred in the upland districts. The sheep are not equal to those of the adjoining counties. In the mountains a useful hardy race of horses is found; in the lowland districts the horses are remarkably good for the saddle and of superior action. Pigs do not enter into the rural economy of the small farmer to the same extent as in other counties. Dairies are neither numerous nor extensive, the rearing of young cattle being the more general occupation.

The fences are dry stone walls formed by collecting the numerous loose stones off the land, but in Clanmorris and Kilmaine they are good ditches faced with quicksets. Draining and irrigation are little practised, though the soil and the command of water is favourable to both. So late as 1675, the county was well wooded, and had then three extensive forests, at Barnagee, Cappough, and Liscullen; but even the vestiges of these have been swept away, and the last extensive wood of the county, that of Glanmurra, on the shores of Killery bay, was felled in the winters of 1778 and 1779. Natural oaks grow also on all the hills in the Barnagee mountains, and are kept down only by the browsing of the cattle. It has also been ascertained that bogs of an altitude too great to admit of profitable cultivation are capable of producing timber by planting and fencing. The most remarkable range of woods at present is round the base of Croagh Patrick mountain, following the windings of the Brackloon river. The Marquess of Sligo has planted to a large extent and with great prospect of remuneration in the neighbourhood of Westport. In general the baronies of Tyrawley, Burrishoole, Gallen and Costello, are nearly bare of timber; in Murrisk, it abounds, chiefly on the Marquess of Sligo's property, as also in Clanmorris, which exhibits some woods of fine full-grown timber; but in Carragh (Carra) barony the plantations are few.

The whole of the mountains in this county are of primary formation; but rocks of secondary formation are frequently found overlaying the primary at the base of the mountains. The secondary formation on the northern range is red sandstone covered with slate clay, which alternates with floetz sandstone; as also, limestone alternating with slate clay; to the south is the old red sandstone covered with floetz limestone. A line drawn from the southern shore of Achill and continued along the southern base of Coraan mountain, would very nearly pass along the junction of the primary and secondary formations. The primary rocks pass by a narrow isthmus between the secondary rocks at Castlebar, to the shore of Clew bay, and join the primary range, which commences at Croagh Patrick and proceeds thence into Joyces' country. No secondary rocks are met with between Achill head, on the west coast, and Balderric on the north. Near the latter point the secondary formation commences, and continues without interruption along the coast by Downpatrick, Killala, and Sligo to Ballyshannon (Co. Donegal). From the junction at the sea shore near Balderric, the edge of the primary country takes a direction nearly south to Croghan mountain, at the base of which, in the bed of the Owenmore, the old red sandstone appears overlaying mica slate. From Croghan the junction of the rocks may be raced to the northern base of Nephin, and thence, crossing Lough Conn, it proceeds along the northern base of the range of primary mountains from Foxford to Ballysadare. The great mountain chain, commencing at Nephin and extending in a north-western direction by the valley of the Owenmore to Coraan mountain, is entirely composed, except at Nephin-Beg, of mica slate and granular quartz rock. Nephin mountain, the strata of which are fully disclosed by the fissures already noticed, is formed of mica slate, of very variable proportions. The stratification is for the most part nearly vertical, but very irregular. The composition of Nephin Beg is very similar to that of the larger mountain.

The western part of the county between Achill head and the north coast is for the most part a low plain of bog on a bottom of mica slate, backed by mountain ranges of quartz rock. In the island of Achill the rocks are chiefly quartz; in the adjoining peninsula of Coraan, conglomerate sandstone. In the peninsula of the Mullet the country is mostly covered with silicious sand. On the western shore, where the rocks are visible, they are more crystalline than the mountains on the east. Upon the whole, this part of Erris much resembles the islands of Col and Tirey in the Hebrides. At Dunfeeny bay, the alternating beds of sandstone and clay-slate are covered by almost innumerable alternations of thin beds of black shale and black limestone. Many of the beds of black shale contain balls of clay iron-stone; some so carbonaceous as to soil the fingers very much, and to emit a dense black smoke when thrown on the fire. The old red sandstone at the base of Croghan mountain is covered by a series of rocks of slate clay and floetz sandstone alternating; and though no beds of coal have been discovered, there is reason to think that those series belong to that formation; the existence of this mineral is also shewn by a variety of indications in the mountains of Derinkee, near Westport. The iron-ore, the sandstone, the ochre (which is found in abundance and of good quality) and the ferruginous scum on the lakes and rivers, all seem to point out its existence there; in Slieve Carne, in Clanmorris barony, there are also many indications of coal.

The character of the limestone which alternates with the clay-slate along the north-eastern coast, from Balderric to Ballyshannon, is very peculiar; the beds rarely exceed two feet in thickness; some are of a dull black colour and contain no marine remains; others are almost wholly composed of muscle shells. Iron-ore is found in abundance on the lands of Cross, in Erris, and at Tallagha in the same barony; it is also met with in abundance in the bed of Clonoure river, and in the Deel river, where it is found in small lumps of a beautiful red colour.

Iron-works formerly erected by Sir George Shaen, near the Mullet, and more lately on the Deel by Mr. Rutledge, were discontinued from the want of fuel. Manganese is abundant in several parts, but the richest deposits are in the neighbourhood of Westport and in the vale of Owenmore; clay fit for porcelain and every other description of earthenware is found in inexhaustible beds, and cargoes of the finer sorts are shipped for England. Fullers' earth and pipe clay are also abundant and very good; clay for bricks abounds in every barony. Slate quarries on an extensive scale have been worked near Westport; freestone of a good colour, very compact and easily wrought, is abundant in several places; and grey marble, beautifully marked and susceptible of a fine polish, is plentiful in the barony of Murrisk; excellent hones are produced in the hill of Bocca.

Linen is extensively manufactured, chiefly in the cabins of the poor, many of which, particularly in the mountainous districts, are furnished with a loom; the cloth is generally sold grey, and sent elsewhere to be bleached, although there are two extensive bleach-greens near Westport, and another at Turlough. At Ballyclare is a very extensive manufactory of linens, unions, diapers, and sheetings; friezes, flannels, and woolen stockings are made in all parts; the chief market for the sale of them are Castlebar and Westport. A manufacture of straw-plat for hats and bonnets has been introduced; kelp is made in large quantities on all parts of the coast. The increasing demand for grain, chiefly oats for Liverpool, aided by the establishment of corn-buyers in the sea-ports, has given rise to a considerable export trade, for which Killala, Ballina, Newport, and Westport are the chief marts.

Along the whole coast are remarkably fine fishing banks; the principal, extending between Innisbofin and Achill, is abundantly supplied with all kinds of white fish, particularly mackerel, gurnet and herring. North of Achill head is a sand-bank stretching to Blacksod bay, affording turbot and other flat fish, in the greatest abundance. Beyond this lies the Inniskealing bank, extending eight leagues to sea; it is usually fished from May to August. The great sun-fish bank, so called from being frequented by the sun-fish or basking shark during spring, is about thirty miles off the coast, and is supposed to be a ridge of elevated submarine land extending from the Blasquets in Kerry to Erris head.

 The best season for the fishery is during the last week in April or first in May; the fish come thither from the north, and are seen from Tory island to the Blasquets. In fine weather they shew themselves in the morning and evening, in considerable numbers, and are easily assailable, but at this season the uncertainty of the weather and the heavy swell often baffle the fishers. Should a fine day or two occur, from thirty to forty may be killed; but on the death of a few, the rest retreat suddenly to the south, being warned off, the fishermen say, by the smell of the blood; should any stragglers remain, they are so lean as to be scarcely worth killing. They are taken with a harpoon so constructed as to keep fast hold when it has penetrated the body of the fish.

The animal, before it is disturbed, lies quietly on the surface, making no effort to escape till pierced to the quick. Many fish, however, are struck without effect, in which case the spears and line are lost. Indeed, the whole appears to be an unprofitable business; the outfit of the number of boats engaged in it cannot be estimated at less than £2000 in the season, to compensate for which, the value of the fish caught even in a favourable year, has never been above £1500; the loss of time of so many people at an important agricultural season should also be included in the estimate. The fishing is now chiefly followed by the few decked vessels that can stand out waiting for good weather. The whole fishing trade, with this exception, is carried on in open boats; not a single decked vessel is employed between Killala and Newport, or between Westport and Galway, and but few half-decked. The deficiency is owing partly to the poverty of the district, partly to the want of harbours, without which decked vessels cannot load or unload; and partly from the construction of open boats being most convenient for carrying on the coasting trade in turf, in which those residing on the shores are engaged in the intervals between the fishing seasons; the number of boats both for sailing and rowing is very great. The northern coast of Connaught is scantily supplied with harbours; the principal are those of Killala and its vicinity.

The greater part of Killala bay is a good turbot bank; and round fish abound under Kilcummin head and the deep cliffs to the westward; the village of Inniscroan is accounted the best station. The whole western coast is, however, furnished with numerous bays, inlets, and coves of every description for the reception of the fishing craft. Killery harbour is known to be one of the best fisheries for herring; but this branch has been much crippled by the restrictions of the fishery laws. Herrings have been known to set in to some of the bays in vast shoals, yet, from the want of salt, they were left to rot on the shore in heaps; and the wretched fishermen, whose little stock had been expended in fitting out his sea equipage, witnessed his own ruin with abundance apparently within his grasp. To obviate this calamity, salt is now stored at Clifden, Westport, and Belmullet.

 The white fishery commences in Lent; spiller lines are used from Ash Wednesday; the bait for cod and haddock is the slug found in the strand; muscles and whilks are unknown, as are crabs and scollops. Great numbers of turbot come into Killala bay in August, appearing to follow the sand eel found in great abundance in the strand. Mackerel comes in June and July, at first in shoals which refuse the bait and are taken by the seine; but in August they separate and draw near the shore, when they are caught by hand-lines baited with sand eel. The white fish caught at sea are principally cod, haddock, and ling. Pollock is caught at all seasons round the headlands. The deep sea fishing commences in May, when small-fish bait begins to be plentiful; the herring fishery commences in May and continues till August, but further out this fish is found at all seasons and of large size; the winter fishing is carried out from November to Christmas. In spring the in-shore fishers apply themselves to tillage and to the manufacture of kelp. The salmon fisheries are numerous and important; that of Ballina is the best in Ireland except Coleraine (Co. Derry). There are also very valuable fisheries at Belclare, Louisburgh, and Killery, where vast quantities of salmon are annually taken, and there are smaller fisheries at Westport, Newport, and Burrishoole.

No rivers of any importance rise in the county or pass through it. The river Moy, which separates county Mayo from Sligo, after receiving the waters of Loughs Cullen and Conn, flows in a broad stream by Ballina into the bay of Killala. The bar has deep water after great floods, but is dangerous from its liability to shift. A few years since it was passed by vessels drawing 14 feet water; it is now often fordable in dry summers; sloops, however, ascend within a mile of Ballina. It has been proposed to form a lock at Belleek castle, by which vessels of heavy burden might come up to the town, if a passage were cut through the limestone ledges that obstruct the navigation, and measures are in progress to effect this object. The river Blackwater, which for a short distance forms the boundary between counties Mayo and Galway, has an underground course for three miles near Shrule; after its re-appearance it falls into Lough Corrib. The river Aile, which is navigable for boats of six feet draught for a distance of five miles from Lough Mask, also disappears for some time, after having sunk under a stratum of limestone. The Castlebar river is navigable from Lough Conn for the distance of four miles; the Lung, which flows into Lough Carra, admits boats from the lake, which ascend the river about three miles. The other rivers are little more than mountain streams; the principal are the Owenmore, falling into Blacksod bay, and remarkable for the great quantity of water it sometimes carries from the mountains; the rivers Deel, Robe, Erriv, and the Carnamart.

The greater part of the county to the west of the lakes was nearly destitute of roads previously to 1798. No way existed of travelling through Erris but on foot; or if a horseman attempted the journey, he required the aid of six or eight guides on foot to cast the horse at every swamp, fasten his legs and haul him over by ropes. The journey from Ballina to the coast could not be accomplished in less than three days, and if the rivers were swollen required a much longer time. The expense for guides, in money and refreshments, was more than that now required for a carriage and post-horses from Castlebar to the Mullet, a distance of 56 miles, which may be performed in a day. A carriage road has been made along the banks of the Owenmore; one branch proceeds from Castlebar, another from Crossmolina; the former is level and well laid out, the latter labours under the defects of the old country system.
After passing the mountains, a new line branches off to Bellmullet and thence along the western side of Blacksod harbour. Other lines of road are in progress from the same point to the western side of Broadhaven, others to Coraan and Achill; by the former a communication will be opened to the north coast and Killala; the latter unites with a new line, also in progress, from Newport to the extremity of Achill. A new and level line of road has also been made from Killala to Ballina, Foxford, and Swinford, by which the produce of the interior of the country may be conveyed to these sea-ports. A new and very excellent line has been made from the head of the Killeries to Westport, being a continuation of the level line from Clifden through the wilds of Connemara and Joyces' country, thus opening a direct communication between Castlebar, Westport, and these districts of Galway. A new and excellent mail line has been opened between Castlebar and Ballina, crossing the narrow channel between Lough Conn and Lough Cullen, by Pontoon bridge; another line has been opened from Killala, round the northern coast.

There are four ancient round towers in the county, at Killala, Turlough, Meelick, and Baal or Ballagh. Monasteries were numerous and of high repute for sanctity and wealth. The principal were Burrishoole, Ballintubber, or Tubberpatrick, Ballynasmall, Urlare or Orlare, Ballyhaunis, which was inhabited by a fraternity of friars in 1641, Cross, Strade, Ballinrobe or De Roba Mayo, which was afterwards the see of a bishop and gave name to the county, Ballina, Crossmolina, Moyne, Rathbran or Rafran, Rosserick and Bofin, in the island of Innisbofin.

Among the military antiquities the most ancient is that at Downpatrick or Dunbriste, built on a neck of land forming a cliff three hundred feet high projecting into the sea; about the same distance in the sea stands a rugged perpendicular rock of equal elevation with that on the main land, of a triangular shape, contracting gradually from a large base, to the summit, where it is about sixty yards round, and on which are the ruins of a building; the strata and indentations of surface in the cliff on the main land and in the insulated rock correspond in shape and colour; near the extremity of the neck of land a strong grouted wall has been built across the point from sea to sea. The appearance of the whole indicates that the island was at one period attached to the main land, and was dis-severed from it by some convulsion of nature. The name, Dunbriste, which signifies "the broken rock," confirms this supposition. It is a place of peculiar veneration; the people resorting to it do penance around several stone crosses on Good Friday, at which time a priest is in attendance.

Rockfleet castle, a small square building on the shore, about three miles west of Newport, is said to have been built by the celebrated Grace O'Malley already mentioned, who was so singularly attached to the sea that all her castles were erected on the shore; and tradition states that when she slept on shore the cable of her own barges was always fastened to her bedpost.

Ballylahen castle, in Gallen barony, was built by one of the Jordan or Dexter family, who also built ten others for his ten sons; they are all small square buildings with very few contracted windows, a description applicable to most of the castellated structures which are numerously scattered throughout the county.

Inver castle, on the eastern side of Broadhaven, was the principal fortress in Erris barony, and seems to have been a structure of great extent and strength; many ruins of inferior note are to be seen in this barony. The castle of Ballinglen, built in a valley of the same name in Tyrawley barony, has on its top an altar, which gives to that part of the building the name of the altar-room. Deel castle, built by the Burke family, stands roofed and entire within four miles of Ballina, on the estate of the late Col. Cuff. On Castle island, in Lough Conn, are the ruins of a fort in which O'Conor is said to have confined his brother, after depriving him of sight, for having rebelled against him.
Portnakally castle, about a miles from Downpatrick, is remarkable only for the total want of windows, although the walls yet standing are upwards of twenty feet high. The other remains of castles are not marked by any features sufficiently important to entitle them to particular notice; they were chiefly built by the Burkes, the Barretts, and the Jennings. The modern mansions of the nobility and gentry are noticed in their respective parishes.

The condition and appearance of the peasantry differ much in different parts. In the districts about Westport and Newport the people were formerly in comfortable circumstances, uniting the occupations of farmer, weaver, and fisherman; but for several years the change in their circumstances for the worse has been very great, which has been attributed to the decline in the linen trade, the subdivision of farms, and early and improvident marriages. The peasantry, particularly in the pasturing districts, where extensive farms are held in common, live in villages; detached cabins are sometimes to be met with; their habitations are built in some parts of uncemented stone, in others of sod or mud, on a stone foundation; they are roofed chiefly with bog timber, which is never of sufficient size to furnish rafters except for the smallest cabins; the price of foreign timber prevents its general use. Their cabins hence have an appearance even more miserable than those in other parts of Ireland. In the mountainous districts, and on the borders of the bog, the habitations are peculiarly wretched, indicating the greatest poverty. In Gallen the houses are built of dry walls dashed with mortar, and have generally a chimney and two partitions, besides a recess called a hag, sunk in the side wall opposite the fire, which contains a bed, and is screened by a straw mat hung up for a curtain. The fuel is universally turf; the food, potatoes, oaten bread, milk, and herrings; and the clothing, chiefly a dark-coloured frieze manufactured by themselves, with thicksets and cotton occasionally. The women were formerly clothed in home-made stuffs, flannels, and friezes, and, like those of Galway, the short jacket and petticoat was of red flannel or frieze; the jacket has in most instances given way to a cotton gown, but the deep crimson petticoat is still worn throughout the greater part of the county. The Irish language is generally spoken by the old inhabitants, but young people almost everywhere speak English, and many of the children, even in the mountain districts and along the sea shore, are unacquainted with the Irish language. Every village has its code of laws established by the inhabitants; differences which cannot be accommodated in this manner were referred to the proprietor of the estate, or his agent; but now they are generally carried to the sessions; this rude system of village law is said to give rise to much strife and pertinacious litigation.

Mayo has a rich archaeological heritage dating from prehistoric times to the present. (Achaeology is the interpretation of our past from the study of buildings and objects made by human beings. We are dependent on archaeology alone in any attempt to study the prehistoric period and thereafter to complement what is recorded in written sources). According to the present state of archaeological knowledge, the first people arrived in Ireland sometime before 7000 BC during what is called the Mesolithic period. They were nomadic tribes of hunters and fishing people who built no permanent structures such as houses or tombs. The first colonisation of Mayo probably took place during that period.

In the fourth millennium BC, during the Neolithic period, another group of settlers arrived in Ireland, our first farmers, who introduced agriculture and animal husbandry to the country as well as the skills of pottery-making and weaving. They started a custom of burying their dead collectively (usually cremated) in large stone-built chambered tombs known as megalithic tombs, the earliest surviving architectural structures in the country. There are over 1,500 such tombs identified in Ireland with approximately 160 in County Mayo. This fact indicates the importance of the Mayo region during the Neolithic period and into the Bronze Age (c. 2000- 400 BC) when this phase of tomb-building came to an end.

In the literature on archaeology, Irish megalithic tombs are divided in four classes: court-tombs, portal tombs, passage-tomb and wedge-tombs, each style named after its chief diagnostic feature. Each class of tomb probably represents a new major colonisation of the country by different groups of tomb-builders. The remains of some megalithic tombs are so badly damaged that they can not be accurately identified by type and are consequently recorded as unclassified megalithic tombs. Examples of all types decorate the Mayo landscape. Eighty-five of the 400 plus court-tombs known in Ireland are located in Mayo. About 30 of these tombs are situated in the hinterland of Bunatrahir and Killala Bays in north Mayo. Others are scattered throught the county in the hinterland of Ballina and in places like Killasser in east Mayo, Ballycroy and Belmullet in the north-west, Claremorris, Cong, Achill, Newport and Louisburgh. There are seven known portal-tombs in the county (two in Ballyknock near Ballycastle; one in Claggan, near Ballycroy; one at Gortbrack North and another at Knocknalower, near Belmullet, one in Achill and another in Killasser); one identified passage-tomb at Carrowreagh near Bonniconlon (alias Bunnyconnellan) , with other possible ones in the Cong/Ballinrobe region. There are over 30 wedge-tombs and a similar number of unclassified megalithic tombs in the county.

The blanket bog which covers parts of Ireland developed from the late 3rd millennium BC onwards and in places covered the field systems, habitation-sites and tombs of the early farmers. Extensive pre-bog field-systems with stone walls have been discovered embedded in the bog in many parts of Ireland, notably at Behy, Glenulra and Belderrig , west of Ballycastle in County Mayo. The Behy/Glenulra region, known as the 'Céide Fields', contains a 1,500 hectare archaeological site, the most extensive Stone Age monument in the world.

Mayo has many known monuments from the Bronze Age: 34 wedge-tombs; 12 stone alignments/rows; 24 stone circles; close to 300 ancient cooking-sites known as fulachta fiadh. The county has also several monuments from the Early Iron Age (c. 400BC-AD 400): over 250 crannógs (lake-dwellings); over 100 promontory forts, and numerous ringforts and souterrains.

Early Christian Period

The early history of the county is obscure and frequently confusing with various tribes seeking control. Christianity came to Ireland at the start of the fifth century, if not earlier, and brought about many changes, including the introduction of writing and reading. St. Patrick, Ireland's national apostle, whose floruit was the fifth century, is chiefly credited with the conversion of the pagan Gaels. Recent research indicates that St. Patrick spent considerable time in County Mayo, where according to tradition and some written sources he spent forty days and nights on the summit of Croagh Patrick fasting and praying for the people of Ireland; and had associations with places like Aghagower near Westport, Ballintubber (well-known nowadays for its medieval abbey which has remained in continuous use through all vicissitudes from its foundation in 1216); and Foghill near Killala, which has been identified by some writers with the Silva Vocluti , 'the wood of Fochluth beside the western sea' mentioned by Patrick himself in his Confessio.

From the middle of the sixth century onwards, hundreds of small monastic settlements were established around the country, many of which became very important. Some examples of well-known early monastic sites in Mayo include Mayo itself near Balla, Aughagower, Inishmaine, Ballintubber, Errew, Kilmore Erris, Balla, Cong, Killala, Turlough, Moyne near Cross, and island settlements off the Mullet peninsula like Inishkea North, Inishkea South and Duvillaun More.

'Mayo of the Saxons'

One of the most interesting monastic sites in Co. Mayo was that from which the county derives its name - Maigh Eo. Colmán of Lindisfarne, having been defeated by the 'Romanist' party at the synod of Whitby (in Northumbria, in the north-east of England) in 663, withdrew with his followers, via Iona, to Inishbofin off the west coast of Galway. As a result of disagreement between the Irish and the English monks in the little community, the latter moved to the 'plain of yews', about sixteen kilometres south-east of the present town of Castlebar. The monastery they established there, known as Mag nÉo na Sachsan ('of the Saxons'), became renowned as a centre of learning, and continued to attract monks of English birth for a century and more after its foundation.

It is an indication of Mayo's importance in the middle ages that, when, in 1152, the synod of Kells introduced a system of diocesan organisation to the Irish church, one of the dioceses established west of the Shannon was that of Mayo. In the aftermath of the Reformation, the Established Church united the see to Tuam. The Catholic diocese was finally absorbed by Tuam, by papal decree, some time after 1631. The monastery at Mayo became a collegiate church sometime early in the 13th century, and about 1370 it became an abbey (St. Michael's) of Augustinian Canons. It survived until the dissolution of the monasteries after the Reformation. It will be clear from the foregoing that 'Mayo' as the name of the abbey and, more importantly, of the diocese, was very much in circulation around 1570, when it came to naming the new county established by Sir Henry Sidney.

Vikings

The Vikings or Norsemen first attacked Ireland in 795 and Mayo around the start of the ninth century. On arrival, they started to plunder and loot places of wealth especially monasteries. It was partly in response to those attacks that round towers were later erected in monastic enclosures (most were erected in the 12 century). There are about 65 of these fine structures surviving in Ireland, with five located in County Mayo: Aughagower, Balla, Killala, Turlough and Meelock. The Viking invasion led to the establishment of settlements in a number of locations like Dublin, Cork, Wexford and Waterford which later developed into towns and cities.

The Normans

The Anglo-Norman colonisation of Ireland from1169 onwards was one of the most significant events in the development of Ireland. Mayo came under Norman control in 1235. The Norman conquest meant the eclipse of many Gaelic lords and chieftains, chiefly the O'Connors of Connacht, but the invaders soon adopted Gaelic customs and began to marry with the native Irish and became as the phrase has it: 'more Irish than the Irish themselves'. This process of Gaelicisation is best exemplified in the adoption by various Norman families and branches of families of new surnames based on Gaelic-style patronymics. Examples of Mayo surnames today with Norman origins include Barrett, Burke and Bourke, Costello, Culkin, Davitt, Fitzmaurice, Gibbons, Jennings, Joyce, McEvilly, Nally, Padden, Staunton and Walsh. The Normans started numerous towns and developed some existing settlements into towns, as well as organising fairs and markets. They developed roads, bridges, sea-ports and promoted the growth of trade both domestic and foreign as well as improving the agricultural methods then in vogue.

The New Abbeys and Friaries

A noteworthy feature of the period with which we have been dealing was the buildings of abbeys or friaries for the new mendicant orders - Augustinians, Carmelites, Dominicans and Franciscans - principally by the Hiberno-Norman families. A number of early monastic sites - such as Cong, Inishmaine, Ballintubber, Errew, and Mayo - had been chosen as locations for abbeys of the Augustinian Canons Regular, built under the patronage of Gaelic families (particularly the O'Connors) in the 12th and 13th centuries.

The first friary founded under Norman auspices in Mayo was that of Straide (alias Strade) established for the Franciscans by Jordan de Exeter, probably between 1240 and 1250. It was very soon (in 1252) transferred to the Dominicans. Another Dominican house, also thought to have been founded by a de Exeter, was Rathfran, dating from 1274. The Prendergasts founded Ballinasmalla, near Claremorris, for the Carmelites around 1288. Another Carmelite foundation, dating from 1298, was Burriscarra, which was built by the Stauntons. Abandoned after about eighty years by the Carmelites it was later occupied by the Augustinian friars. The Augustinians were given a house in Ballinrobe around 1313, by one of the de Burgos. No other notable foundation is recorded for over a century, until about 1430, when the Mac Costellos established the Dominicans in Urlaur and the Augustinians in Ballyhaunis. A decade later Rosserk Friary was founded for the Franciscan Third Order by one Joye (or Joyce). Nearby Moyne Friary was built for the Franciscan friars by Mac Uilliam ochtarach (de Burgo)around 1455, while, a couple of years later, the only Gaelic foundation of the period, Murrisk, in the shadow of Croagh Patrick, was established for the Augustinians by Tadhg Máille, the local chieftain. The latest foundation of any significance was the Dominican Friary of Burrishoole, built around 1469 by Mac Uilliam ochtarach, Richard de Burgo of Turlough.

Almost all the foundations mentioned above were suppressed in the wake of the Reformation in the 16th century. One or two have been rebuilt and restored, but in most cases, only the ruins survive, pleasing, if poignant, late Gothic relics of what must have been among the most striking buildings in the countryside of pre-Tudor Ireland.

The Lordship of MacWilliam Eighter

The 15th century was marked by frequent quarrels between the Mayo Burkes (as the people of Mac Uilliam ochtair may be called for convenience) and the Clanrickard Burkes of what is now County Galway, as well as by much internecine fighting among the minor Norman lords of Mayo. From mid-century onwards, the O'Donnells, the great Gaelic lords of Tír Chonaill (in present-day Co. Donegal), interfered frequently in the affairs of north Connacht, as they sought to extend their way southwards. They met with opposition from the Burkes, who were also quite often embroiled in the affairs of their eastern neighbours, the O'Connors of Roscommon and Sligo. Another Gaelic family, the O'Kellys of east Galway and south Roscommon were usually to be found in alliance with the Burkes of Mayo.

The turn of the century saw the Lord Deputy, Garrett Mór Fitzgerald, the great Earl of Kidare, ruling as virtual king of Ireland. In August 1504 he demonstrated his power by inflicting a crushing defeat on his son-in-law, Ulick Burke, Earl of Clanrickard, in a battle at Cnoc Tuagh (Knockdoe) near Galway. Among those who joined the great alliance against Clanrickard an his Munster allies were his cousins and rivals, the Mayo Burkes.

A mere thirty years after Cnoc Tuagh the great House of Kildare succumbed to the growing might of the Tudor monarchy, and by mid-century English power was making itself felt in Connacht, where the rivalry between the Mayo and Clanrickard Burkes had flared up again into war. By the late 1560s the Lord Deputy, Sir Henry Sidney, had procured the submission of both de Burgo lords, and was making provision for the future government of the province in the interests of the Crown. In July 1569 Sir Edward Fitton was appointed President, or Governor, of Connacht. One of the first tasks facing him and his council was to lay down the boundaries of the new counties of Connacht and Thomond. Almost immediately he was faced with what was to become a commonplace over the next thirty years - a rebellion by the Mayo Burkes. Fitton, with various allies, including Clanrickard, met them in battle at Shrule in June 1570. The outcome of the battle was somewhat indecisive, but Mac Uilliam ochtair submitted and made peace shortly afterwards. 1572 saw another short-lived revolt, this time in alliance with two sons of Clanrickard. When Clanrickard's sons rebelled again in 1576, however, the Mayo Burkes remained loyal, holding Castlebar for the Queen.

It was in this last campaign, in 1576, that the remarkable 'sea-queen' from the shores of Clew Bay, Gráinne Ní Mháille (variously anglicised Granie ny Maille, Grace O'Malley, Granuaile, etc.) first makes her appearance in history, offering the services of her galleys and two hundred fighting men to Lord Deputy Sidney. But within two years Gráinne's second husband, Risteard an Iarainn - a Burke, and claimant to the MacWilliamship - was in revolt; his rebellion simmered on until 1582, when the new Lord Deputy, Sir Nicholas Malbie, recognised him as MacWilliam, and later knighted him.

A rebellion in 1585 by various branches of the Burkes was suppressed with great severity by the new Governor of Connacht, Sir Richard Bingham. A month later, a force of 2,000 Scots mercenaries came to Connacht to assist the Burkes, but they were routed with a great slaughter near Ardnaree.

In the summer of 1588 the galleons of the Spanish Armada were wrecked by a storm along the west coast of Ireland. Some of the hapless Spaniards came ashore in Mayo, only to be robbed and imprisoned, and in many cases slaughtered.

Cromwellian Settlement

The pattern of land ownership in Mayo underwent a continuous if slow metamorphasis in succeeding generations as clans evolved and grew stronger or were eclipsed by their neighbours and London administrations began to play a more significant and direct role in the affairs of Ireland. The traumatic Cromwellian settlement which commenced in 1641 ended a decade later with a stern regime in absolute control of the country and grimly determined to reward its friends and punish its enemies. The most significant feature of the "Cromwellian settlement" as it is known, was the plan to repay Commonwealth soldiers and adventurers for their services with grants of land in ten Irish counties. The landowners displaced as a consequence of implementing this scheme were, if found to be innocent of participation in "the late rebellion", to be given lands, in proportion to their original estates, in four counties west of the Shannon - Mayo, Galway, Roscommon and Clare. The "transplantation to Connacht" also involved transplantation within Connacht, as existing landowners west of the Shannon, displaced to make way for the new arrivals, had to be found estates elsewhere in the Province.

Eighteenth Century

For the vast majority of people in County Mayo the eighteenth century was a period of unrelieved misery, with some minor famines. Because of the operation of what were called 'the penal laws', Catholics had no hope of social advancement while they remained in their native land. However, emigration could and did lead to new opportunities and challenges for many like William Brown (1777-1857), who left Foxford at the age of nine and thirty years later was an admiral in the fledgling Argentine Navy. Today he is revered as 'the father of the Argentine Navy', and as a national hero in that country.

Culturally, 16th century Mayo made some contribution to the "hidden Ireland" of the time, and two Mayo-born poets from the period have retained considerable popularity: Riocard Bairéad (d. 1819) from the Mullet, whose songs included 'Eoghan Cóir', 'Preab san l', and 'Tarraingt na Móna' and blind Anthony Raftery (d.1835) from Killedan, near Kiltamagh (alias Kiltimagh) , who spent most of his life in south and east Galway, and whose numerous compositions included the ever-pupular 'Máire Ní Eidhin', 'Aithrí Reaftaraí' and, of course, 'Cill Liadáin'.

There were some stirrings in the west in the 1790s, with reports of agrarian disturbances in Tirawley, and an influx into Mayo of Catholic refugees from Ulster following the sectarian clashes in north Armagh in 1795 which led to the formation of the Orange Society. Nevertheless, when the United Irishmen were forced by government repression to move from working openly for reform to secretly plotting revolution, and when Leinster and east Ulster blazed into rebellion in June of 1798, no one expected Mayo to play a memorable role in the bloody drama about to commence. The man who dragged Mayo onto the stage of Irish history in 1798 was a French general from Lorraine, a former dealer in goat and rabbit skins named Joseph Amable Humbert.

'The Year of the French'

Ten weeks after the United Irishmen had been crushed at Ballynahinch, Co. Down, and two months after the fall of the rebel camp at Vinegar Hill, near Enniscorthy in Co. Wexford, Humbert landed at Kilcummin strand, on Killala bay, with about 1,100 officers and men of the army of the French Republic. Four days later, on Sunday, 26 August, having taken Killala and Ballina, Humbert led about 700 of his men, and about the same number of untrained Irish recruits, in an amazing all-night march down the almost trackless west shore of Lough Conn, arriving next morning in front of the startled British garrison of Castlebar. The force opposing Humbert numbered about 1,700, under the command of General Lake, and consisted mainly of Irish militia. After a short, sharp engagement, the militia broke and fled, and were quickly joined by the remainder of the garrison in a headlong flight which, for some of them, did not end till they reached the safety of Tuam, Co. Galway. The episode, still remembered as 'the races of Castlebar', was an ignominious defeat for the government forces and a corresponding morale-booster for the small force opposing them, but it was in no way decisive. Humbert realised that without additional aid from France his expedition was doomed to failure. He remained in Castlebar for eight days awaiting further orders from his superiors, and while he waited he established a 'Republic of Connacht', with a young Catholic gentleman, John Moore from Moorehall on the shores of Lough Carra, as its president. When neither orders nor help were forthcoming, Humbert marched his little army towards Sligo, winning a skirmish at Collooney. Then hearing reports of a rising in the midlands, he swung south-eastward through Leitrim into Longford where, on September 8 the force of 850 French troops and about a thousand Irish allies faced a force over five times as strong under Lord Cornwallis and General Lake.

The token battle at Ballinmuck ended with Humbert's surrender after barely half an hour. The French soldiers were treated honourably, but for the Irish the surrender meant slaughter. There was more slaughter a fortnight later when Killala finally fell to General Trench's forces. The little garrison (including its commander, Ferdy O'Donnell) was massacred. The government forces were turned loose on the countryside. The insurgents, or anyone suspected of having been involved in the rising, were hunted down and butchered without mercy. In all, it is estimated that some four to six hundred were killed in the battle for Killala and in the course of the 'mopping-up operations' which continued for some weeks, while others died on the scaffold in towns like Castlebar and Claremorris, where the high sheriff for County Mayo, the Honourable Denis Browne, M.P., brother of Lord Altamont, wreaked a terrible vengeance - thus earning for himself the nickname which has survived in folk-memory to the present day, 'Donnchadh an Rópa' (Denis of the Rope). The awful aftermath of those few stirring weeks, in what was long remembered with a mixture of pride and horror, as Bliain na bhFrancach ('The year of the French') ensured that it was many a long year before the people of Mayo felt free to celebrate in song the exploits of "The men of the West' and to remind their countrymen that 'When Éire lay broken at Wexford she looked for revenge to the West.'

Mayo before the Great Famine

The early decades of the 19th century saw a new outbreak of agrarian agitation with the rise of the 'Ribbon Societies' in Connacht. These sought to protect tenants against eviction by landlords who wished to clear their lands for grazing - to avail of the high prices for cattle prevailing in the years immediately after the Napoleonic Wars. Ribbonism had a strong sectarian tinge, being influenced by inflammatory pamphlets which were widely circulated at the time and which predicted the imminent overthrow of 'the Reformation'.

Sectarian tensions were further increased in this period by the activities of evangelical Protestant missionaries seeking to 'redeem the Irish poor from the errors of Popery. One of the best-known missions of this kind was that founded at Dugort, in Achill, in 1831 by a Meathman, the Rev. Edward Nangle. The activities of the missionaries and bible societies were strongly disapproved of by many, perhaps most, of the clergy of the Established Church, but they received important encouragement from two successive Protestant bishops of Tuam. Their staunchest opponent was the Mayo-born Catholic archbishop of Tuam, John MacHale, a supporter of Daniel O'Connell, a promoter of the Irish language, and a sturdy polemicist, who died at the age of ninety in 1881.

These too were the years of the campaign for Catholic Emancipation and, later, for the abolition of the tithes which a predominately Catholic population was forced to pay for the upkeep of the clergy of the Established Church.

The Great Famine

Early in the nineteenth century, there were a number of famines in Ireland, culminating in the Great Famine of 1845 - '49, when about a million people died and a further million went into exile. The population increased from an estimated figure of four and a half million in 1800 to over eight million by 1841. The pressure of this vast increase exacerbated the fragile subsistence economy of the period, as land became subdivided into smaller and smaller plots. Destitution was already a fact of life for many and evictions became regular occurrences in the Irish countryside. Most of the impoverished population depended on the potato as their staple food product. Disaster struck in August 1845, when a killer fungus (later diagnosed as Phytophthora infestans ) started to destroy the potato crop. The green stalks of potato ridges became blighted and within a short time the rotting crop was producing a terrible stench. About a third of the national potato crop was destroyed that year, and an almost complete failure the following year led to a catastrophe for the remainder of the decade. By 'black forty-seven', people were dying in their thousands from starvation-related diseases. The workhouses, built in the early 1840s to relieve appalling poverty, were unable to cope with the numbers seeking admission. Various parsimonious relief measures were inadequate to deal with the scale of the crisis. The number of evictions increased. This process of 'clearance' (as it was called) was aided by the 'quarter-acre clause' (the infamous Gregory clause, called after its proposer, Sir William Gregory MP of Coole Park, Co. Galway) in the Poor Law Extension Act 1847 which excluded from relief anyone who had more than a quarter acre of land. Any such unfortunate person who was starving had to abandon his holding and go to the workhouse if he and his family wanted a chance to survive. Conditions became worse in 1848 and 1849, with various reports at the time recording dead bodies everywhere.

The catastrophe was particularly bad in County Mayo, where nearly ninety per cent of the population were dependent on the potato. By 1848, Mayo was a county of total misery and despair, with any attempts at alleviating measures in complete disarray. People were dying and emigrating in their thousands. We will never know how many died in the county during those terrible years. The 'official' statistics for the county show that the population dropped from 388,887 in 1841 to 274,499 in 1851, but it is accepted that the actual figure in 1841 was far higher than the official census return. It can safely be said that over 100,000 died in Mayo from the famine epidemic and emigration began on a big scale (there was some emigration before the Great Famine). Most emigrants from the county went to the USA, Canada, England and Scotland, to become part of the big Irish diaspora scattered throughout the world.

There are numerous reminders of the Great Famine to be seen on the Mayo landscape: workhouse sites, famine graves, sites of soup-kitchens, deserted homes and villages and even traces of undug 'lazy-beds' in fields on the sides of hills. Many roads and lanes were built as famine relief measures. There were nine workhouses in the county: Ballina, Ballinrobe, Belmullet, Castlebar, Claremorris, Killala, Newport, Swinford and Westport.

Rather ironically perhaps, the great reduction in Mayo's population, and especially the virtual annihilation of the formerly numerous class of landless cottiers who had been hardest hit by the Great Famine, enabled those who remained to considerably improve their standard of living in the following decades. The new National Schools - despite the opposition of those, such as Archbishop MacHale, who regarded them, with some justification, as agents of anglicisation - succeeded in reducing the rate of illiteracy by almost half in the forty years between 1841 and 1881. The result was a population with rising expectations, and with growing confidence in their own strength and in their ability to bring about a change in conditions, and so, when bad harvests in 1877 and '78 and a disastrous one in 1879 brought the threat of another serious famine, paticularly in the west, the people were far better prepared to protect themselves than they had been thirty years before.

A small poverty-stricken place called Knock, County Mayo, made headlines when it was announced that an apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Joseph and St. John had taken place there on 21 August 1879, witnessed by fifteen local people.

The Land War

The people who remained in County Mayo in the wake of the Great Famine soon showed that they were resilient in the face of adversity. A national movement was initiated in County Mayo during 1879 by Michael Davitt, James Daly, and others, which brought about the greatest social change ever witnessed in Ireland. Michael Davitt (1846 -1906), who was born at Straide, County Mayo, saw his family evicted at the age of four, emigration to England, and experienced many hard knocks and disappointments in his voyage through life. He became Mayo's most famous son on the pages of Irish history and one of the great patriots of his country. James Daly (1835-1910), who played a crucial role in the early land agitation in Mayo, came from Boghadoon, near Lahardaun, and was editor of The Connacht Telegraph newspaper. The land agitation started at a meeting held in Irishtown, near Ballindine, County Mayo, on Sunday 20 April 1879. The meeting, which was attended by a crowd variously estimated at from four to fifteen thousand, arose out of a threat to evict a number of tenants for arrears of rent from the estate of a local absentee landlord. The meeting led not only to the cancellation of the proposed evictions but to a general reduction of rents. Of far greater consequence, however, were the wider political effects of the meeting, whose reverberations were to be felt throughout the whole of Ireland over the next quarter of a century.

On 1 June 1879, the Fenian leader, John Devoy, Michael Davitt and the county Wicklow landlord and MP for Meath, Charles Stewart Parnell, met in Dublin, and apparently agreed on 'the new departure', whereby the Fenians and the constitutional nationalists agreed to combine in a struggle to reform the Irish land-system. One week later Parnell urged a meeting of tenants in Westport 'to hold a firm grip on your homesteads and lands'. His call came as potato blight was spreading once more through the west, and the number of evictions for non-payment of rent was rising steadily. On 16 August, under Davitt's leadership, the National Land League of Mayo was founded in Castlebar, and two months later the campaign moved well beyond the borders of Mayo with the inauguration in Dublin of the Irish National Land League, with Parnell as its President, and Michael Davitt, its acknowledged father, as one of its secretaries.

The story of the 'Land War' over the next two decades is part of Irish history rather than of the Mayo story specifically. Mayo, however, played a prominent, and sometimes violent, role in the struggle. Almost half of what were termed 'agrarian outrages' (maiming of cattle, destruction of property, wounding and even killing of land agents, landlords, and those who were considered 'land grabbers') in the early 1880s occurred in Mayo, Kerry and west Galway. At the same time, Mayo attracted international attention, and in the process gave a new word to the English language, by initiating a rather novel form of non-violent protest. This involved a campaign of ostracisation against Lord Erne's Mayo agent, a Norfolk man named Captain Charles Cunningham Boycott, whose efforts to secure the harvest from the estate on the eastern shore of Lough Mask necessitated the importation of some fifty Orangemen, mostly from Cavan, and a force of about a thousand soldiers and police to protect them. The campaign against the 'Boycott Relief Expedition' was orchestrated by Father John O'Malley, parish priest of Kilmolara (resident in the Neale), and it was he who suggested the term 'boycotting' as being easier for his parishioners to pronounce that 'ostracisation'.

The unfortunate Boycott realised by late November 1880 that all his efforts had been in vain (the harvest had cost over 10,000 - 'a shilling for every turnip dug' said Parnell), and so, taking his family with him, he returned to England until the agitation had subsided. The land agitation was gradually resolved by a scheme of a state-aided land purchase, under which the tenants became full owners of the land. A series of land purchase acts provided the finance which enabled the tenants to purchsae the land from landlords and repay the loans with interest over a number of years. Tenant farmers became owner-occupiers within a generation and in the process created the foundations for the politically stable society we enjoy today.

Thanks to the vision of Mother Agnes Morrogh-Bernard (1842 - 1932), the Foxford Woollen Mill was established in 1892. She made Foxford synonymous throughout the world with high quality tweeds, rugs and blankets.

Independence

The Land agitation destroyed servility and paved the way for the emergence of a modern democracy. Under the provisions of the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898, Grand Juries (which consisted of the chief landowners in each county) were abolished and replaced by county councils with a significant extension of local democracy. The change saw some readjustments to county boundaries including Mayo. These developments were aided by the Gaelic Revival of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. After the defeat of 1916 Easter Rising in Dublin, fourteen of its leaders, including a Westport man, Major John MacBride, were executed. McBride had led a small Irish Brigade in the Boer War in South Africa against the British, and was married for a time to the beautiful Maud Gonne, the love of the poet W.B. Yeats. (Their son, Seán, became an international lawyer of renown, the founder of a political party - Clann na Poblachta, Minister for External Affairs in the first inter-party government in Ireland 1948 - '51, and winner of the Nobel and Lenin Peace Prizes). The historic general election of 1918, in which Sinn Féin candidates won a landslide victory, led to the establishment of 'the first Dáil', or native parliament, in January 1919, which was not recognised by Britain. The first public session in Ireland of the new Republican law courts was held in Ballinrobe on 17 May 1919. These developments were followed by the war of independence, with a number of incidents in County Mayo, notably at Foxford, Islandeady, Toormakeady, Kilmeena and Carrowkennedy near Westport. A truce was declared in July 1921, followed by the Anglo Irish Treaty of 6 December. The subsequent split in Republican ranks led to a tragic civil war (1922 - '23), again with a number of so called 'incidents' in County Mayo, but nothing compared to the atrocities which took place elsewhere in Ireland.

Mayo since Independence

The rights and wrongs of the 'civil war' dominated Irish political life for a generation and relegated economic, social and cultural development to second place. Since 1922 the history of Mayo is little different from the national one but, with a high birth rate and few opportunities for employment at home, numerous sons and daughters of the county became part of the great extended Irish family scattered throughout the globe. The population fell from 172,690 in 1926 to 161,349 in 1936 and 133,052 by 1956. The chief source of livelihood for Mayo families during this period was farming, where incomes were low and in many cases had to be supplemented by emigrants' remittances or savings from seasonal migratory work in England. In the latter case, many emigrants had not completed their national school education when they were forced by economic necessity to supplement the family income. The prevailing economic situation was aggravated by 'the economic war' (1933 - '38), and later by the second world war.

Following the publication of the First Programme for Economic Expansion in 1958, industrial policy in Ireland was changed from protectionism to free trade with the objective of establishing an export-orientated manufacturing sector in the country by attracting foreign investment and promoting private enterprise. Many multinational corporations began operations in Ireland and new employment opportunities were created in industry and services, while the agricultural labour force continued to decline. Some multinationals were established in Mayo: Travenol, later Baxter Healthcare (1972), Hollister (1976), Asahi (1977), and some indigenous firms like Rowear (Ballina), Killala Precision Components (the 1996 'small business of the year'), and Berry's Printing Works in Westport established national and international reputations for excellence.

In the sphere of national politics, it could be argued that Mayo has made a more than proportionate contribution in the decades since independence. In addition to several government ministers, three leaders of Irish political parties in this century were born in Mayo: Thomas J. O'Connell, who became leader of the Labour Party in 1927, was born in Bekan; Joseph Blowick, who was leader of the Clann na Talmhan party in the first inter-party Government from 1948 - '51, was born near Balla, and Charles J. Haughey, who became leader of the Fianna Fáil party in 1979, was born in Castlebar. Castlebar-born Padraig Flynn, who earned a lot of deserved credit for the excellent road system around Castlebar, became Ireland's European Commissioner in 1993, with responsibility for Social Affairs and Employment. There was another honour for Mayo when Ballina-born Mary Robinson (née Bourke), an eminent barrister and former law professor and senator, became the seventh President of Ireland on 3 December 1990, the first woman to hold that office (and the second woman in the world to be democratically elected a Head of State).

Mayo is becoming a popular tourist destination with continuous investment in facilities, attractions and amenities. Our Lady's Shrine, Knock, is one of the major attractions of the county, with over 1,500,00 visitors annually. His Holiness Pope John Paul II came as a pilgrim to Knock on 30 September 1979, the goal of his journey to Ireland. Apart from His Holiness Pope John Paul II, Mayo has welcomed other world figures in recent times: President Reagan of the United States to Cong in 1974; Prince Charles to Delphi Lodge in 1995 and Prince Edward to Castlebar in 1996, as well as numerous European Union and United States celebrities.

One of the most significant developments in the county in the 20th century was the provision of an international airport between Knock and Charlestown. It was erected due to the vision and determination of Monsignor James Horan (1911 - 1986), who was parish priest of Knock from 1970 until his death. Despite many vicissitudes and much criticism, the airport was completed on schedule and within budget (itself a major achievement by Irish standards) and officially opened on 30 May 1986. It is now known as Ireland West International Airport in honour of the great monsignor. Another significant development was the opening of the Castlebar Campus of the Regional Technical College Galway in September 1994. Due to the leadership of Mayo County Council the infrastructure of the county has been modernised in recent times with a network of new roads, water supplies, and other amenities. There is a new spirit of dynamism and self-help evident around Mayo in recent times with progressive plans for development in industry, agriculture, tourism, services, education, infrastructure, integrated rural development as well as the provision of appropriate social and cultural amenities.

 It is still a county with an astonishing variety of scenery, an unspoiled natural environment, several blue-flagged beaches, where people have lived in harmony with their surroundings for over 5,000 years. The county's attractions include delightful uncongested holiday resorts, excellent fishing waters, exciting walking and mountain climbing trails, a good choice of golf courses, opportunities for many other types of activity-holidays as well as can be seen from the above outline history, some of the most interesting archaeological and historical sites in Ireland.

The natural beauty of the green countryside, the friendliness of its people and general ambience make Mayo a place where visitors are made welcome and where they can enjoy nature far removed from the hassle and pressure of modern city life. You name it, Mayo has it naturally!