|
|
Mayo is situated on the Northwest coast of Ireland and is the second largest county in the province of Connaught, covering an area of 1.3 million acres. It extends from 53°28' to 54°21' north latitude and from 8°25' to 10°5' west longitude. The county adjoins County Galway on the South and this border is partly formed by Lough Comb and the long narrow fjord of Killary Harbour. It is bounded on the West and North by the Atlantic ocean and by the counties of Sligo and Roscommon on the east.
The landscape varies from relatively flat land in East Mayo, through large island-studded lakes, like Lough Conn, Lough Carra, Lough Mask, to the naked quartzite peaks along the Atlantic coast. This coast has both rugged cliffs and sandy beaches. North Mayo has extensive tracts of blanket bog, and some good agricultural land, while South Mayo is more mountainous. It is a county with many scenic landscapes, and a rich archaeological and historical heritage. It is therefore a popular tourism county with amenities of interest to the naturalist, (family) historian, and sportsman alike. Although picturesque, the land is mainly poor and much of the land is bog or mountain. The current population is 111,500 and the major towns are Castlebar, Crossmolina, Ballinrobe, Ballina, Killala and Westport.
Although Mayo was probably first inhabited around 7000 BC, the earliest evidence is from the fourth millennium BC. In this, the Neolithic, period, the first farmers arrived, and introduced agriculture and animal husbandry as well as the skills of pottery-making and weaving. Around 160 megalithic tombs built by these people, the earliest surviving architectural structures in the country, are in Mayo. As this is over 10% of the total number of such tombs found in all of Ireland, the Mayo region was clearly of importance during the Neolithic period. It retained this importance into the Bronze Age (c. 2000- 400 BC) when this phase of tomb-building came to an end.
The blanket bog which covered parts of Ireland from the late 3rd millennium BC onwards also covered, in some places, the field systems, habitation-sites and tombs of these early farmers. Extensive pre-bog field-systems with stone walls have been discovered embedded in the bog in many parts of Ireland. The Behy/Glenulra region, west of Ballycastle in County Mayo, contains a 1,500 hectare archaeological site of this type, known as the 'Ceide Fields'. This is the most extensive Stone Age monument in the world.
County Mayo got its name from a diocese of that name which evolved from a 7th century monastery of Maigh Eo established by Saint Colman. The Irish name Maigh Eo, meaning 'plain of yew-trees' was later anglicised to Mayo. When the county was established by the English around 1570, it was called 'Mayo'after this monastery and diocese.
Further details on Mayo, including amenities and a history of Mayo (by Bernard O'Hara and Nollaig O'Murane) is available on the Internet at http://www.mayo- ireland.ie/MotM.htm
The families of county Mayo are a mix of native Gaelic families, Norman families and immigrant Gaelic families from Northern Ireland and a small number of other immigrants from various places. The major original Gaelic inhabitants included the families of Gallagher, Kelly, Moran, O'Malley and Duffy (see page X). From the 12th century, there was also Norman occupation of the county, in particular by the families of Burke, Barrett and Walsh.
During the 16th century the sectarian struggle in Northern Ireland resulted in the enforced migration of many thousands of Catholics from Ulster counties to Mayo. These migrants were settled as tenants on several of the major estates in the county.
The county was predominantly involved in agriculture and fisheries and had few industries. In 1798 the Irish rebelled against English rule, and Mayo became the battleground for one of the major events of that war. The French General Humbert, and 11,000 men landed at Killala to assist the Irish rebels. This army was defeated after a brief campaign and significant imprisonment and land confiscations in the county resulted. These events, and the records which exist, are detailed in chapter 13.
The county was significantly affected by the Great Famine of 1845-47 which resulted in the death or emigration of 30% of the population by 1851.
Mayo has 2 Heritage centres in which the family records of the county are being indexed (see p 84), and also several active local history societies.
The author, Brian Smith, also conducts research on Mayo families. He can be contacted at 48 Clarinda Park East, Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin, Ireland.