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| County
Mayo from Samuel Lewis' Topographical
Directory of Ireland 1837
Mayo with an area of 5,398
sq. Km (2,084 sq Mi)is the third largest county in area in
the Republic of Ireland. The name comes from the Irish Maigh-ea
(the plain of the yew trees). It's north and west coast's
are bounded by the Atlantic and counties Sligo to the north
east, Roscommon to the east and Galway to the south east and
south. It is situated in the province of Connacht. Ballina
is the largest town, but Castlebar is the centre of county
administration.
Other
large towns are Westport, Claremorris, Ballyhaunis and Ballinrobe.
English is the everyday language. But in the west there are
three Gaeltacht, areas where Irish is the everyday language.
Mayo has the distinction of having Irelands largest island
Achill, it is connected to the mainland by a road bridge.
Achill is a mountainous
island two of the highest are Slieve More at 672 m (2,205
ft) and Croaghaun at 669 m (2,192 ft). On the west side of
the island there are also enormous cliffs rising to 244 m
(800 ft) |
The  west of the county
is scarcely populated it is largely upland with peat bogs and scattered
farms. Mweelrea in the Sheefry hills is the highest peak in Connaught,
at 817 m (2,680 ft) The coast is deeply indented with many ruggedly
beautiful bays sheltered from the Atlantic. The Mweelreo, Sheeffry,
and Partry mountains are situated in the south. The principal rivers
are the Robe and the Moy.
The town of Knock
in east Mayo attracts pilgrims from across Europe and indeed
the world, to the church where in 1879 children claimed the Virgin
Mary appeared to them. On the last Sunday in July people from across
Ireland assemble for a pilgrimage up Croagh
Patrick, a mountain where St Patrick spent time in meditation
and prayer.
Tourism is an important part of the Mayo
economy, especially in the mountainous and coastal areas. The land
of Mayo is poor and largely unsuitable for arable use, most of the
land is used for grazing with beef cattle, dairy farming and sheep,
farms in the area tend to be small making it difficult for them
to be efficient. About 30% of the people work in agriculture.
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There are some manufacturing industries mainly
in Ballina and Castlebar, producing clothing and textiles, with a few
company's producing light engineering goods. About 16% of the population
work in these industries. There is a large synthetic textile factory at
Killala. The service sector account for over 40% of employment, particularly
retail and wholesale distribution. Other service industries include catering,
education, health, and transport. Some of the upland areas are given over
to forestry. Fishing is important in the coastal areas.
Some of the county's power requirement is met by
a peat powered station at Bellacorick in the northwest. Mayo has two constituencies
and sends six Td's to Dail Eireann. The administrative center of the county
is at Castlebar.
The county has a good road system with the N5 from
Castlebar toward Dublin and the N17 between Sligo and Mayo. A railway
from Dublin through Claremorris branches to serve both Westport and Ballina.
Horan International Airport, near Knock, opened in 1986.
Tourist Information
Westport
Co Mayo
Tel +353 (0)98 25711
E Mail
Web Site |
Dialing from NI replace 098
with 048
Read about County Mayo
in 1837 from Samuel Lewis' Topographical directory of Ireland.
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