27 Feb County Mayo
County Mayo is a maritime county in the province of Connacht in the West of Ireland with picturesque scenery and a must see on your tours of Ireland. The third largest county in Ireland , Mayo has a population of 117, 428. It is bordered on the East by Sligo and Roscommon , and on the South by Galway. While the central part of the county contains some of the most fertile land in Connacht , the Eastern and Western regions are largely barren. Most of the county’s population lives in this central area , in towns such as Castlebar , the county capital , Ballina , and Westport. The latter is a picturesque , lively town , which was planned by an English architect , James Wyatt , in the 18th century. Archill Island is in the North-West of the county (connected by a causeway) is known for its dramatic scenery , well described in Heinrich Boll’s book Irish Journal. The barony of the Erris in the West of the county contains the largest blanket bog in Ireland.
The most famous mountain in Mayo is Croagh Patrick , a site closely associated with St. Patrick and one of the most enduring pilgrimage sites in Ireland.in the village of Knock , in 1879 , some local people claim to have seen an apparition of the Virgin Mary , and the town has been known as a holy place ever since. The Ceide Fields on the North coast of Mayo is a noted archaeological site , where the remains of a human settlement , including stone walls , field patterns , houses , and megalithic tombs , some five thousand years old , were preserved by the blanket bog.
In the 16th century , Grace O’Malley , or Granuaile , a member of a prominent local family , won considerable notoriety for smuggling , piracy , and resistance to the English.
So contact us now to organise your visit to County Mayo and discover its rich history on your tours of Ireland.