Ballycastle, County Mayo
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This article is about the village of Ballycastle, County Mayo. For for the town in Country Antrim, see Ballycastle, County Antrim.
| Ballycastle Baile an Chaisil |
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| Town population: | 249 (2002) |
| Rural population: | N/A |
| Elevation: | 78m |
| County: | Mayo |
| Province: | Connacht |
Ballycastle (Irish: Baile an Chaisil) is a village in County Mayo, Republic of Ireland, situated northwest from Ballina, near Mayo's north coast in the West of Ireland. Ballycastle is also on the edge of an Irish speaking area called a Gaeltacht.
Ballycastle is situated on the rugged coast of North Mayo, with its northern boundary exposed to the wild Atlantic ocean. To the west of the town are the Stags of Broadhaven (600 million year old rocks), to the east lies Killala Bay while to the south are the towns of Crossmolina and Ballina. The north coast road is reputably the most scenic coastal road in Ireland and it is here, at the now famous Céide Fields, that the first settlers began to farm the slopes of the Behy/Glenurla hillside over 5000 years ago.
Pub life in Ballycastle is based around 4 pubs, starting at the bottom of the hill with Polkes. Polkes is a quiet bar behind a grocery shop which is full with 15 people. Next up the hill is Healy's which is much more lively, and has a stage out back for occasional live music. Katie Mac's is next which has live music on a regular basis. It received a comprehensive refurbishment some 6-7 years ago and it now compares favourably with such fine Dublin establishments as Cafe en Seine and Lillie's Bordello. At the top of the town is the Tramp's Bar, which is where you go on a Monday morning after a tough weekend.
Ballycastle Beach is one of the finest stretches of strand in all of Ireland with one mile of beautiful sandy coastline where one can view the renowned Stella Maris Hotel, formerly a convent of the Mercy Order, which is famous for fine dining and is a haven for golfers using the courses at Carn (Belmullet) Enniscrone, Ballina and Westport.
The surrounding coast is also renowned for the top quality of its sea angling.
Ballycastle's most famous exports inlcude Bishop Thomas McDonnell, who served as Bishop of the Killala Diocese up to the the 1980s. Local gaelic footballer Tom Langan, a native of the townland of Ballymachugh, won All-Ireland medals with Mayo in 1950 and '51 and was named at full-foward on the Team of the Millennium in 2000. The local GAA park is named after him.
[edit] History
The parish of Ballycastle is a combination of the two ancient parishes of Kilbride and Doonfeeney. The name Ballycastle was in use as early as 1470 and was referred to as a parish in the Catholic directory of 1836.
The overall area is extremely rich in items of interest to biologists, archaeologists and students of history, megalithic tombs, early Christian and mediaeval ruins.
[edit] See also
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