Mayo ( Maigh Eo )

Mayo comes from the Irish word Maigh Eo - the plain of the yew trees. Mayo has many historical connections including the "Céide Fields" which contains many stone age tombs and monuments. St. Patrick spent 40 days on Croagh Patrick in Westport, County Mayo, fasting and praying. Mayo is also home to Granuaile, one of Ireland's most incredible women. "The Quiet Man" was shot on location in Cong, County Mayo. Foxford Woollen Mills gives an idea of how the production of wool takes place. Knock, County Mayo is a sacred place of pilgrimage to Our Lady as she appeared in Knock.

County Mayo is the third largest county in Ireland and one of its best kept secrets. Its formidable landscape is made up of rugged mountains, sandy beaches and a breathtaking coastline.

Europe's largest Stone Age land enclosure, the Ceide Fields, is located along a bleak, dramatic stretch of north Mayo coastline. Megalithic tombs and dwellings discovered in the enclosure date back 5000 years. There is an excellent museum on the site.

Other must-see places in Mayo include Achill Island, Croagh Patrick, Knock and the town of Westport.

Achill is Ireland's largest island and is linked to the mainland by bridge. It boasts spectacular scenery and the island's breathtaking Keem Bay has fine safe beaches as well as being home to harmless sharks.

Saint Patrick, credited with bringing Christianity to Ireland, once fasted on Croagh Patrick for forty days and nights. Thousands of pilgrims retrace his steps each year on the last Sunday in July, climbing the holy mountain while fasting. An apparition of the Virgin Mary, Saint Joseph and Saint John appeared to a group of local people in Knock in 1879. Since then, people have visited the site in droves.

Pope John Paul II visited Knock in 1979, making it the focal point of his trip to Ireland.

Westport is an attractive, lively town - full of good pubs hosting excellent traditional Irish music. The town was designed by architect James Wyatt in the 1770s and features many wide, tree-lined streets.

Jutting proudly into the Atlantic Ocean, County Mayo boasts a stunningly beautiful unspoilt environment with a magical attraction for visitors. Cosmopolitan towns such as Westport positively burst with charm and personality, as welcoming as the Mayo people themselves. The standard and availability of accommodation is excellent. Unique attractions include Croagh Patrick, Ireland’s holy mountain with the starkly beautiful National Famine Memorial at its foot and Knock Shrine, scene of an miraculous apparition in 1879.

History comes alive at the world famous Céide Fields near Ballycastle in North Mayo, at The Foxford Woollen Mills, Hennigans Heritage Farm and the new National Museum of Ireland's Museum of Country Life, which opened in Autumn 2001 just outside Castlebar, the county town. Sporting opportunities abound especially fishing of all sorts including the River Moy in Ballina where the salmon is king. There are watersports, hiking and walking, golf links and courses, horseriding and cycling… the list is endless. Sandy beaches, clear waters and beautiful islands. Superb restaurants, pubs of character and of course the irresistable tumbling melodies of traditional Irish music spilling onto the streets. Quite simply Mayo is Amazing!

HOSPITALS

ESTATE AGENTS

Feerick, Emmet
Abbey Street
Ballinrobe
Co. Mayo
Phone : (094) 9541192
Fax : (094) 9541797
E-Mail : info@feerickproperty.com
Website : http://www.feerickproperty.com

Moran Auctioneers & Estate Agents
Castlebar
Co. Mayo
Phone : (094) 9021796
Fax : (094) 9022179
E-Mail : pbmoran@iol.ie

Tuohy & Co Real Estate Alliance
North Mall
Westport
Co. Mayo
Phone : (098) 28000
Fax : (098) 26728
E-Mail : btuohy@tuohy.ie
Website : http://www.iavi.ie/propertyireland/btuohy

THINGS TO DO

Fly fishing School