Bangor Erris () is a town in

Kiltane Kiltane ( Irish: ''Cill tSéadhna'') is a parish in Erris, North County Mayo, Ireland. Origins Kiltane derives its name from Cill tSéadhna, or Seadhna's church, which was in the townland of Kiltane by the banks of the Owenmore River. The name ...

parish in

Erris Erris is a barony in northwestern County Mayo in Ireland consisting of over , much of which is mountainous blanket bog. It has extensive sea coasts along its west and north boundaries. The main towns are Belmullet and Bangor Erris. The name ...

, County Mayo,

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

with a population of over 300. It is on the banks of the Owenmore River and is a "gateway" to the

Peninsula linking

Belmullet Belmullet (, IPA: �bʲeːlənˠˈwʊɾˠhəd̪ˠ is a coastal Gaeltacht town with a population of 1,019 on the Mullet Peninsula in the barony of Erris, County Mayo, Ireland. It is the commercial and cultural heart of the barony of Erris, wh ...

with Ballina and Westport. It is located at the foot of the "Bangor Trail" a 22-mile mountain pass across the

Nephin Beg Nephin Beg or Nefin Beg

( ga, Néifinn Bheag) Mountain Range to Newport, County Mayo, Newport. Approximately 2 km away is Carrowmore Lake, ( ga, Loch na Ceathrú Móire) Bangor is a centre for wild atlantic salmon and sea trout fishing. Bangor Erris is located in the Parish of

. Due west from Bangor are the towns of

Geesala Gweesalia or Geesala () is a small village situated on the Gweesalia peninsula in the Electoral Division of Rathhill, in the Civil Parish of Kilcommon, in the Barony of Erris in western County Mayo, Ireland. The village has a national school, ...

, Mulranny, Westport and Doolough.

History

The original name for Bangor was Doire Choinadaigh (Kennedy's Wood), a name found on maps from 1724 to 1829. The place was also called 'Coineadach' by John O'Donovan in the Ordnance Survey Name Books of 1838. In 1802 when James McPartlan (Statistical Survey p. 159) surveyed the area, he called the village 'Cahal' and noted that there were regular fairs held there at that time. Locally the village was known as 'Aonach Cathail' because a wealthy buyer of that name was a regular at the fair days. The name 'Bangor' was given to the village by Major Denis Bingham who established the town of Bangor Erris. The reason Bangor was chosen as a site for Bingham's town was because it was situated at the crossroads of two old roads which were in use from about the middle of the 18th century. One road led from Carne (Mullet peninsula) to

Castlebar Castlebar () is the county town of County Mayo, Ireland. Developing around a 13th century castle of the de Barry family, from which the town got its name, the town now acts as a social and economic focal point for the surrounding hinterland. W ...

and the other went from Inver (

Kilcommon Kilcommon ( ga, Cill Chomáin) is a civil parish in Erris, north Mayo consisting of two large peninsulas; Dún Chaocháin and Dún Chiortáin. It consists of 37 townlands, some of which are so remote that they have no inhabitants. Habitatio ...

) to Newport. Both roads were repaired by order of the County Assizes in 1793. The crossroads was well sheltered from the worst of the prevailing winds and its situation on the banks of the Owenmore River also made it a suitable site. Major Bingham introduced the Revenue Police to stamp out the illicit distillation of drink, in reality it was to get personal protection for himself in his house Bingham Lodge on the western edge of the town. A post office was established in the town in 1842. The local parish church dates back to the mid-19th Century. The Townagh flood In December 1818, four lakes just outside Bangor Erris burst their banks after heavy rains, unleashing a torrent of water that killed 17 people. The majority of the victims were from the O'Hara family. Three soldiers from the 92nd Highlanders were also killed. The soldiers were on revenue duty and were lodging with the O'Hara family. All three soldiers were veterans of the

Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (at that time in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium). A French army under the command of Napoleon was defeated by two of the armie ...

. During the same storm, two other soldiers were killed when they got lost in the bog. Irish War of Independence In January 1921, a local man, Michael McAndrew (aged 27), was stabbed in the neck by a soldier. McAndrew was attempting to take the soldier's rifle when he received the wound. He was taken to Belmullet Hospital where he survived the injury.

Transport

Bus Éireann route 446 links Bangor Erris with

Bellacorick Bellacorick or Bellacoric () is a townland in County Mayo in Ireland. It is in the Electoral Division of Glenco, in Civil Parish of Kilcommon, in the Barony of Erris, in the County of Mayo. Bellacorick has an area of: 2,789,440 m2 / 278.94 hecta ...

Crossmolina Crossmolina is a town in the Barony of Tyrawley in County Mayo, Ireland, as well as the name of the parish in which Crossmolina is situated. The town sits on the River Deel near the northern shore of Lough Conn. Crossmolina is about west o ...

and Ballina. In the reverse direction it links to

and the

Mullet Peninsula The Mullet Peninsula ( ga, Leithinis an Mhuirthead)—also known as the Mullet (''an Mhuirthead'') and sometimes as the Erris Peninsula—is a peninsula in the barony of Erris in County Mayo, Ireland. As of 2016 it has a population of 3963. I ...

. There are now four services a day in each direction, including Sundays. On Friday evenings an extra journey operates from Ballina. Onward rail and bus connections are available at Ballina.

Facilities

There are three

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and wa ...

s in Bangor - The Talk Of The Town, the

Tavern and the West End Bar. Bangor has one supermarket/grocery shop, a

bookmaker A bookmaker, bookie, or turf accountant is an organization or a person that accepts and pays off bets on sporting and other events at agreed-upon odds. History The first bookmaker, Ogden, stood at Newmarket in 1795. Range of events Bookm ...

s and a hardware store. Bangor National School is attended by the children of Bangor and other neighboring villages such as Tawnagh and

. Bangor Hibs have an all-weather astroturf pitch which is used for

five-a-side football Five-a-side football is a version of minifootball, in which each team fields five players (four outfield players and a goalkeeper). Other differences from football include a smaller pitch, smaller goals, and a reduced game duration. Matches are ...

. Across from the national school is the Catholic church.

Sport

The GAA Club in

is Kiltane GFC.

were founded in 1964 and wear blue and gold jerseys. They won the Junior and Intermediate Championships in 1972 and 1973 respectively. The soccer club in Bangor Erris is named Bangor Hibernians F.C. They play at Ballybeg Park. Founded in 1995 the club plays in the Premier division of the Mayo Association League. The club's colours are blue and black vertical stripes. The club crest denotes the "Big Bridge" in Bangor which carries traffic over the Owenmore River and is situated close to the club's home ground. The club's first major Junior Cup Final victory came against

Partry Partry ( ga, Partraí) is a villagePartry
Placenames Database of Ireland. Retrieved: 2012-04-15. and a

Johnny Carey (Gaelic footballer) Johnny Carey is a former GAA All Star Gaelic footballer and Garda Superintendent from Bangor Erris, County Mayo, Ireland. He won 2 Connacht Senior Football Championships, in 1967 and 1969, with the Mayo county team and a National Football L ...

* John McAndrew – A member of the 1950 and 1951 Mayo teams that won the All-Ireland. * Eileen Lynn Kato – A renowned academic and translator of Japanese poetry and theater. In 1991, she was appointed as Gakari (advisor) to the Japanese emperor.

Folklore

The area around Bangor Erris is rich in local folklore. The

legend A legend is a genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived, both by teller and listeners, to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human values, and possess ...

of the

Ulster Cycle The Ulster Cycle ( ga, an Rúraíocht), formerly known as the Red Branch Cycle, is a body of medieval Irish heroic legends and sagas of the Ulaid. It is set far in the past, in what is now eastern Ulster and northern Leinster, particularly coun ...

took place not far from Bangor Erris at the fort at Rathmorgan beside Carrowmore Lake. Known as

Táin Bó Flidhais ''Táin Bó Flidhais'', also known as the ''Mayo Táin'', is a tale from the Ulster Cycle of early Irish literature. It is one of a group of works known as Táin Bó, or "cattle raid" stories, the best known of which is '' Táin Bó Cúailnge' ...

it tells the story of a cattle raid around the 1st century AD. There is a folktale that the road between Bangor Erris and Ballycroy is haunted by magical creatures. A phantom dog sometimes appears, as does a white cow, whose appearance is regarded as a warning of death. Several of the local lakes are associated with folk tales of 'water horses", which sometimes come onto the land and try to get people to mount them, and subsequently take them off into the water.

References