Barroosky (Also spelt as Barroskey or Barrooskey.

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

: ''Barr rúscaigh'', meaning "marshy land") is a

townland A townland ( ga, baile fearainn; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a small geographical division of land, historically and currently used in Ireland and in the Western Isles in Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of Gaelic origi ...

within the

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

Kilcommon Kilcommon ( ga, Cill Chomáin) is a civil parish in Erris, north County Mayo, Mayo consisting of two large peninsulas; Carrowteige, Dún Chaocháin and Táin Bó Flidhais, Dún Chiortáin. It consists of 37 townlands, some of which are so remo ...

in the County of

Mayo Mayo often refers to: * Mayonnaise, often shortened to "mayo" * Mayo Clinic, a medical center in Rochester, Minnesota, United States Mayo may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Mayo Peak, Marie Byrd Land Australia * Division of Mayo, an Aust ...

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 ...

. It is located within the parish of Kilcommon-Erris.

History

Traditional_Barn_at_the_Hamlet_of_Barrooskey

Little is known of the early-history of Barroosky however it is mentioned in the 1900s in an article about the battle of

Glenamoy Glenamoy () is a village on the R314 road in the parish of Kilcommon, Erris in the northern part of County Mayo in Ireland. Topography Glenamoy is a general term for the following townlands: * Bellagelly North (''Béal a Ghoile'' meaning " ...

which took place in 1922. It also is mentioned in a 'popular Erris folk tale' called the 'Fool of Barr Rúscaigh' as part of the year of the french celebrations. In fiction it is mentioned in the epic tale of

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''. ' ...

. In 1911 the population was recorded as 34 , notable families included the Healy's, the Clarke's, the Rielly's, the Ginty's, the O'Boyle's and the Moran's. The predominant religious belief of the inhabitants of Barroosky in 1911 was

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

which was the predominant faith in Ireland at that time.

Agriculture and geography of Barroosky

The area in which the Barroosky lies on is mostly covered in peaty,

blanket bog Blanket bog or blanket mire, also known as featherbed bog, is an area of peatland, forming where there is a climate of high rainfall and a low level of evapotranspiration, allowing peat to develop not only in wet hollows but over large expanses o ...

which covers a vast area over parts of the North mayo coastlines of

and the Barony of

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 Er ...

Glenamoy Bog Complex

The Glenamoy Bog Complex is a large site situated in the extreme north-west of

, Co. Mayo, incorporating both inland and coastal regions. The climate is wet and oceanic and there are frequent strong winds across the area which is largely treeless and relatively exposed. The bog complex area is drained by four main river systems - the Glenamoy, the Muingnabo, the Belderg and the Glenglassra rivers. Extreme oceanic blanket bog dominates the site in its inland areas. The coastal habitats of Glenamoy bog complex are extensive and varied. Sea cliffs dominate the coastline reaching a height of 253 metres at Benwee Head. There are many steep-sided islands off the coastline which are mainly used a summer grazing for livestock if the area of

machair A machair (; sometimes machar in English) is a fertile low-lying grassy plain found on part of the northwest coastlines of Ireland and Scotland, in particular the Outer Hebrides. The best examples are found on North and South Uist, Harris an ...

on them is large enough. Bog can be used a rich source of fuel and has been harvested for centuries, however it is more difficult to be used for agriculture because of its acidic properties and moistness of its soil.

Sheskin Forestry

Barroosky is situated near to the Sheskin Forest (''not to be confused with Sheskin,

Monaghan Monaghan ( ; ) is the county town of County Monaghan, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It also provides the name of its Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish and Monaghan (barony), barony. The population of the town as of the 2016 census was 7 ...

'') which stretches from near Ballycastle to

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 ...

. The forest is a large area of conifer

forest plantation A tree plantation, forest plantation, plantation forest, timber plantation or tree farm is a forest planted for high volume production of wood, usually by planting one type of tree as a monoculture forest. The term ''tree farm'' also is used to ...

established on the bog lands of north

. A hunting lodge built by the McDonnell family and later owned by the Jameson family, now in ruins lies there.

Gallery

File:Pastures of Barrooskey, upon which sheep graze and hey is lain out.jpg, Drainage in a field File:Dry stone walling in Barrooskey.jpg, Dry stone walling File:A ruin of a house in Barrooskey.jpg, Ruin of a house File:A view of Slieve Fyagh from Barrooskey.jpg, A view of Slieve Fyagh (335 Metres). File:Sign showing Barrooskey.jpg, View of a sign

References