Belmullet (, IPA:
bÊČeËlÉnË ËwÊÉŸË hÉdÌȘË is a coastal
Gaeltacht
( , , ) are the districts of Ireland, individually or collectively, where the Irish government recognises that the Irish language is the predominant vernacular, or language of the home.
The ''Gaeltacht'' districts were first officially recog ...
town with a population of 1,019 on the
Mullet Peninsula
The Mullet Peninsula ( ga, Leithinis an Mhuirthead)âalso known as the Mullet (''an Mhuirthead'') and sometimes as the Erris Peninsulaâis a peninsula in the barony of Erris in County Mayo, Ireland. As of 2016 it has a population of 3963. I ...
in the
barony Barony may refer to:
* Barony, the peerage, office of, or territory held by a baron
* Barony, the title and land held in fealty by a feudal baron
* Barony (county division), a type of administrative or geographical division in parts of the British ...
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 ...
,
County Mayo
County Mayo (; ga, Contae Mhaigh Eo, meaning "Plain of the Taxus baccata, yew trees") is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Conn ...
,
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Ăire ; 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 the commercial and cultural heart of the barony of Erris, which has a population of almost 10,000. According to the 2016 census 50% of people in the town were able to speak Irish while only 4% spoke it on a daily basis outside the education system.
Belmullet has two bays,
Blacksod Bay
Blacksod Bay ( ga, Cuan an FhĂłid Duibh) is a bay of the Atlantic Ocean in Erris, north County Mayo, Ireland. The long and wide bay is bounded on its western side by the Mullet Peninsula. Its eastern side includes Kiltane Parish, which ext ...
and
Broadhaven Bay
Broadhaven Bay ( ga, CnocĂĄn na LĂne) is a natural bay of the Atlantic Ocean on the northwestern coast of County Mayo, Ireland. The opening of the bay faces northward, stretching 8.6 km between Erris Head in the west and Kid Island/OileĂ ...
, linked by Carter's Canal running through the town.
History
The origin of the name ''Belmullet'' is not clear. It may have come from Irish ''BĂ©al Muileat'' or ''BĂ©al an Mhuileat'', which has been translated as "mouth of the
isthmus
An isthmus (; ; ) is a narrow piece of land connecting two larger areas across an expanse of water by which they are otherwise separated. A tombolo is an isthmus that consists of a spit or bar, and a strait is the sea counterpart of an isthmu ...
".
Bernard O'Hara in ''Mayo: Aspects of its Heritage'' suggests that "A change from 'L' to 'R', which is quite common in Irish, may have given ''BĂ©al an Mhuireat'' which in turn became ''BĂ©al an Mhuirhead''". It has also been suggested that the latter half of the name may refer to
the fish or the
star shape used in heraldry.
18th century
According to
Richard Pococke
Richard Pococke (19 November 1704 â 25 September 1765)''Notes and Queries'', p. 129. was an English-born churchman, inveterate traveller and travel writer. He was the Bishop of Ossory (1756â65) and Meath (1765), both dioceses of the Church ...
, in about 1715, Sir Arthur Shaen "began building a little town" where Belmullet now stands. During the reign of
Queen Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen".
El ...
, an admiral chased pirates into Broadhaven Bay, hauled his boats across the
isthmus
An isthmus (; ; ) is a narrow piece of land connecting two larger areas across an expanse of water by which they are otherwise separated. A tombolo is an isthmus that consists of a spit or bar, and a strait is the sea counterpart of an isthmu ...
, and caught up with them near the
Iniskea Islands. To drain the area and form a passageway from Blacksod Bay into Broadhaven Bay, Shaen had a canal excavated, known thereafter as Shaen's Cut, large enough for small boats to pass through from one bay to the other. However, little development of the town occurred, and by 1752 the canal was choked up and impassable. Belmullet was the scene of
Monster meetings
Daniel O'Connell (I) ( ga, DĂłnall Ă Conaill; 6 August 1775 â 15 May 1847), hailed in his time as The Liberator, was the acknowledged political leader of Ireland's Roman Catholic majority in the first half of the 19th century. His mobilizat ...
of the
Land League
The Irish National Land League (Irish: ''Conradh na TalĂșn'') was an Irish political organisation of the late 19th century which sought to help poor tenant farmers. Its primary aim was to abolish landlordism in Ireland and enable tenant farmer ...
at the end of the 19th century. In the early 19th century Belmullet consisted of little more than a few thatched buildings.
19th century
In 1820, the first
post office
A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...
in Erris opened in the new town of Belmullet. In 1822, a coastguard station was built. William Henry Carter had inherited huge tracts of Shaen's land in Erris when he married Shaen's daughter and began to put plans in place to develop the town. A new road was built which connected Belmullet with
Castlebar
Castlebar () is the county town of County Mayo, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Developing around a 13th century castle of the de Barry family, de Barry family, from which the town got its name, the town now acts as a social and economic focal poi ...
, which was completed in 1824. In 1825, Carter built a pier large enough to accommodate vessels of 100 tons. Carter's stated objective was to "create a home market for produce that did not previously exist nearer than thirty miles by land," and his aim was to thrust the older village of
An Geata MĂłr (Binghamstown), a village founded by the powerful Bingham family on the
Mullet peninsula
The Mullet Peninsula ( ga, Leithinis an Mhuirthead)âalso known as the Mullet (''an Mhuirthead'') and sometimes as the Erris Peninsulaâis a peninsula in the barony of Erris in County Mayo, Ireland. As of 2016 it has a population of 3963. I ...
into a secondary position. By 1826, the Erris Hotel was opened.
In 1829, Alexander Nimmo, an
engineer
Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...
on the Erris roads, wrote the following: "at Belmullet, the advance is quite surprising; the place only commenced four years ago; it now consists of about seventy respectable houses etc... five ships were loaded with grain and kept; iron hoops and coal were imported;
spirits
Spirit or spirits may refer to:
Liquor and other volatile liquids
* Spirits, a.k.a. liquor, distilled alcoholic drinks
* Spirit or tincture, an extract of plant or animal material dissolved in ethanol
* Volatile (especially flammable) liquids, ...
, beer and wine. British manufacturers and tea and
sugar
Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double ...
were sold; the produce of the fisheries were admitted to a market."
By 1831, the population of Belmullet was 585. A Roman Catholic chapel was built in 1832 at the cost of ÂŁ300. There was a daily
postal service
The mail or post is a system for physically transporting postcards, letters, and parcels. A postal service can be private or public, though many governments place restrictions on private systems. Since the mid-19th century, national postal syst ...
between
Ballina and Belmullet. In 1833, a
courthouse
A courthouse or court house is a building that is home to a local court of law and often the regional county government as well, although this is not the case in some larger cities. The term is common in North America. In most other English-spe ...
was built also costing ÂŁ300 which held weekly court sessions, demonstrating that the town was rapidly growing. In the 1830s, a visitor described it as "the youngest town in Ireland and like all young things it is comparatively fresh and fair. The town itself contains a few thatched
cabins but consists of small streets of moderately sized slated houses branching from a little square, or
market place
A marketplace or market place is a location where people regularly gather for the purchase and sale of provisions, livestock, and other goods. In different parts of the world, a marketplace may be described as a '' souk'' (from the Arabic), ' ...
; the shops looked to be well furnished with not only necessaries but articles conducive to comfort and convenience. Buildings are going on and speculation is progressing." He also commented that the approach to the town was "spoiled by deformed, wretched bog huts." Two new roads were built â one to the east went to
Ballycastle and one to the south to
Newport. The export of meal from the area to England started. The local
Protestant Church
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
was built in 1843. In 1845, work began to re-open the canal which had been constructed by Arthur Shaen. Because of the
Irish Famine
The Great Famine ( ga, an Gorta MĂłr ), also known within Ireland as the Great Hunger or simply the Famine and outside Ireland as the Irish Potato Famine, was a period of starvation and disease in Ireland from 1845 to 1852 that constituted a h ...
, the canal was not completed until 1851. During the Relief work for the Distress (in the middle of the Great Famine) in 1846 and 1847, the footpaths were formed and flagged.
![Ballyglass Lighthouse](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d2/Ballyglass_Lighthouse.jpg)
In the latter half of the 19th century rural unrest was a common occurrence across Mayo. In November 1881, over 100 police officers needed in order to protect two process servers who were serving writs in the town. The police were confronted by an angry crowd throwing rocks and sticks. The police were obliged to charge the crowd and fire buckshot resulting in a large number of injuries. The police made 20 arrests.
A workhouse was erected on the site of the current hospital. The Head of the Treasury,
Charles Trevelyan, notoriously decreed that relief was only to be given to workhouse people. Starving people crowded to the workhouse. At one stage at the height of the Famine, 3,000 people were recorded as being in Belmullet workhouse.
The area around Belmullet was severely impacted by the Great Irish Famine in the 19th century and in the next 100 years many people emigrated from the area to the United States and to England. Throughout the second half of the 19th century, many proposals were made regarding the development of a
railway line
Rail terminology is a form of technical terminology. The difference between the American term ''railroad'' and the international term ''railway'' (used by the International Union of Railways and English-speaking countries outside the United Sta ...
in to Belmullet and Erris region. Three routes were surveyed and discussed:
*Route One:
Ballina â
Ballycastle â Belmullet
*Route Two:
Newport â
Mulrany â Belmullet
*Route Three: Ballina â
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 of ...
â Belmullet
People along these routes lobbied for the railway lines to pass through their district. However the merchants of Belmullet were more skeptical and feared that the introduction of a railway line would adversely affect their trading position, putting Ballina within easy reach of the population. Plans for a railway to Blacksod, which would have served trans-Atlantic shipping, were therefore postponed. Many still pressed the authorities for a rail line, and this movement gained momentum during the latter days of the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, when it was proposed that a line would improve lines of communication between both
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
and
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, and between London and the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. However, when the war ended in 1918, the hopes for a railway service to Blacksod ended with it. In the early 1920, the Sligo Steam Navigation Company ran weekly sailings between Belmullet, Sligo and Liverpool.
In July 1865, two local men â Richard Barrett and James Hogan were found guilty of piracy. They were convicted of plundering the schooner Elizabeth McClure of Indian meal near ar the island of Iniskee. Both men were sentenced to five years hard labor.
Belmullet established a monthly cattle fair, and the town began to take trade from An Geatta MĂłr. The Bingham family fought back, but their village was more or less deserted by the cattle traders by the late 19th century.
Early 20th century
John Millington Synge
Edmund John Millington Synge (; 16 April 1871 â 24 March 1909) was an Irish playwright, poet, writer, collector of folklore, and a key figure in the Irish Literary Revival. His best known play ''The Playboy of the Western World'' was poorly r ...
, author of "
The Playboy of the Western World
''The Playboy of the Western World'' is a three-act play written by Irish playwright John Millington Synge and first performed at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin, on 26 January 1907. It is set in Michael James Flaherty's public house in County Mayo (o ...
" and ''
The Aran Islands'', visited Belmullet in 1904, and reported: ''Belmullet in the evening is noisy and squalid, lonely and crowded at the same time and without appeal to the imagination. So at least one stays for a moment. When one has passed six times up and down hearing a gramophone in one house, a fiddle in the next, then an accordion and a fragment of a traditional lullaby, with many crying babies, pigs and donkeys and noisy girls and young men jostling in the darkness, the effect is not indistinct. All the light comes from doors or windows of shops. Last night was St. Johnâs Eve and bonfires were lighted all over the country, the largest of all being placed at the Town Square at Belmullet. Today, again, there was a large market in the square, where a number of country people, with their horses and donkeys, stood about bargaining for young pigs, heather brooms, homespun flannels, second hand clothing, blackening brushes, tinkerâs goods and many other articles''.
Irish War of Independence
One of the two R.I.C. Policemen killed in the January 1919
Soloheadbeg ambush
The Soloheadbeg ambush took place on 21 January 1919, when members of the Irish Volunteers (or Irish Republican Army, IRA) ambushed Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) officers who were escorting a consignment of gelignite explosives at Soloheadbeg, ...
â Constable McDonnell â was born in Belmullet. The event triggered the War of Independence. Constable McDonnell was 50 at the time of his death. He left a widow and five children.
On 26 October 1919 a young boy was shot and wounded by a sentry guarding the local wireless station. The boy was driving cows near his home early in the morning, when he was shot in the shoulder. The incident caused great indignation among the local population.
In June 1920, an R.I.C. policeman was killed and three were injured during a riot on the main street of the town. The policemen intervened to arrest a man for causing a disturbance during a fair. The crowd attending the fair resented the intervention and turned on the police officers. The police retreated and took refuge in a house, One of the officers â Constable Doogue â was later discovered on the street with a wound to the head. When the doctor arrived, he was found to be dead.
In late August 1920, the local Coastguard station was attacked. The raiders were interrupted by a police patrol, and shots were exchanged. The raiders escaped but not before the station was destroyed.
During the latter stages of the conflict, a Republican Court was established in the town. In January 1921 Two Ballina Solicitors â
P. J. Ruttledge
Patrick Joseph Ruttledge (1 January 1892 â 8 May 1952) was an Irish Fianna FĂĄil politician who served as Minister for Health (Ireland), Minister for Local Government and Public Health from 1939 to 1941, Minister for Justice (Ireland), Ministe ...
and Henry Bourke â were arrested and charged by the British military authorities for participating in the court. Mr. Ruttledge declined to recognize the British court and was subsequently jailed in Castlebar.
A breach of the Anglo Irish Truce occurred in the Town in October 1921. Two Republican Policemen were quelling a row that broke out in the evening after the town's regular fair. The Republican policemen were attacked by six R.I.C. officers. The fighting escalated as more RIC and IRA men joined the affray. Later, shots were exchanged by the two sides.
Irish Civil War
The conflict was fought between two opposing groups of Irish nationalists: those who supported the Anglo-Irish Treaty under which the Irish Free state was established, and the republican opposition, for whom the Treaty represented a betrayal of the Irish Republic. When hostilities broke out, Belmullet was under the control of the Republican opposition, also known as irregulars.
During the early weeks of the Civil War, Belmullet was under the control of the Irregulars. However, support for the Republican cause was not universal. A prominent member of the North Mayo brigade of the IRA â Mr P. Kelly â was arrested by the Irregulars due to his support of the government. Kelly was the Assistant Clerk of the Belmullet Union. In July 1922, the National Army entered Mayo and established control over the County on behalf of the Free State government. However, Irregular activity continued in Belmullet for months after. In September, Irregulars entered the town, took petrol and left. The National Army pursued the irregulars and arrested six of them. In October 1922, Irregulars established temporary control over the town. They stopped all traffic and raided all the banks in the town taking away a large sum of money. They also forced all the local public houses to pay a "Republican licensing fee". The mail van was also held up.
Second World War
On 6 August 1940, during the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countriesâincluding all of the great powersâforming two opposin ...
, Garda William Cullen of Belmullet station received a phone call from coast-watchers at the nearby Annagh Head lookout post. He learned that the Atlantic currents had washed ashore the body of a British soldier. From his army pay-book, Cullen identified 21-year-old Donald Domican of the 5th Battalion, the
Welsh Regiment
The Welch Regiment (or "The Welch", an archaic spelling of "Welsh") was an infantry regiment of the line of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1969. The regiment was created in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of ...
. On the evening of 6 August, Domicanâs body was brought to Belmullet hospital. He was buried the following day at the Church of Ireland cemetery in the town. The next day another body of a British soldier was washed up at the same site.
Post-War
In 1958, Belmullet became the site of a conflict between Erskine Childers, Minister of Lands, and local workmen who refused to construct a fence through an area thought to be occupied by fairies. The Government was unable to find other workers to build the fence, so finally relented and "bent" the fence around the disputed hill.
21st century
In the early 21st century, improvement in the Irish economy has reversed population decline, and Belmullet has seen some immigration. Despite job losses in the area since the recession started in 2007, as with all over Ireland, Belmullet and the Mullet Peninsula has good natural resources in terms of fishing, tourism and small local industries are present such as Mayo Mats and the Corrib Gas terminal.
Culture and tourism
Although officially part of the Mayo
Gaeltacht
( , , ) are the districts of Ireland, individually or collectively, where the Irish government recognises that the Irish language is the predominant vernacular, or language of the home.
The ''Gaeltacht'' districts were first officially recog ...
, it is both an English- and Irish-speaking town. The area plays host in summer months to students enrolled in local
Irish language
Irish ( Standard Irish: ), also known as Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, which is a part of the Indo-European language family. Irish is indigenous to the island of Ireland and was ...
summer schools.
John Millington Synge
Edmund John Millington Synge (; 16 April 1871 â 24 March 1909) was an Irish playwright, poet, writer, collector of folklore, and a key figure in the Irish Literary Revival. His best known play ''The Playboy of the Western World'' was poorly r ...
's play ''
The Playboy of the Western World
''The Playboy of the Western World'' is a three-act play written by Irish playwright John Millington Synge and first performed at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin, on 26 January 1907. It is set in Michael James Flaherty's public house in County Mayo (o ...
'' was based on his experience of the Belmullet area. Synge also wrote a poem entitled "Danny" about a character who was murdered by a group of local men as he was on his way back into Belmullet from
Bangor Erris
Bangor Erris () is a town in Kiltane parish in Erris, County Mayo, Ireland with a population of over 300. It is on the banks of the Owenmore River and is a "gateway" to the Erris Peninsula linking Belmullet with Ballina and Westport. It is ...
.
The area is popular for fishing, with both fresh-water and sea-angling off
Broadhaven Bay
Broadhaven Bay ( ga, CnocĂĄn na LĂne) is a natural bay of the Atlantic Ocean on the northwestern coast of County Mayo, Ireland. The opening of the bay faces northward, stretching 8.6 km between Erris Head in the west and Kid Island/OileĂ ...
. Watersports are also common, with surfing, windsurfing, kitesurfing and sailing.
Belmullet is the nearest town to the Carne Golf Links, the last complete design from renowned Irish golf architect
Eddie Hackett Eddie Hackett (1910â1996) was an Irish golf course architect.
Eddie Hackett was born in Dublin, Ireland in 1910. As a boy he suffered from tuberculosis, the effects of which left him without the strength or stamina to play active sports. He began ...
, frequently listed in the top 100 golf courses in the world.
This area of Erris was the setting for the Ulster Cycle legend of the
TĂĄin BĂł Flidhais
''TĂĄin BĂł Flidhais'', also known as the ''Mayo TĂĄin'', is a tale from the Ulster Cycle of early Irish literature. It is one of a group of works known as TĂĄin BĂł, or "cattle raid" stories, the best known of which is ''TĂĄin BĂł CĂșailnge''. ' ...
or the Mayo TĂĄin.
In 2007, a new arts centre, Ăras Inis Gluaire, opened in the town. Its mission was to become a leading bilingual arts centre in Ireland. As well as serving as the towns
library
A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...
and
art gallery
An art gallery is a room or a building in which visual art is displayed. In Western cultures from the mid-15th century, a gallery was any long, narrow covered passage along a wall, first used in the sense of a place for art in the 1590s. The lon ...
, the centre has a state of the art theatre, which has seen many accomplished artists perform in the town, among them being
Mick Flannery
Mick Flannery (born 28 November 1983) is an Irish singer and songwriter.
His debut album ''Evening Train'' resulted from his time spent studying music and management at ColĂĄiste StiofĂĄin Naofa in Cork. It featured tracks which had previously ...
and
Damien Dempsey
Damien Dempsey (born 9 June 1975) is an Irish singer and songwriter who mixes traditional Irish folk contemporary lyrics that deliver social and political commentaries on Irish society. Damien sings in his native, working class accent in the Eng ...
.
![Belmullet festival](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/68/Belmullet_festival.jpg)
Since being included on the
Wild Atlantic Way
The Wild Atlantic Way ( ga, SlĂ an Atlantaigh FhiĂĄin) is a tourism trail on the west coast, and on parts of the north and south coasts, of Ireland. The 2,500 km (1,553 mile) driving route passes through nine counties and three provinces, s ...
, and after the wider
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 ...
region was named 'Best Place to Go Wild in Ireland' by
The Irish Times
''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is RuadhĂĄn Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...
in 2014, the town has experienced an increase in tourism.
Festivals
*FĂ©ile Iorras â International Arts Festival held in the town for a period of about ten days each July. It was set up in 1996 by
Mayo County Council
Mayo County Council ( ga, Comhairle Contae Mhaigh Eo) is the authority responsible for local government in County Mayo, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for housing and co ...
Arts Office to promote understanding and integration between the people of Erris and communities throughout the world. The festival encompasses all forms of
folk art
Folk art covers all forms of visual art made in the context of folk culture. Definitions vary, but generally the objects have practical utility of some kind, rather than being exclusively decorative art, decorative. The makers of folk art a ...
from dancing to
visual arts
The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, photography, video, filmmaking, design, crafts and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual art, and textile arts al ...
to music. All the pubs in Belmullet participate.
*LĂĄ an Logha â 15 August (also known as Ladies Day) each year sees the busiest time of the year in the town. This festival started off as a farmer's market and a day for men to
propose to their future wives and go parading around the town with her on this special day.
*FĂ©ile na Seachtaine, another arts based festival follows LĂĄ an Logha. The town's annual Heritage Day is held during this time. Many people who have emigrated from Erris return to the area during the month of August.
Climate
Transport
The
Belmullet Aerodrome is located west of the town.
Bus Ăireann
Bus Ăireann (; "Irish Bus") is a state-owned bus and coach operator providing services throughout Ireland, with the exception of Dublin and the Greater Dublin Area, where bus services are provided by sister company Dublin Bus. It is a subsidia ...
route 446 links Belmullet with
Bangor Erris
Bangor Erris () is a town in Kiltane parish in Erris, County Mayo, Ireland with a population of over 300. It is on the banks of the Owenmore River and is a "gateway" to the Erris Peninsula linking Belmullet with Ballina and Westport. It is ...
,
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 of ...
and
Ballina. There is one service a day in each direction, including Sundays. On Friday evenings an extra journey operates from Ballina.
Onward bus and rail connections are available at Ballina.
People
*
Riocard Bairéad, poet
*
Philip Gaughan
Philip Gaughan (March 17, 1865 â December 31, 1913) was a sergeant (Originally an infantry worker) serving in the United States Marine Corps during the SpanishâAmerican War who received the Medal of Honor for bravery.
Biography
Gaughan was bo ...
, sergeant
*
Patrick H. Monaghan
Patrick Henry Monaghan (November 19, 1843 â October 22, 1917) was a native of Ireland who fought for the federal government of the United States (Union Army) during the American Civil War as a member of Company F of the 48th Pennsylvania Infantr ...
, soldier
*
James Kilroy (politician)
James Kilroy (1890 â 5 January 1954) was an Irish Fianna FĂĄil politician and farmer.
In his earlier life Kilroy was a District Councillor for the Belmullet area and a member of the Belmullet Board of Guardians representing Sinn FĂ©in. He wa ...
, politician
*
Willie Joe Padden
Willie Joe Padden is a former Gaelic footballer who received two GAA GPA All Stars Awards, All Stars awards, and represented Mayo county football team, Mayo in an 1989 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final, 1989 All-Ireland SFC Final ...
, Gaelic footballer
*
Billy Joe Padden
Billy Joe Padden is a Gaelic footballer from County Mayo, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. He began his playing career with Belmullet GAC and played at all levels for the Mayo county football team, Mayo county team.
He subsequently moved to Count ...
, Gaelic footballer
*
Sinead Diver
Sinead Diver ( , born 17 February 1977) is an Australian Long-distance running, long-distance runner.
Biography
Diver was born and raised in County Mayo in Belmullet on the western coast of Ireland. She attended a conservative Catholic Chu ...
, long distance runner
*
Chris Barrett, Gaelic footballer
*
Jimmy Monaghan
Jimmy Monaghan (Irish: Seamus Ă MuĂneachĂĄin) is an Irish musician from Belmullet, Ireland. He is the lead singer, guitarist, and songwriter for the anti-folk band Music for Dead Birds. He has also released music under different names includi ...
, musician
*
David Munnelly, musician
*
Rose Conway-Walsh
Rose Conway-Walsh ( née Conway) is an Irish Sinn Féin politician who has been a Teachta Dåla (TD) for the Mayo constituency since the 2020 general election. She previously served as a Leader of Sinn Féin in the Seanad and a Senator for th ...
, politician
*
Ronan Murray (footballer), footballer
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Mary Reilly (academic)
Mary M. Reilly FRCP (Lon), FRCP is an Irish neurologist who works at National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery. She studies peripheral neuropathy. She is the President of the Association of British Neurologists.
Early life and educatio ...
, academic
See also
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Belmullet GAA
Belmullet GAA ''Irish: CLG BĂ©al an Mhuirthead'' is a Gaelic Athletic Association club located in Belmullet, County Mayo, Ireland.
Achievements
* All-Ireland Junior Club Football Championship Runners-Up 2002
* Connacht Junior Club Football Cham ...
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Benwee Head
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Connacht Irish
Connacht Irish () is the dialect of the Irish language spoken in the province of Connacht. Gaeltacht regions in Connacht are found in Counties Mayo (notably Tourmakeady, Achill Island and Erris) and Galway (notably in parts of Connemara and on ...
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Kilcommon
Kilcommon ( ga, Cill ChomĂĄin) is a civil parish in Erris, north County Mayo, Mayo consisting of two large peninsulas; Carrowteige, DĂșn ChaochĂĄin and TĂĄin BĂł Flidhais, DĂșn ChiortĂĄin. It consists of 37 townlands, some of which are so remo ...
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The Playboy of the Western World
''The Playboy of the Western World'' is a three-act play written by Irish playwright John Millington Synge and first performed at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin, on 26 January 1907. It is set in Michael James Flaherty's public house in County Mayo (o ...
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Richard Barrett (poet)
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TĂĄin BĂł Flidhais
''TĂĄin BĂł Flidhais'', also known as the ''Mayo TĂĄin'', is a tale from the Ulster Cycle of early Irish literature. It is one of a group of works known as TĂĄin BĂł, or "cattle raid" stories, the best known of which is ''TĂĄin BĂł CĂșailnge''. ' ...
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Wild Atlantic Way
The Wild Atlantic Way ( ga, SlĂ an Atlantaigh FhiĂĄin) is a tourism trail on the west coast, and on parts of the north and south coasts, of Ireland. The 2,500 km (1,553 mile) driving route passes through nine counties and three provinces, s ...
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List of towns and villages in Ireland
References
External links
'Pipe Down' Winner of Best Feature Documentary: Waterford Film Festival 2009
{{County Mayo
Erris
Gaeltacht places in County Mayo
Gaeltacht towns and villages
Populated coastal places in the Republic of Ireland
Towns and villages in County Mayo