Ballycastle () is a village in 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 ...

, situated northwest from Ballina, near Mayo's north coast. It lies on the edge 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 reco ...

. Ballycastle is situated on the coast of north County Mayo, with its northern boundary exposed to the Atlantic Ocean. To the west of the town are the Stags of

Broadhaven Broad Haven ( cy, Aberllydan) is a village and seaside resort in the south east corner of St Bride's Bay at the western terminus of the B4341 road in south Pembrokeshire, Wales. Broad Haven and Little Haven together form the Havens community an ...

, to the east lies Killala Bay while to the south are the towns of Ballina and

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 ...

History

The

Céide Fields The Céide Fields () is an archaeological site on the north County Mayo coast in the west of Ireland, about northwest of Ballycastle. The site has been described as the most extensive Neolithic site in Ireland and is claimed to contain the old ...

, approximately 7 km north of Ballycastle, was where the first settlers began to farm the slopes of the Behy/Glenurla hillside, over 5000 years ago. 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. Notable people from Ballycastle include the Gaelic footballer

Tommy Langan Thomas Langan (23 September 1921 – 22 September 1974) was an Irish Gaelic footballer who played as a centre-forward and as a full-forward for the senior Mayo county team. He was selected at full-forward on the Football Team of the Millenni ...

who won two

All-Ireland Senior Football Championship The All-Ireland Senior Football Championship (SFC) ( ga, Craobh Shinsir Peile na hÉireann) is the premier competition in Gaelic football. An annual tournament organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), it is contested by the county ...

s for

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 ...

and was named on the Football Team of the Millennium.

Transport

Ballycastle lies at the junction of the R314 and R315 regional roads. Bus Éireann route 445 serves Ballycastle on weekdays to Ballina via

Killala Killala () is a village in County Mayo in Ireland, north of Ballina. The railway line from Dublin to Ballina once extended to Killala. To the west of Killala is a Townsplots West (known locally as Enagh Beg), which contains a number of ancient ...

Events

Ballycastle is host to Healyfest, a music event which takes place in a pub in the village on each

August Bank Holiday A bank holiday is a national public holiday in the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland and the Crown Dependencies. The term refers to all public holidays in the United Kingdom, be they set out in statute, declared by royal proclamation or held ...

References

External links

Family History in Ballycastle
{{Authority control Towns and villages in County Mayo

History

Transport

Events

See also

References

External links