Ceathrú Thaidhg (anglicized as Carrowteige) is a

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 ...

village and

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 ...

on the Dún Chaocháin peninsula in northwestern

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, 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 within

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 ...

(Cill Chomáin) parish in 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 ...

. Carrowteige is a relatively small townland with an acreage of just .

History

Caochán, after whom the peninsula is named, was a legendary giant of Celtic sagas who had only one eye. His image was represented on the slopes of the hills overlooking

Sruwaddacon Bay Sruwaddacon Bay () is a tidal estuary which runs through the middle of the Gaeltacht Kilcommon parish in Erris, County Mayo, Ireland. It is of historical importance in Irish legend, an important marine habitat, an E.U. Special Area of Conservatio ...

when the Tír Saile was created during the 1990s. In 1841, a road was approved to run from

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 " ...

to Carrowteige. In 1842 the drains for the road were partially opened, but by 1845 the road was still far from completed. Eventually in 1846, it was declared completed. There were no bridges on the road. At Muingnabo, the river bed was paved at a ford and remained that way until 1886 when the Annie Brady Bridge was erected. Annie Brady had been the wife of the Inspector of Fisheries for the area and had witnessed the difficulty in crossing the ford, and so raised money to build a bridge at the site. In 1933, a flood carried away the Annie Brady Bridge but it was later replaced. Throughout

until about 1900, the custom was 'in most cottages, the family lived and slept in one room using the others as store rooms. they knew no other kind of house life. In this one room the family retired to sleep, only partially undressed. Often the only furniture in the room was a chair, a couple of small wooden stools, with a cooking pot, a kettle and a tea pot and some cups'. The biggest industry was that of

lace school Lace schools were common in Great Britain, Britain from the 17th to 19th century to teach lace-making. Lace schools were often the living rooms of small cottages and were known for being overcrowded, badly lit and often unsanitary. Girls and some ...

s. The Department of Lands and Fisheries took over the lace schools from The Congested Districts Board about 1923 and formed Gaeltarra Éireann, a semi-state body, to manage them but the lace school in Carrowteige was closed in 1976.

Sewing Sewing is the craft of fastening or attaching objects using stitches made with a sewing needle and thread. Sewing is one of the oldest of the textile arts, arising in the Paleolithic era. Before the invention of spinning yarn or weaving fabr ...

and

knitting Knitting is a method by which yarn is manipulated to create a textile, or fabric. It is used to create many types of garments. Knitting may be done by hand or by machine. Knitting creates stitches: loops of yarn in a row, either flat or i ...

industry gave most of the employment in both factories and homes over the years. A

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

church, the Church of the Immaculate Conception, was built and opened in 1972. Mass here is said in the

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 ...

Cliff walks

There are several looped

cliff In geography and geology, a cliff is an area of rock which has a general angle defined by the vertical, or nearly vertical. Cliffs are formed by the processes of weathering and erosion, with the effect of gravity. Cliffs are common on co ...

walks which start and end at Carrowteige village. Maps are available from

Comhar Dún Chaocháin Teo ''Comhar'' (; "partnership") is a prominent literary journal in the Irish language, published by the company Comhar Teoranta. It was founded in 1942, and has published work by some of the most notable writers in Irish, including Máirtín Ó Cadha ...

. The walks overlook

Broadhaven Bay Broadhaven Bay ( ga, Cnocán na Líne) 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/Oile� ...

and the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

. They take walkers past some of the Tír Saile sculpture trail.

References

{{County Mayo Towns and villages in County Mayo Gaeltacht places in County Mayo Gaeltacht towns and villages Erris

History

Cliff walks

See also

References