Islandeady () is a village in

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 ...

, about halfway between the towns of

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 ...

and Westport. The parish of Islandeady meets Castlebar to the east, Westport and Newport to the west, and

Aughagower Aughagower or Aghagower () is a small village in rural County Mayo in western Ireland. It is located about 6 km from Westport. Aughagower has around 40 houses, 1 pub and a shop, with a clear view of Croagh Patrick from Reek View. It also ...

and Killawalla to the south. There is a view of

Croagh Patrick Croagh Patrick (), nicknamed 'the Reek', is a mountain with a height of and an important site of pilgrimage in County Mayo, Ireland. The mountain has a pyramid-shaped peak and overlooks Clew Bay, rising above the village of Murrisk, several mil ...

to the west and

Nephin Nephin or Nefin ( ga, Néifinn), at 806 metres (2646 ft), is the highest standalone mountain in Ireland and the second-highest peak in Connacht (after Mweelrea), Ireland. It is to the west of Lough Conn in County Mayo. ''Néifinn'' is va ...

to the northeast. The main route by road is the N5. The parish has four national schools and a private secondary school.

History

Islandeady parish straddles the baronies of Carra and

Burrishoole Burrishoole () is one of the nine baronies of County Mayo in Ireland. It is named after the former Gaelic territory of Umhaill, which also included Murrisk barony, and roughly means the "borough of Umhaill". Legal context Baronies were crea ...

. Its name was reinterpreted in recent centuries as ''Oileán Éadaí'' but ultimately derives in fact from ''Oileán Éadain'', where ''Éadan'' is a gaelicised form of the Anglo-Saxon name ''Aedwine'' or ''Haedwine''. A person of this name was ordained bishop of Mayo in the late eighth century, according to the medieval chronicler

Symeon of Durham __NOTOC__ Symeon (or Simeon) of Durham (died after 1129) was an English chronicler and a monk of Durham Priory. Biography Symeon entered the Benedictine monastery at Jarrow as a youth. It moved to Durham in 1074, and he was professed in 1085 or ...

. The Islandeady

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 ...

of Raheens is mentioned in an early biography of

Saint Patrick Saint Patrick ( la, Patricius; ga, Pádraig ; cy, Padrig) was a fifth-century Romano-British Christian missionary and bishop in Ireland. Known as the "Apostle of Ireland", he is the primary patron saint of Ireland, the other patron saints be ...

Tírechán Tírechán was a 7th-century Irish bishop from north Connacht, specifically the Killala Bay area, in what is now County Mayo. Background Based on a knowledge of Irish customs of the times, historian Terry O’Hagan has concluded that Tírechán ...

(700c). Islandeady townland was historically called ''Illaneedan''. Islandeady belonged to the 'Patrician lands of

Connacht Connacht ( ; ga, Connachta or ), is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, Conmhaícne, and Delbhn ...

'. The date given by historians to St.Patrick's

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

work in Islandeady is 440 A.D., where he preached on the shores of a lake in the peaceful little parish. Today the modern village lies within the townlands of Rinnaseer and Cloonan. On 2 September 1973 during '

The Troubles The Troubles ( ga, Na Trioblóidí) were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an "i ...

Royal Ulster Constabulary The Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) was the police force in Northern Ireland from 1922 to 2001. It was founded on 1 June 1922 as a successor to the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC)Richard Doherty, ''The Thin Green Line – The History of the Royal ...

reservists from

Lisnaskea Lisnaskea () is the second-biggest settlement in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is situated mainly in the townland of Lisoneill, with some areas in the townland of Castle Balfour Demesne, both in the civil parish of Aghalurcher and the ...

were attacked by gunmen at Kilbree Lower on the Westport-Castlebar road, as they were on their way home from a fishing holiday in Westport. There were no fatalities but three members were wounded by automatic fire.

Amenities

National schools in the area include Cloggernagh NS, Cougala NS, and Cornanool NS. St. Patrick's Academy is a local (private) secondary school. Islandeady had a shop, beside the church, which closed in 1988. An embroidery and sewing shop is located behind the church. There is also a B&B beside the GAA pitch. The lakes in the area include Lough Bilberry and Lough Lannagh.

Transport

Islandeady is served by the N5 (Westport-Dublin road)

national primary road A national primary road ( ga, Bóthar príomha náisiúnta) is a road classification in Ireland. National primary roads form the major routes between the major urban centres. There are 2649 km of national primary roads. This category of ro ...

. Islandeady railway station, which was 2-km south of the village and opened in May 1914 on the

Midland Great Western Railway The Midland Great Western Railway (MGWR) was the third largest Irish gauge () railway company in Ireland. It was incorporated in 1845 and absorbed into the Great Southern Railways in 1924. At its peak the MGWR had a network of , making it Irela ...

Athlone to Westport line, was closed in June 1963.

Notable people

Ray Moylette Raymond Peter Moylette (born 11 April 1990), sometimes spelled Moylett, is an Irish professional boxer. As an amateur he represented Ireland, winning gold medals at the 2008 Youth World Championships and 2011 European Championships. Amateu ...

, boxer. *

Enda Kenny Enda Kenny (born 24 April 1951) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as Taoiseach from 2011 to 2017, Leader of Fine Gael from 2002 to 2017, Minister for Defence from May to July 2014 and 2016 to 2017, Leader of the Opposition from ...

, former Taoiseach. * Seán Mac Aoidh, poet

References

{{County Mayo Towns and villages in County Mayo

History

Amenities

Transport

Notable people

See also

References