Kilmeena () is a

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 authorit ...

and small village near Westport 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 ...

. The area is served by a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

church, an An Post post office, and a national (primary) school.

History

The

Kilmeena ambush The Kilmeena ambush was an action during the Irish War of Independence that took place at Kilmeena, County Mayo on 19 May 1921. The ambush ended in defeat for the local West Mayo Irish Republican Army (IRA), with five IRA volunteers killed a ...

was the scene of a defeat for the local

Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is a name used by various paramilitary organisations in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Organisations by this name have been dedicated to irredentism through Irish republicanism, the belief th ...

during the Irish War of Independence. On 19 May 1921, British troops surprised an IRA ambush party at Kilmeena. Five IRA men were killed and four were wounded and captured. The remainder of the column fled over the mountains to Skerdagh. One

Royal Irish Constabulary The Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC, ga, Constáblacht Ríoga na hÉireann; simply called the Irish Constabulary 1836–67) was the police force in Ireland from 1822 until 1922, when all of the country was part of the United Kingdom. A separate ...

man and one

Black and Tans Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have ...

member were also killed in the action.

Sport

Kilmeena GAA Club was founded in 1889. According to the club's records, the club first fielded a Gaelic football team against Westport at Kilmeena on 10 March 1889. The club was reputedly affiliated to the Mayo county board in the same year. The club's grounds at Saint Brendan's Park were first opened in 1938, and a new club house was formally opened in 2000. In 2022, Kilmeena won the

All-Ireland Junior Club Football Championship The All-Ireland Junior Club Football Championship is a Gaelic football competition which began in 2002 and is played by the junior club champions of each county. Prior to that a number of unofficial competitions were held. The winners of each cou ...

with a win over Gneeveguilla of County Kerry at Croke Park.

Song

In 1884, George Cooper and John Rogers Thomas wrote a song ''Sweet Flower of Kilmeena''.

References

{{County Mayo Towns and villages in County Mayo Civil parishes of County Mayo Articles on towns and villages in Ireland possibly missing Irish place names

History

Sport

Song

See also

References