Gweesalia or Geesala () is a small village situated on the Gweesalia peninsula in the Electoral Division of Rathhill, in the Civil Parish of Kilcommon, 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 ...

in western 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 village has a national school, a community centre that contains a cafe and boxing club, two general stores, a post office, St Colmcille's Catholic Church, and one pub.

History

Built heritage

Evidence of ancient settlement in the area include a ringfort and several reputed

crannog A crannog (; ga, crannóg ; gd, crannag ) is typically a partially or entirely artificial island, usually built in lakes and estuarine waters of Scotland, Wales, and Ireland. Unlike the prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps, which were bu ...

sites in the neighbouring

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 orig ...

s of An Ráith, Tulachán Dubh and Dumha Locha. Within the village itself, the local Catholic church was designed by architect Ralph Henry Byrne and opened in 1932.

Synge connection

John Millington Synge Edmund John Millington Synge (; 16 April 1871 – 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 ...

'' is reputedly set in the area, and its first act is based in a fictional

shebeen A shebeen ( ga, síbín) was originally an illicit bar or club where excisable alcoholic beverages were sold without a licence. The term has spread far from its origins in Ireland, to Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Zimbabwe, the ...

(unlicensed pub) in Geesala. The play's "savage hero" is partially based on a man convicted of assaulting a woman on Achill Island in 1894, the details of which were recounted to Synge while on the

Aran Islands The Aran Islands ( ; gle, Oileáin Árann, ) or The Arans (''na hÁrainneacha'' ) are a group of three islands at the mouth of Galway Bay, off the west coast of Ireland, with a total area around . They constitute the historic barony of Aran i ...

Transport

On Saturdays only Bus Éireann route 446 links Gweesalia with Blacksod and Ballina. Onward bus and rail connections are available at Ballina.

Sport

Geesala National School has won a number of county titles in Gaelic football and is well represented at minor, U-21 and senior levels. The village's boxing club has produced such boxers as Henry Coyle and Jimmy Monaghan, with some of its students achieving world titles in lightweight and bantamweight divisions.

References