Kilcummin () is a

beachhead A beachhead is a temporary line created when a military unit reaches a landing beach by sea and begins to defend the area as other reinforcements arrive. Once a large enough unit is assembled, the invading force can begin advancing inland. Th ...

and

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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

on the northern coast of

County Mayo County Mayo (; ) 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 Connacht, it is named after the village of Mayo, County Mayo, Mayo, now ge ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. Traditionally a fishing community, the Kilcummin area is sparsely populated. The "Tír Sáile - North Mayo Sculpture Trail" and "Tour d'Humbert" tourist route lead through the area. Kilcummin overlooks Killala Bay, the

blue flag beach The Blue Flag is a certification by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) that a beach, marina, or sustainable boating tourism operator meets its standards. The Blue Flag is a trademark owned by FEE, which is a Not-for-profit organi ...

"An Trá nRoss", "Bartra Island" and lies on the opposite shore to

Enniscrone Enniscrone – also spelt Inniscrone and officially named Inishcrone () – is a small seaside town in County Sligo, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Its sandy beach, tourist campsite, and golf course all attract visitors. As of the 2022 ce ...

and its beach in County Sligo.

Name

Kilcummin is named after the early Irish saint Cuimín, and derives from the Irish ''Cill Chuimín'', meaning "church of Cuimín". Other variants of the Irish spelling (seen on local signage) include "''Cilcummin''" and "''Cill Chummín''". Prior to being named Kilcummin a map of Connaught from the 5th Century indicates that the area was originally known as "Forrac".

History

The remains of the church of Saint Cuimín (for which the area is named) are still to be found in the local cemetery, along with a holy well at which to this day worshippers come to pray. Saint Cuimín's grave has been lost over the centuries, but it is believed that a group of stones in Kilcummin cemetery once belonged to his tomb. Kilcummin is noted as the site where a French expedition commanded by

General Humbert General Jean Joseph Amable Humbert (22 August 1767 – 3 January 1823) was a French military officer who participated in several notable military conflicts of the late 18th and early 19th century. Born in the townland of La Coâre Saint-Nabord, ...

landed on 22 August 1798, in an attempt to assist Irish rebels during the

1798 rebellion The Irish Rebellion of 1798 (; Ulster-Scots: ''The Turn out'', ''The Hurries'', 1798 Rebellion) was a popular insurrection against the British Crown in what was then the separate, but subordinate, Kingdom of Ireland. The main organising force ...

. The French forces came ashore at ''Leac A' Chaonaigh'' (the 'moss covered rock') which is near Kilcummin. Humbert commanded three

frigates A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and maneuvera ...

, the ''Concorde'', ''Franchise'', and the ''Médée'' altogether carrying 1070

French forces The French Armed Forces (, ) are the military forces of France. They consist of four military branches – the Army, the Navy, the Air and Space Force, and the National Gendarmerie. The National Guard serves as the French Armed Forces' military ...

, three

cannon A cannon is a large-caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder during th ...

, and approximately 3000

muskets A musket is a muzzle-loaded long gun that appeared as a smoothbore weapon in the early 16th century, at first as a heavier variant of the arquebus, capable of penetrating plate armour. By the mid-16th century, this type of musket gradually d ...

Gallery

File:Kilcummin13.jpg, Signpost on the Lacken Road showing variant Irish spelling File:Kilcummin cemetery 0256.jpg, Kilcummin cemetery File:Kilcummin8.jpg, Headstone on the grave of St Cummin, with the old church of St Cummin (dated to pre-8th Century) File:Monument to 1798 French Landing.jpg, Leac A’ Chaonaigh - the site of the French Landing in 1798 near Kilcummin village.

References

{{County Mayo Towns and villages in County Mayo Townlands of County Mayo Civil parishes of County Mayo