Ballycastle, County Mayo

Ballycastle
Baile an Chaisil
Village
Ballycastle
Location in Ireland
Coordinates: 54°17′00″N 9°22′00″W / 54.2833°N 9.3667°W / 54.2833; -9.3667Coordinates: 54°17′00″N 9°22′00″W / 54.2833°N 9.3667°W / 54.2833; -9.3667
Country Ireland
Province Connacht
County County Mayo
Elevation 78 m (256 ft)
Population (2016)[1]
 • Urban 219
Time zone UTC+0 (WET)
 • Summer (DST) UTC-1 (IST (WEST))
Irish Grid Reference G104378

Ballycastle (Irish: Baile an Chaisil, meaning "town of the fort")[2] is a village in County Mayo, Ireland, situated northwest from Ballina, near Mayo's north coast. It lies on the edge of the Mayo Gaeltacht.

Ballycastle is situated on the rugged coast of North Mayo, with its northern boundary exposed to the wild Atlantic Ocean. To the west of the town are the Stags of Broadhaven, to the east lies Killala Bay while to the south are the towns of Crossmolina and Ballina. It was at the Céide Fields that the first settlers began to farm the slopes of the Behy/Glenurla hillside over 5000 years ago.

Ballycastle is host to the annual Healyfest festival. The festival takes place every August Bank holiday weekend and has grown from strength to strength since its inception in 2005. This event attracts bands from all over Ireland and beyond for a weekend of great fun and great music.[3]

Public transport

Bus Éireann route 445 serves Ballycastle Mondays to Fridays inclusive providing a few services to/from Ballina via Killala.[4]

History

Cliffs along the Atlantic coastline of County Mayo, near Ballycastle

The parish of Ballycastle is a combination of the two ancient parishes of Kilbride and Doonfeeney. The name Ballycastle was in use as early as 1470 and was referred to as a parish in the Catholic directory of 1836.[5]

Famous people from Ballycastle include the Gaelic footballer Tommy Langan. He won two All-Ireland Senior Football Championships with the Mayo GAA senior county team and was named on the Football Team of the Millennium.[6]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Census 2016 Sapmap Area: Settlements Ballycastle". Central Statistics Office. Retrieved 2018-03-23.
  2. ↑ "Baile an Chaisil/Ballycastle". Placenames Database of Ireland. Government of Ireland - Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht and Dublin City University. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
  3. ↑ Healyfest. WesternPeople. Accessed 12 March 2012.
  4. ↑ http://www.buseireann.ie/inner.php?id=247#Mayo
  5. ↑ Ballycastle Website. Archived 19 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Causeway Coastal Route. Accessed 12 March 2012.
  6. ↑ Ballycastle in County Mayo in the West of Ireland. mayo.ireland.ie. Accessed 12 March 2012.
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