Ballycastle, County Mayo

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.

This article is about the village of Ballycastle, County Mayo. For the town in Country Antrim, see Ballycastle, County Antrim.
Ballycastle

Baile an Chaisil
Village
Ballycastle
Location in Ireland
Coordinates: 54°17′00″N 9°22′00″W
CountryIreland
ProvinceConnacht
CountyCounty Mayo
Elevation
78 m (256 ft)
Population
 (2016)[1]
219
Time zoneUTC+0 (WET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-1 (IST (WEST))
Irish Grid ReferenceG104378

Ballycastle is situated on the coast of north County Mayo, with its northern boundary exposed to the 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.

Public transport

Bus Éireann route 445 serves Ballycastle Mondays to Fridays inclusive providing a few services to/from Ballina via Killala.[3]

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.[4]

Notable people from Ballycastle include the Gaelic footballer Tommy Langan who won two All-Ireland Senior Football Championships for Mayo and was named on the Football Team of the Millennium.[5]

Events

Ballycastle is host to the annual Healyfest festival. The festival takes place every August Bank holiday weekend since 2005, and involves bands from all over Ireland.[6]

See also
  • List of towns and villages in Ireland

References
  1. "Census 2016 Sapmap Area: Settlements Ballycastle". Central Statistics Office. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  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. http://www.buseireann.ie/inner.php?id=247#Mayo
  4. Ballycastle Website. Archived 19 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine Causeway Coastal Route. Accessed 12 March 2012.
  5. Ballycastle in County Mayo in the West of Ireland. mayo.ireland.ie. Accessed 12 March 2012.
  6. Healyfest. WesternPeople. Accessed 12 March 2012.
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