Guide to County Mayo in Ireland

County Mayo

Mayo is the third largest county in Ireland (after Cork and Galway) and it is located in the very west of the country within the province of Connacht. Despite its large size in area, and a healthy population of 124,000 residents, the county is actually the second least densely populated county on the island. Whilst some areas are fairly remote, a large portion of the county is now easily accessible by road, rail or air (via Ireland West's international airport at Knock, located near to Ireland's foremost Christian shrine). This, plus the fact that Mayo is one of the most scenic counties in Ireland, makes the locality an attractive proposition for a truly Irish rural home. However, the county's administrators are keen to limit over-development, so planning permissions for new houses follows strictly controlled procedures.

The largest towns are Castlebar and Ballina with about 10,000 residents apiece. Castlebar is the administrative headquarters for the county straddling the N5 primary route westwards, whilst Ballina is situated on the River Moy and is renowned for attracting salmon fishermen from around the globe. Westport is a very popular tourist town of around 5,000 permanent dwellers living next to Clew Bay and overlooked by the religiously sacred mountain of Croagh Patrick. Another popular destination is the scenery of Achill Island which can be accessed by car via Achill Sound Bridge. Conversely, Clare Island can only be reached by regular small ferries for foot passengers which depart from Roonah Quay near to the town of Louisburgh. The village of Cong in the south of County Mayo was used as the backdrop for the film The Quiet Man featuring John Wayne, as were the magnificent grounds of the imposing Ashford Castle right next door to Cong.

Other towns not to be overlooked include Balla, Ballindine, Ballinrobe, Ballycastle, Ballyhaunis, Bangor Erris, Belmullet, Charlestown-Bellahy, Claremorris, Crossmolina, Foxford, Keel-Dooagh (on Achill Island), Killala (with views of Killala Bay), Kilkelly, Kilmaine, Kiltimagh, Newport, Shrule and Swinford.