•  County Mayo, Ireland

          Click on the map for other historical maps of this place

In 1887, John Bartholomew's Gazetteer of the British Isles described County Mayo like this:

Mayo, a maritime co. of Connaught province, bounded W. and N. by the Atlantic Ocean, NE. by co. Sligo, E. by co. Roscommon, and S. by co. Galway; greatest length, NW. and SE., 65 miles; greatest breadth, NE. and SW., 52 miles; average breadth, 34 miles; coast-line, about 200 miles; area, 1,360,731 ac. ...

---

(56,935 water), or 6.5 per cent, of the total area of Ireland; pop. 245,212, of whom 9771 per cent, are Roman Catholics, 273 Protestant Episcopalians, 074 Presbyterians, and 071 Methodists. Along the coast, which is bold and rugged, are Clew Bay, Blacksod Bay, Broad Haven, and Killala Bay; and the promontories of Achill Head, Erris Head, Benwee Head, and Downpatrick Head. Among the islands, which are numerous, the largest are Achill, Clare, Inishturk, and Irishkea. The irregular peninsula of Belmullet, on the NW., projects between Broad Haven and Blacksod Bay. Much of the surface is of a wild and mountainous character, especially in the western districts, where the summits range from 1000 to 2640 ft. The valley of the Moy and the country E. of Castlebar consist of low-lying land well suited for pasture or tillage. (For agricultural statistics, see Appendix.) The mountains are chiefly of quartz and mica slate, and mountain limestone or limestone gravel is prevalent in other parts. Black marble is found in the SW., and iron ore occurs at various places. The principal river is the Moy, but mountain streams are numerous. The largest loughs are Conn, Carra, Carrowmore, and Feeagh, while Loughs Mask and Corrib are on the S. border. Agriculture - grazing rather than tillage - gives the chief employment. The fisheries along the coast and the salmon fishery in the Moy are very productive. The co. comprises 9 bars.- Burrishoole, Carra, Clanmorris, Costello, Erris, Gallen, Kilmaine, Murrisk, and Tirawley; 73 pars.; and the towns of Ballina, Westport, Castlebar (the co. town), Ballinrobe, Swineford, and Claremorris. For parliamentary purposes the county is divided into 4 divisions - viz., North Mayo, West Mayo, East Mayo, and South Mayo, each returning 1 member; the representation of Mayo was increased from 2 to 4 members in 1885.

Vision of Ireland presents long-run change by redistricting historical statistics to modern units. However, none of our modern units covers an area close to that of County Mayo. If you want trends covering a particular location within the county, find it on our historical maps and then select "Tell me more".

---

Not where you were looking for?

Click here for more detailed advice on finding places within A Vision of Ireland through Time, and maybe some references to other places called "County Mayo".