County Mayo

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County Mayo
Contae Mhaigh Eo
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Vereinigtes Königreich Donegal Leitrim Sligo Mayo Galway Galway Roscommons Cavan Longford Monaghan Louth Westmeath Fingal Meath Dublin South Dublin Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown Clare Limerick City and County Offaly Kildare Wicklow Tipperary Laois Carlow Wexford Waterford City and County Cork Kilkenny Tipperary Waterford City and County Limerick City and County Kerry CorkCounty Mayo in Ireland
About this picture
Basic data
Country: Ireland
Administrative headquarters: Castlebar
Province: Connacht
Irish name: Maigh Eo
Surface: 5588 km²
Residents: 130,425 (2016)
License Plate: MO
Round tower of Killala

The County Mayo [ MEO ] ( Irish County Mayo ) lies in the west of the Republic of Ireland in the province of Connacht . The name of the county ( county ) is derived from a monastery of the village in the 7th century by St. Colmán south Balla was founded. From this monastery a diocese developed in the 12th century , which was later united with that of Tuam . The Irish name means something like plain of the yew trees .

geography

Mayo has a varied landscape. The east is defined by flat arable land. In the southwest the Partry and Mweelrea Mountains extend. Here, with the 817 m high Mweelrea, is also the highest mountain of Mayo. The north-west of the county, beyond the 800-meter-high Nephin Beg Range, is one of the most sparsely populated and sparsely populated areas of Ireland with its peat bogs. The coastline is determined by bays and offshore islands. The Clew Bay in Westport is also bay of 365 islands called. The county's largest islands are Acaill , Clare Island, and Inishturk . Acaill is actually the largest island off the Irish coast and is connected to the mainland by a bridge. Of the numerous lakes in Mayo, Loch Measca (Lough Mask) and Lough Carra in the south and Lough Conn in the northeast are the most important.

history

Prehistoric times

Numerous archaeological finds show that the area of ​​today's county was settled early. For the 4th millennium BC, settlements of arable farmers and cattle farmers are documented. The most important site of its kind is Céide Fields on the north coast. When around 3,000 BC When today's peat bogs began to form, these settlements gradually had to be abandoned. The field boundaries are still clearly recognizable.

Christianization

At St Patrick declining baptism site on which he founded and to 1216 continuing bishopric in Aghagower

From the 5th century, Christianity came to the north west of Ireland. It is said that St. Patrick did missionary work in the area for a while. According to legend, in 441 he fasted for 40 days on Croagh Patrick . A number of ecclesiastical settlements are documented from the middle of the 5th century, some of which gained importance in the following centuries (Mayo near Balla, Aghagower , Killala and Turlough ). Since the beginning of the 9th century, these monasteries were repeatedly invaded by Vikings.

Under Anglo-Norman rule

Ornate Gothic tomb from the middle of the 15th century in the Strade monastery documents the craftsmanship

In 1152, the Diocese of Mayo was established at the Synod of Kells , which included the present-day county and some adjacent areas. From 1235, Mayo came under Norman rule through Richard de Burgh's campaign of conquest and the local clans, above all the O'Connors, lost their importance. A number of monasteries were founded under the new masters . The first was founded by the Franciscans in Strade , probably between 1240 and 1250, but it passed to the Dominicans in 1253 . Other important foundations were Rathfran (1274, Dominican), the Carmelite monasteries Ballinasmale (around 1288) and Burriscarra (1298), as well as the Augustinian houses Ballinrobe (around 1312) and Ballyhaunis (around 1430). These monasteries were closed and fell into disrepair in the 16th century. Most of them are still in ruins at best.

In the middle of the 16th century, the English began to interfere more intensely in the rivalries and struggles of local families in order to subjugate them to central power. By the end of the 1560s, the local rulers had submitted to the representatives of the English crown in Ireland. In 1570 County Mayo was established within its current boundaries. In the years that followed, there were repeated minor rebellions; however, English rule could no longer be endangered. In the 17th century, Mayo became more and more of a refuge for settlers who had been driven from other parts of the country by the English. The motto To hell or to Connacht has its origins in this time.

The 1798 rebellion

In 1798 Mayo played a major role during the United Irishmen Rebellion . On August 22, 1798, the French General Joseph Humbert landed with about 1,100 men in Killala Bay to support the rebels. After the expeditionary force took Killala and Ballina , it marched on to Castlebar . A British garrison was located here. After a short fight, she was routed and had to withdraw to Tuam. Under the protection of the French, a short-lived Connacht Republic was established under a certain John Moore as president. It was clear to Humbert that he would not be able to assert himself in the long run without support. Since no reinforcements from outside were expected, after a few weeks he decided to march further inland to join forces with local rebels. He was beaten and captured by superior British forces near Longford . The Mayo rebels were no match for the advancing British troops. Most died in combat or were executed in the weeks that followed.

The great famine

Mayo was particularly hard hit by the Great Famine of 1845–1849, as 90 percent of the population here relied on potatoes as a staple food. It is estimated that around a quarter of the population died during the famine. The famine was followed by mass emigration, so that the population fell from officially 389,000 in 1841 to 275,000 (1851).

Land War and Land League

In 1879, Mayo was the nucleus of the Land League , which aimed to reduce leases and reform the land. Its founder, Michael Davitt , was born in Strade in 1846, the son of a small farmer, and was expelled from there with his family in 1850. A rally with several thousand participants on April 20, 1879 in Irishtown , in the southeast of Mayo, is considered the beginning of the so-called Land War . On August 16, 1879, Davitt called the National Land League of Mayo in Castlebar, which a little later became part of the Irish National League . Mayo was a focus of the Land War. One of the most famous actions was directed against Charles Cunningham Boycott , the manager of an estate on the east bank of Lough Mask, in 1880 . The tenants managed to force him to return to England through non-violent protest measures. The initiator of the action, a local priest named John O'Malley, was the first to use the term boycott for this type of protest, which eventually became established worldwide. Over the next 30 years, a number of laws were passed that ultimately enabled the tenants to purchase the land on favorable terms.

Mayo in the 20th century

However, the improvement in living conditions did not put an end to emigration. Despite high birth rates, the population fell from 172,000 (1926) to 133,000 in 1956. Since then, however, it has been possible to at least slow down this downward trend with improved infrastructure and the creation of new jobs through the settlement of some industrial companies.

economy

Sheep and cattle breeding as well as the cultivation of barley and potatoes predominate in agriculture. For a long time there was also an important peat cutting tradition here. In many areas the peat is still used for heating. Knock International Airport is to the east .

politics

The distribution of seats in the county council after the local elections on May 23, 2014:

Political party Seats
Fine Gael 10
Fianna Fáil 10
Sinn Féin 3
Non-party 7th

Mayo sends four MEPs to the Irish Parliament ( Dáil Éireann ). In the last election in 2016, Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil each won 2 seats.

Cities

Attractions

The Aasleagh Falls, film set for The Field, one of Ireland's rare waterfalls

Personalities

The founder of the Irish National Land League (a farmers' association that fought for the rights of impoverished and starving Irish farmers in the 19th century), Michael Davitt , was born in Mayo in 1846 and the bridge to Acaill Island bears his name.
The German writer and Nobel Prize winner Heinrich Böll lived in Dugort on Acaill from the mid-1950s. The Heinrich Bölls holiday home has been used as a guest house for Irish and international artists since 1992. This work is guaranteed in cooperation with the Mayo Co. Council, the Böll family and the Heinrich Böll Association on Acaill.
The Irish painter Paul Henry also lived at Acaill from 1910 to 1919.

The actor Mick Lally was born in Co. Mayo in 1945.

literature

Mayo - God Help us. In: Heinrich Böll: Irish diary .

Web links

Commons : County Mayo  - Album containing pictures, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 53 ° 55 ′  N , 9 ° 22 ′  W