A Short Appreciation of Archaeology in County Mayo, Ireland. Part 2.

This is Part 2 of my short appreciation of Archaeology in County Mayo, Ireland. It covers the Early Christian/Historic Period (c.AD400-1100) thro' to the 1900s.

Archaeology is the study and interpretation of our past from material traces left behind by human beings, so as to enable us to better understand how people lived and behaved from the earliest times to yesterday. We are dependent on archaeology alone in any attempt to understand the prehistoric period, the period before writing began, which was about the fifth or sixth centuries of the Christian era in Ireland, and to complement it thereafter. Over the years, several amateur and professional archaeologists have made an enormous contribution to the discovery and identification of archaeological monuments in County Mayo, in the west of Ireland. There are now over 8,560 monuments for County Mayo recorded under 181 classifications on the national Site and Monuments Record (SMR) database (www.archaeology.ie Mayo). This blog provides an appreciation to some of the archaeological monuments in County Mayo over various periods from prehistory to recent times.

Christian/Historic Period (c.AD400-1100)

The introduction of Christianity to Ireland in the fifth century, or perhaps a little earlier, brought about many changes, including the introduction of literacy. The earliest churches, simple structures made from wood, have not survived. From the middle of the sixth century onwards, hundreds of small Christian settlements were established around the country. Among well-known monastic sites in County Mayo are Aghagower, Balla, Ballintober, Cong, Errew, Inishmaine, Killala, Kilmoremoy, Mayo, Meelick and Turlough, as well as island settlements off the Mullet Peninsula like Duvillaun More, Inishkea North and South and Inishglora.

Ogham inscriptions, representing the oldest written form of the Irish language, are believed to date, for the most part, from about the late fourth to the early sixth centuries AD. Of more than 300 ogham stones to be found throughout the country, nine are located in County Mayo. There is a fine example at Breastagh, near Rathfran Friary in north Mayo, and another at Corrower in Attymass.

As the Church for most of its history did not approve of the burial of unbaptised children in consecrated ground, alternative ‘children’s burial grounds’ (referred to as cillíní) were used. This practice ceased after the Second Vatican Council. A cillín (anglicised as ‘killeen’) generally consists of a small burial area, sometimes delimited by an enclosing feature of earth or stone, and often containing grave markers (generally small, rough, uninscribed stones). A total of 216 children’s burial grounds are recorded throughout County Mayo.

Viking Period

In 795 the Vikings, or Norsemen, began making plundering raids on Ireland, and within two decades they were making inroads into west Mayo. Monasteries, being wealthy, were favourite targets of these marauders. From the tenth century onwards, and continuing down to the thirteenth, round towers were erected in Irish monastic enclosures. It is now generally accepted that they were constructed primarily as belfries to call monks in from the fields for prayer at regular intervals, as well as serving as watchtowers, places of temporary refuge and repositories of relics, manuscripts and other valuables. Of about seventy surviving towers in Ireland, in differing states of repair, five are in County Mayo: Aghagower, Balla, Killala, Meelick and Turlough.

Medieval Period (c.AD1100-1550)

The Anglo-Norman colonisation of Ireland commenced in 1169, although the new arrivals did not launch an all-out assault on Connacht until the year 1235. At first the settlers erected wooden towers on artificial mounds or mottes, with enclosures known as baileys. These were followed by the erection of substantial stone castles, fortified residences built in strategic locations to secure newly acquired territories from attack by the native Irish. Examples of early stone castles include Ashford, Ballylahan, Brees (now in ruins), Castlecarra, Lough Mask and Shrule. From about 1450 onwards, smaller buildings, known as tower houses, were erected to serve as both protective buildings and dwellings. Some of the native Irish emulated the Anglo-Normans and built their own tower houses. These are large square or rectangular stone towers, generally three or more storeys in height. Some well-known examples of Mayo tower houses include Castleburke, Castletown, Deelcastle, Kildavnet on Achill Island, Rockfleet, Robeen and Moyne on the Black River.

A number of early monastic sites in the county such as Ballintober, Cong , Errew, beside Lough Conn, Inishmaine and Mayo were chosen as locations for houses of the Augustinian Canons Regular under the patronage of Gaelic families like the O’Connors in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. The best-known abbey in Mayo, and perhaps in Ireland, is Ballintober, where Mass has been said without a break since its foundation in 1216 (celebrating its octo-centenary in 2016).

From the thirteenth century the four mendicant orders, Dominicans, Franciscans, Carmelites and Augustinians, established friaries around the country with the support of Hiberno-Norman families. The Augustinians came to Ardnaree, Murrisk, near Westport, Ballinrobe, and Ballyhaunis. A Cistercian cell was established on Clare Island in the fifteenth century. Strade Friary was founded under the Norman patronage of Jordan de Exeter around 1240 for the Franciscans, but it was transferred to the Dominicans in 1252. The Franciscans also built friaries at Boofeenaun, as well as Moyne and Rosserk, near Killala. A Dominican friary was established at Rathfran, near Killala, in 1274, another at Burrishoole in 1473, and at Urlaur in Kilmovee around 1430. Ballinasmalla, near Claremorris, was founded for the Carmelites around 1288, and another house was established for the same order in Burriscarra (later taken over by the Augustinians). The surviving remains of these structures are still impressive monuments.

Post-Medieval Period (c. AD1550-1900)

Out of the fury of the Cromwellian and Williamite wars, and the confiscations and plantations of the seventeenth century, a different Ireland emerged during the following century. This was the era of ‘Big Houses’ and the humble single-storey thatched cabins of the native-Irish. Most of the latter were tenants-at-will of landlords and had no security. Surviving Big Houses in County Mayo include Ballinamore (Ormsbys), Belleek Castle (Knox-Gore), Castlebar (Binghams), Enniscoe (Jacksons), Moore Hall (Moores), Newport (O’Donel), Turlough (Fitzgerarald), and Westport House (Bownes).

The most significant event during the nineteenth century was the Great Famine from 1845 to 1849, and there are a number of archaeological remainders of that dreadful period on the local landscape, for example, the surviving frontage of Swinford Workhouse, famine graves and deserted homes. There are other workhouses sites in Ballina, Ballinrobe, Belmullet, Castlebar, Claremorris, Killala, Newport and Westport.

The Land War of 1879-1882 eventually led to tenants becoming owners of the land by a series of Land Purchase Acts from 1885 to 1923. Farming methods improved significantly, with the plough, harrow, roller, reaping-hook, flail, scythe, threshing-machine, sleán (turf-spade) and many other utensils becoming museum exhibits long before the end of the twentieth century. These artifacts and many others can be seen in Hennigan’s Heritage Centre in Killasser and in the Museum of Country Life in Turlough, near Castlebar.

The archaeological monuments of County Mayo represent all periods from the Mesolithic Age to recent times, and are treasures adorning its landscape.

Bernard O'Hara's latest book entitled Killasser: Heritage of a Mayo Parish is now on sale in the USA and UK as a paperback book at amazon.com, amazon.co.uk or Barnes and Noble

It is also available as an eBook from the Apple iBookstore (for reading on iPad and iPhone), from Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk (Kindle & Kindle Fire) and from Barnesandnoble.com (Nook tablet and eReader).

An earlier publication, a concise biography of Michael Davitt, entitled Davitt by Bernard O’Hara published in 2006 by Mayo County Council , is now available as Davitt: Irish Patriot and Father of the Land League by Bernard O’Hara, which was published in the USA by Tudor Gate Press (www.tudorgatepress.com) and is available from amazon.com and amazon.co.uk. It can be obtained as an eBook from the Apple iBookstore (for reading on iPad and iPhone), from Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk (Kindle & Kindle Fire) and from Barnesandnoble.com (Nook tablet and eReader).