County Mayo

County Mayo (Irish: Contae Mhaigh Eo, meaning "Plain of the yew trees") is a county in Ireland. In the West of Ireland, it is part of the province of Connacht and is named after the village of Mayo, now generally known as Mayo Abbey. Mayo County Council is the local authority for the county. The population of the county was 130,638 at the 2011 census. The boundaries of the county, which was formed in 1585, reflect the Mac William Íochtar lordship at that time.

Geography

It is bounded on the north and west by the Atlantic Ocean; the south is adjacent to County Galway, the east is adjacent to County Roscommon; the northeast is adjacent to County Sligo. Mayo is the third-largest of Ireland's 32 counties in area and 15th largest in terms of population. It is the second-largest of Connacht’s five counties in both size and population. There is a distinct geological difference between the north and the south of the county. The north consists largely of poor subsoils and is covered with large areas of extensive Atlantic blanket bog, whereas the south is largely a limestone landscape. Agricultural land is therefore more productive in the south than in the north.

Mayo (Parliament of Ireland constituency)

Mayo was a constituency represented in the Irish House of Commons from 1611 to 1800. Between 1725 and 1793 Catholics and those married to Catholics could not vote.

County Divisions

Baronies in County Mayo:[n 8]

Burrishoole (Buiríos Umhaill)

Carra (Ceara)

Clanmorris (Clann Mhuiris)

Costello (Coistealaigh)

Erris (Iorras)

Gallen (Gaileanga)

Kilmaine (Cill Mheáin)

Murrisk (Muraisc)

Ross (An Ros)

Tirawley (Tír Amhlaidh)

Tireragh (Tír Fhiachrach)

Members of Parliament

1692–1801

Notes

References

Mayo (UK Parliament constituency)

Mayo was a parliamentary constituency in Ireland, which returned two Members of Parliament (MPs) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1885.

History

The constituency was created at the Act of Union 1800, replacing the earlier Mayo constituency in the pre-union Parliament of Ireland. Under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 it was divided into four new single-seat constituencies: see East Mayo, North Mayo, South Mayo and West Mayo.

Boundaries

This constituency comprised the whole of County Mayo.

Members of Parliament

Elections

The elections in this constituency took place using the first past the post electoral system.

Notes

References

Knock, County Mayo

Knock (Irish: An Cnoc, meaning The Hill – but now more generally known in Irish as Cnoc Mhuire, "Hill of (the Virgin) Mary") is a village in County Mayo, Ireland. Its notability is derived from the Knock Shrine, at which the Virgin Mary, together with Saint Joseph and John the Evangelist, supposedly appeared on 21 August 1879. In the 20th century Knock became one of Europe's major Catholic Marian shrines, alongside Lourdes and Fatima. One and a half million pilgrims visit Knock Shrine annually. Pope John Paul II, a supporter of devotion to the Virgin Mary, visited Knock in 1979 to commemorate the centenary of the apparition.

History

The Parish of Knock covers 45 townlands. 35 of The townlands are in the Costello Barony while 10 townlands along the central western boundary of Knock Parish are in the Clanmorris Barony. Knock is one of the only Parishes in Ireland to be in two Baronies. Knock is located only five miles from the Town of Clare (one of the major market towns of the early 19th century) and is between Clare (Claremorris) and Ballyhaunis.