Lacken is easily found in the annals of Irish history, being the site of the French landing at Kilcummin Strand in 1798 and the start of General Humbert's march to Ballina.
Lacken is divided in two by a 600 acre strand and a 500 acre marshland. It has two small harbors, one at Rathlacken in Lacken Bay and the second at Kilcummin in Killala Bay.
Located along the North Mayo coastline, between the towns of Killala and Ballycastle, Lacken looks out onto the Atlantic and offers a breath-taking view of the North West coast.
Lacken enjoys a location in an area steeped in history with many monastic ruins to explore, rich in archaeology with the Céide Fields nearby and abundant in flora, fauna, beautiful beaches and pure fresh air to exhilarate even the weariest traveler.
Attractions in and around Town
•Aughgower round tower (Open Year Round)
Local Attractions
Lacken is an interesting place to come and visit because of the scenic beauty of the area, miles of golden beaches, the wealth of historical sites and rich fishing waters.
•Surfing and kayaking have become very popular in Kilcummin with many ompetitions held in Kilcummin bay.
•Tir saile is a sculpture trail marking Mayo 5000. There are three sculptures in Kilcummin, one at Kilcummin pier, one at Bar Na Binne and one at the road to the strand.
•The main types of fishing in the area are salmon, lobster, deep-sea angling and beach fishing. Deep-sea angling has become very popular in the last few years due to an increase in the tourist trade. Many local fishermen take anglers out fishing with them during the season as it is financially more viable than commercial fishing. Beach angling is also very popular and is well catered for by miles of lovely beaches
•The ‘Lacken Strand Races’, which take place in May, were revived in 1997 and have become one of Irelands leading horse racing events.
History
At present the parish of Lacken is made up of two ancient parishes of Lacken and Kilcummin these ancient parishes were defined by the Synod of Rathbreasil in 1111 A.D. The parishes existed as separate entities until penal times (Fr. Edward Mc Hale in the '' Western People’’, 13th May 1978).
The ancient church building in Kilcummin was the parish Church of Kilcummin. The Journal of the R.S.A.I (Royal Society of Antiquities of Ireland) for 1928 dates it tentatively as ''not so late even as the eight century '' due to the use of round arches over the door and windows.
The ancient Church building in Lackenhill is probably the church of the ancient parish of Lacken. It may have been used for some time as an Anglican Church during penal times, prior to the building of the Anglican Church in Killogeary. This is suggested because of the proximity of the Anglican Vicarage (The Glebe) to the old Church in Lackenhill and the existence of Anglican graves in the old Cemetery in Lackenhill.
The Link with St Patrick; Lacken is a parish with a long history. Liam de Paor, former lecturer in Archaeology and History in U.C.D. in his book "St Patrick's World" published in 1993, wrote “He (Patrick) gives us only one Irish place name, that of the wood of Foclut. He implies that this was the place of his captivity.
St Patrick's well has been a place of pilgrimage for generations. People came from all over to do the stations here. There are three mounds of earth, where pilgrims circle while reciting prayers and the station ends by drinking water from the well. The statue of St Patrick was erected in 1936. The inscription on the statue reads "Erected by the people of Lacken parish, in honor of St Patrick, 1936 Micheal F. Quinn P.P.".
Getting to Lacken
•By Rail: Ballina which is 14 miles away is on the main Dublin-Westport route. For timetables and more information, visit Irish Rail.
•By Car:
ofrom Dublin, follow the N5 for Westport. It takes just over 3 hours to drive from Dublin to Castlebar.
ofrom Galway, follow the N17 for Castlebar. It takes just over an hour to drive from Galway City to Castlebar.
ofrom Sligo, follow the N17 and then the N5 for Castlebar. It takes about an hour to drive from Sligo town to Castlebar.
•By Bus: Lacken is served by a Bus Eireann regional route. For timetables and more information, visit Bus Eireann.
•By Air: You can fly to Knock Airport (IWAK) from a number of UK and European locations. Visit the Ireland West Airport Knock website for schedules and carriers.
Education
There are two primary schools Banagher and Creevagh as well as a secondary school St Patricks College Lacken Cross.
Sport
Lacken G.A.A. Club was formed in 1903, by Fr. Durkin. Known as ‘Lacken Sarsfields’ they went from strength to strength since they formed by winning the County Senior Championship in 1917. Lacken went on to enjoy more success in the ‘30s and ‘40s.
By the late ‘50s the club had lapsed and it was not until 1969 that it was reformed again. Success soon followed and the club won many trophies throughout the ‘70s and ‘80s. During this period their pitch was redeveloped and was officially opened on Sunday May 5th 1991. This now caters for players from National School level up to junior level. Many Lacken players have distinguished themselves with Mayo over the years.
Extracted from: mayo.ie