WHAT TO DO IN AND AROUND BALLINA

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Jackie Clarke

Jackie Clarke

Ballina
History buffs are well-catered to in Ireland, with plenty written on the nation’s story by academics, writers and politicians alike. Less frequently does one find a repository of local history, which, carefully selected and curated, make up an impressive archive of the 20th century. The Jackie Clarke Collection is just that.

Humbert Route

Humbert Route

On 22nd of August 1798, the French General, Jean Joseph Amable Humbert led 1,000 men ashore after their ship sailed into Kilcummin, on the edge of Killala Bay. The French took over the home of Bishop Stock, the Church of Ireland Bishop of Killala, and turned it into their headquarters, before making their way towards Ballina and Castlebar. From here, they plotted their attack on the British in Castlebar.

Humbert’s Route

Humbert’s Route

Killala
On 22nd of August 1798, the French General, Jean Joseph Amable Humbert led 1,000 men ashore after their ship sailed into Kilcummin, on the edge of Killala Bay. The French took over the home of Bishop Stock, the Church of Ireland Bishop of Killala, and turned it into their headquarters, before making their way towards Ballina and Castlebar. From here, they plotted their attack on the British in Castlebar.

Moyne Abbey

Moyne Abbey

Killala
Just outside Killala lies the ruins of Moyne Abbey, a Franciscan Friary, which is now a National Monument.

Rosserk Friary

Rosserk Friary

Killala
Located on the River Moy, in North Mayo, close to Moyne Abbey and between the towns of Killala and Ballina, Rosserk Friary is possibly the best preserved monastic site in Ireland. It was founded by the Joyce family in the middle of the 15th century for the benefit of the Franciscan Third Order Friars, an order which incorporated laymen into the order as well as female clerics, though Rosserk’s religious community was male only.

North Mayo

North Mayo

the feeling that explodes in your chest when you reach the mouth of the River Moy, in Killala Bay, at the most eastern point of the North coast of the County, A feeling that can be described as a wave, a force that permeates through you, created by the interaction with nature and one that whilst not visible, reverberates inside you like the truest of truths.