Ballycastle, County Mayo


Ballycastle is a village in County Mayo, Ireland, situated northwest from Ballina, near Mayo's north coast. It lies on the edge of the Mayo Gaeltacht.
Ballycastle is situated on the coast of north County Mayo, with its northern boundary exposed to the Atlantic Ocean. To the west of the town are the Stags of Broadhaven, to the east lies Killala Bay while to the south are the towns of Crossmolina and Ballina. It was at the Céide Fields that the first settlers began to farm the slopes of the Behy/Glenurla hillside over 5000 years ago.

Public transport

route 445 serves Ballycastle Mondays to Fridays inclusive providing a few services to/from Ballina via Killala.

History

The parish of Ballycastle is a combination of the two ancient parishes of Kilbride and Doonfeeney. The name Ballycastle was in use as early as 1470 and was referred to as a parish in the Catholic directory of 1836.
Notable people from Ballycastle include the Gaelic footballer Tommy Langan who won two All-Ireland Senior Football Championships for Mayo and was named on the Football Team of the Millennium.

Events

Ballycastle is host to the annual Healyfest festival. The festival takes place every August Bank holiday weekend since 2005, and involves bands from all over Ireland.