Castles and Historic Sites in Co. Mayo
6 places
1.Doolough Valley Famine Memorial
The 1849 famine cross above a black lake
A haunting roadside memorial and one of the west of Ireland's most dramatic drives: a plain stone cross beneath Mweelrea mountain, marking where hundreds of starving people died on the road during the Great Famine of 1849.
- Highlights
- Plain stone cross engraved 'Doolough Tragedy 1849'
- Wild Atlantic Way Discovery Point
- Views over Doo Lough (the 'Black Lake') between Mweelrea and the Sheeffry Hills
- Facilities
- Good for kids · Dog-friendly
2.Moore Hall
A 1792 mansion left a roofless ruin by fire
A roofless neo-classical mansion on the shores of Lough Carra, with forest trails, a walled garden and free entry all year.
- Highlights
- Roofless 1790s neo-classical mansion
- Free entry, open all year
- 3 km waymarked forest loop
- Facilities
- Wheelchair access
3.The Lost Valley
A guided walk through a deserted famine village
A roadless valley on the Mayo coast where a deserted famine village, potato ridges and a working sheep farm have survived almost untouched for two centuries. Access is only by guided tour of the Bourke family's land.
- Highlights
- Arguably the finest surviving memorial of the Great Famine in Ireland
- Deserted village and potato ridges undisturbed for nearly 200 years
- Working sheepdog demonstration and, in season, sheep shearing
- Facilities
- Good for kids · Restrooms · Wheelchair access
4.National Famine Memorial
A haunting bronze coffin ship by Clew Bay
A bronze "coffin ship" with skeletal figures in the rigging, unveiled in 1997 at the foot of Croagh Patrick — Ireland's national memorial to the Great Famine dead.
- Highlights
- John Behan's bronze Coffin Ship sculpture, unveiled 1997
- Skeletal figures woven through the rigging
- Setting at the foot of Croagh Patrick
- Facilities
- Good for kids · Wheelchair access
5.Céide Fields Visitors Centre and Car Park
the world's oldest known stone-walled fields
Beneath the wild blanket bog of north Mayo lies the most extensive Stone Age monument in the world: almost 6,000-year-old stone-walled fields, watched over by an award-winning visitor centre and a platform on the edge of a 110-metre cliff.
- Highlights
- Oldest known stone-walled farmland on earth, almost 6,000 years old
- 110 m cliff-edge viewing platform over the Atlantic
- Award-winning visitor centre with two floors of exhibitions
- Facilities
- Good for kids · Restrooms · Wheelchair access
6.Céide Fields
The world's oldest known stone field walls
Beneath a wild Mayo blanket bog lies the most extensive Stone Age monument in the world — almost 6,000-year-old stone-walled fields, with an award-winning visitor centre and a cliff-edge viewing platform above the Atlantic.
- Highlights
- World's most extensive Stone Age monument
- Fields nearly 6,000 years old under blanket bog
- 110 m cliff-edge viewing platform
- Facilities
- Good for kids · Restrooms · Wheelchair access