The trail goes through historic Brackloon Wood, this is a typical Atlantic oak woodland of 74 hectares dominated by sessile oak.. It represents one of the last remaining areas of Atlantic Oakwood in Ireland and is of significant national and international importance. Many stories about caves, hidden treasure and ancient monuments are told about the wood. King Conor MacNeasa and the Red Branch Knights are reputed to have ridden along the secluded road winding its way through the hills and woods to the coast. In 1998 there was extensive research carried out in the Brackloon area to identify distinctive stages in vegetation development since the last ice age. According to fossil pollen at Brackloon Lough, tall shrub and open woodland of birch and willow were flourishing from 9, 000 BC. From 7,000 BC to 4,500BC, the expansion of deciduous woodland such as hazel, elm, oak and birch became very prevalent. It was not until 1,200BC that human interference is suggested due to the decline in elm, oak and alder. This also coincides with an increase in human activity in the greater Clew Bay area. The dominance of this natural woodland over several thousand years suggests there were small population numbers in the […]

The enclosing element is best defined between the west and south west. Here, it survives as a broad bank of earth and stone, 5 to 6 metres in width and averaging 1.2 metres high internally and externally. Some later rubble has been dumped on the bank in places. Between the south west and north west, the enclosing element is enclosed by a later field fence. but there is still a drop from the site to the outer field level. No clear trace of the enclosing element can be seen elsewhere. The ancient Church of Drum was the seat of the Parish of Drum. It is believed that St. Patrick built the first church here in 440CE  of timber construction. Over the years a stone church (possibly medieval) was built which fell into disrepair in the 1800s. In 1871, local people decided to build a new church, but sadly their wish was never fulfilled, and all that remains of the old church is one wall aligned east-west. Around the old church are many gravestones dating back to the 1700s. The construction of a cashel, the remains of which can still be seen west of the graveyard, further marked the importance of […]

Just off the trail is the ruin of Templeshaunaglasha, or ‘Church of John of the Dykes’. This was an old church in Ballybourke that has not been used  since 1562. Only a partial wall remains, but the walls were originally nearly one metre thick. The church had covered a space of 18 metres by 5 metres. It is possible that this was a resting place for pilgrims on the original Tóchar Pádraig. There is a Killeen surrounding the church, giving the location another name, ‘Kileendirimh’, or ‘the little graveyard or church of the wastes’.

This Neolithic Art Carving, consisting of Cup and Ringmarks, is known locally as St. Patrick’s Chair. The large natural outcrop of rock is on the eastern approach to Croagh Patrick. The Boheh stone is almost totally covered in carvings, consisting primarily of cupmarks, many enclosed by one or more circles, while there are also several patterns known as keyhole motifs – a style of art dating from the Bronze Age. In 1991, local historian Gerry Bracken discovered a unique event now known as ‘The Rolling Sun’. Seen from the rock, the sun appears to set on the summit of Croagh Patrick and then proceeds to roll down the right hand (northern) slope of the mountain. This event occurs biennially at the Spring Equinox and Autumn Equinox, marking obviously important sowing and harvesting times of the prehistoric era.

Croagh Patrick has been associated with ritual religious observance for thousands of years – and still is today. Unique in an Irish and European context, there is the physical evidence of both a major later-prehistoric and early-historic ritual, ceremonial and defensive focus. There is also an unbroken pilgrimage tradition stretching back into the depths of recorded history.  The main day of pilgrimage is the last Sunday in July (‘Reek Sunday’). It is believed the earliest Christians arrived in Ireland some 400 years after the birth of Christ. At this time, Ireland was deeply submerged in pagan ritual and tradition. Before association with St Patrick, the Reek (as it is known locally) was called Cruachan Agli, roughly translated as ‘the hill of the eagle’. According to tradition, Patrick fasted for 40 days as penance on Croagh Patrick, and it is from here that he’s believed to have banished the snakes from Ireland.

Near the Holy Well in Balla, there are the remains of an old Rest House. It was used to house pilgrims throughout the 19th century.  The pilgrimage took place from August 15th to September 18th  The Rest House was also a refuge for the blind or ill. In the house, there were once two little pillars, of mason work, on top of which are two small stone crosses with inscriptions on them dated back to 1733.  Both inscriptions are written in English and underneath them are the words ‘Sub tuum presidium fugimus, sancta dei genitrix’, meaning ‘Under your protection, we fly, Holy Mother of God’. In the Stone walls of the Rest House, during spring and summer, there is a plant in bloom known as St Patrick’s Cabbage, which normally blooms in alpine areas.

In 1879, there was an attempted eviction of Anthony Dempsey and his family.  On Saturday, November 15th, the sheriff arrived to enforce the eviction. A rally, led by the Fenian leader, PW Nally, from Balla, included many men armed with sticks. Dempsey’s supporters approached the home but the Royal Irish Constabulary challenged them. Charles Stuart Parnell arrived on the scene and urged the protestors to use peaceful protest only.   If news of the Dempsey eviction spread, it would not help the movement. Therefore it was decided to pay the £26 rent out of Land League funds. Following the payment, the Dempsey family was allowed back into their cottage.

The Land League held a rally on this field to bring national attention to evictions in general, and to protest the eviction of the Dempsey’s in Loona. Charles Stewart Parnell, a mayor figure in the land reform movement, was said to be in attendance that day. The Dempsey’s were not evicted on the day of the rally, although the eviction was executed a few days later, after the attention had died down.

The house was built in 1827 and was sold or gifted to the African Missionary Brothers circa 1908 by Lieutenant Colonel Llewellyn Blake of Ballinafad, subsequently becoming a seminary. Thousands of men all over Ireland received education here, and over the course of a 70-year period, nearly 500 students went on to be ordained. A new wing was added in 1932. In the late 1970s, the house was sold to Balla Mart and became an Agricultural College for a few years. Though the estate cannot be seen directly from the Trail, one of its many entrances can.  The gates to Ballinafad are located on the corner, across from Bridgemount Estate on the way to Guesdian.

The oldest, and at one time the largest fair in Mayo, was known as the Fair at Doonamona.  The Fairs were held on the 26th of May and the 17th of October. The Fairs at Doonamona were large and well attended. They presented an opportunity for the local community to buy and sell stock.  Tents were set up so that the vendors could offer sugar cane, sweets, biscuits and drinks. These events brought the communities of Clogher and Belcarra together.  It said that many young ladies, hoping to catch the eye of a wealthy farmer, would parade around the fairground in their Sunday best.

Described as a Cross Slab dating c.900A.D., this is the broken remains of a cross-inscribed slab, carved from sandstone. Part of the central bosse, the left hand arm and part of the stem are all that are visible today. As your face the slab in its present location (eastern end of the old graveyard at Drum), the top and left hand side are intact, with breaks having occurred at the base and right hand side. The breaks appear very clear. At the base, it has broken in a chamfer type feature. An examination of the graveyard to date has failed to uncover the remainder of this impressive slab.

Near to the remaining church wall lies the Fitzgerald Kenny enclosed burial plot. The Fitzgerald Kennys were central figures in much of Clogher’s history.

This is an excellent example of a uni-vallate ringfort in good condition. The interior is subdivided by a low wall running east to west, while to the south there is a broad earthen bank dividing the holding into two additional parts. The enclosing bank averages 0.3 metres internally and 1.4 metres high externally. Hazel trees grow on the edge and interior. The only clear entrance is a gap along the west side, but this might only be the result of interference from livestock etc. Ringforts, usually identified as a circular earthen bank, are mainly Iron Age single family settlements. Larger ringforts may have contained several family units and may have two or more banks (bi-vallate or multi-vallate). Forts with more than one bank may have been an indicator of the inhabitant’s status or that the threat of attack was greater in some areas.

At the townland of Cullentragh is a crossroads overlapping a section of the Tochar Padraig. During famine times, local people would do any work to provide for their families, often being paid in oatmeal as a substitute for money. Consequently the roads they worked on became known as ‘Stirabout Roads’.

Crannogs are man-made islands, usually located in marshy areas or small lakes. They could be accessed from the surrounding mainland by use of submerged causeways or small boats. They were built for homesteads or used as cattle pens and safe houses. During the time of the Celts, cattle were the main unit of currency and therefore were very valuable. Cattle were often stolen in cattle raids and crannogs were one method of cattle protection.

Charles Crotty was a landlord who purchased an 1808 acre estate in April 1852, and by September, had evicted 44 families. He was widely disliked for this. He also divided land up into small parcels, making it difficult for tenants to make a living. There were many attempts on his life. He was once shot in the eye by a Newport man commissioned for the job, and nearly died. In 1858, an RIC barracks was built near Crotty’s house to protect him. When he finally died, the locals ransacked his house and stuffed potatoes into his mouth. A legend persists that his ghost haunts the house.

This was formed due to the roof cave collapsing, with some parts collapsing around 1959. If you follow it around to the left, you come to the Aille cliffs and caves. During periods of rain the water rises, making entrance to the cave dangerous. According to the annals of Loch Ce, in 1063 A.D., 160 people were hiding in the caves for safety and were suffocated – reportedly with the jewels of Connacht. Before and during penal times mass was held here in secret, to be caught was to risk the death penalty. Watchmen were placed on the cliffs to spot the authorities.

In the early 1800s, people from the north of England came to Mayo to work in the flax industry – flax was used in the production of linen. This church was established for those workers in 1828 to accommodate the large numbers of Anglicans who came here. Only a small part of the church remains. A two storey school was attached to it to educate the children of workers. Catholic children were forced to attend.

Also known as potato ridges, these are physical remains of the Great Famine that began in 1845, causing nearly ten years of starvation, disease and emigration. Land holdings were very small, due to unscrupulous landlords, and 62% of families had only one to fifteen acres each to cultivate. During British occupation, the landlords required tenants to grow crops for export on the good land, and the Irish were forced to utilise poorer soils. The potato was the only suitable crop. Potato blight swept the country, causing crops to fail and subsequent starvation, especially in the West of Ireland.

This large enclosure is in a partly wooded area close to Prospect House. The enclosing earthen bank is stone-faced at intervals, with a flat ledge outside the bank on the North West to North East sector. The interior contains a circular stone enclosure and the low foundations of an early Christian church, located within a slightly elevated ancient burial area. Graves are marked by stones or simple grave markers. Close to the church is a bullaun stone (used as an ancient holy water font) with a hollowed out section. On the eastern side of the church, a raised stone cairn may have been used as an altar or a grave. The church and burial ground are enclosed by a later graveyard wall, which was built to contain the remains of the Buchanan family who owned nearby Prospect House. The last burial here dates from the 1950s.

This Monument was unveiled in July 1997 by then President of Ireland, Mary Robinson – it was created by Dublin born Sculptor John Behan (born 1938). Cast in bronze, it depicts a coffin ship, the sails of which are fashioned like skeletons, representing the terrible, deadly plight of the famine stricken people from the time. In 2001 a similar monument was unveiled in New York close to the United Nations. On that ship is a plank depicting survivors entering America.

This Abbey was founded by Fr. Hugh O’ Malley in 1457, after receiving the land from the local chieftain (said to be a grandfather to Grainnuaile). Fr. Hugh had sought permission to establish a Friary from Pope Callistus the 3rd for the Canon Regulars of St. Augustine (Augustinians). It was later dedicated to St. Patrick. In 1578 the land was leased to James Garvey, who was  a brother to the Church of Ireland’s Archbishop of Armagh. From then until the 1800s, little is known of the friars attached to the friary but it is known they suffered persecution. It is believed some of them relocated to the friary in Ballyhaunis when Murrisk friary ceased to function. One such friar, Fr. Myles Prendergast, had to spend many years on the run in the Clifden area. Although the friars were not in residence in the Friary, there is evidence to suggest some were sheltered in the area by locals and administered to their flock. A chalice, now in Tuam, has the following inscription: ‘Pray for the souls of Theobald, Lord Viscount Mayo and his wife Maeve ni Cnochoure who had me made for the monastery of Murrisk in the year of our […]