Burrishoole () is one of the nine historical baronies of

County Mayo County Mayo (; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, it is named after the village of Mayo, County Mayo, Mayo, now ge ...

in Ireland. It is named after the former

Gaelic Gaelic (pronounced for Irish Gaelic and for Scots Gaelic) is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". It may refer to: Languages * Gaelic languages or Goidelic languages, a linguistic group that is one of the two branches of the Insul ...

territory of

Umhaill Umhaill or Umhall (anglicized as Owill or Owel) was a Gaelic territory around Clew Bay in the west of what is now County Mayo, Ireland, comprising the baronies of Burrishoole (Lower Owel) and Murrisk (Upper Owel). By the 12th century, its ruli ...

, which also included

Murrisk Murrisk () is a village in County Mayo, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, on the south side of Clew Bay, about 8 km west of Westport, County Mayo, Westport and 4 km east of Lecanvey. Murrisk lies at the foot of Croagh Patrick and is the ...

barony, and roughly means "the borough or territory of Umhall" or "the owles".

Legal context

Baronies were created after the

Norman invasion of Ireland The Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland took place during the late 12th century, when Anglo-Normans gradually conquered and acquired large swathes of land in Ireland over which the monarchs of England then claimed sovereignty. The Anglo-Normans ...

as subdivisions of counties and were used for administration. While baronies continue to be officially defined units, they have been administratively obsolete since 1898. However, they continue to be used in land registration and specification such as in planning permissions. In some areas, usage of the barony name is common, while in other areas barony names have fallen out of use altogether. In many cases, a barony corresponds to an earlier

tuath which had submitted to the English Crown. Burrishoole is one of the nine baronies of County Mayo. It includes a widespread area from Newport in the east through

Mulranny Mulranny or Mallaranny ()—sometimes spelt as 'Mulrany', 'Malaranny', 'Mullaranny', 'Mullranny' or 'Mulranny'—is a seaside village on the isthmus between Clew Bay and Blacksod Bay in County Mayo, Ireland. Located at the foot of the N ...

on the north side of

Clew Bay Clew Bay (; ) is a large ocean bay on the Atlantic coast of County Mayo, Ireland. It is roughly rectangular and has more than a hundred small islands on its landward side; Ireland's best example of sunken drumlins. The larger Clare Island guar ...

and out to

Achill Island Achill Island (; ) is an island off the west coast of Ireland in the historical barony of Burrishoole, County Mayo. It is the largest of the Irish isles and has an area of approximately . Achill had a population of 2,345 in the 2022 census. ...

in the west.

Civil parishes

There are 7 civil parishes in the barony: *

Achill Achill Island (; ) is an island off the west coast of Republic of Ireland, Ireland in the barony (Ireland), historical barony of Burrishoole, County Mayo. It is the largest of the Irish isles and has an area of approximately . Achill had a popu ...

Aughagower Aughagower or Aghagower () is a small village in rural County Mayo in western Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is 6 km south-east of Westport, County Mayo, Westport. Aughagower has around forty houses, a pub and a shop, with a clear view of ...

*Ballintober *Burrishoole *Kilmaclasser *Kilmeena *

Islandeady Islandeady () is a village in County Mayo, Ireland, about halfway between the towns of Castlebar and Westport. The parish of Islandeady meets Castlebar to the east, Westport and Newport to the west, and Aughagower and Killawalla to the sout ...

Towns

* Newport *

Keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element of a watercraft, important for stability. On some sailboats, it may have a fluid dynamics, hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose as well. The keel laying, laying of the keel is often ...

, Achill *

Achill Sound ''Gob an Choire'' or ''Gob a' Choire'' (English name: Achill Sound), formerly anglicised as ''Gubacurra'', is a Gaeltacht village in County Mayo, Ireland. It lies on the east coast of Achill Island and is the first settlement one reaches after ...

Dugort Dugort (), sometimes spelled Doogort, is a historical village on Achill Island in County Mayo, Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitical ...

* Westport

Notable people

Jason Doherty Jason Doherty (born 21 November 1989) is a Gaelic footballer who plays for Burrishoole and, formerly, the Mayo county team. He started at centre forward in the 2012 All-Ireland Final which Mayo lost by 0-13 to 2-11 against Donegal. He stud ...

Manus O'Donell Manus O'Donnell, Irish soldier and noble, died 1737. O'Donnell (O Domhnaill in Irish) was the son of Rory or Rodger O Donnell of Lifford, grandson of Colonel Manus O'Donnell who was killed in action at the Battle of Benburb in 1646, and gra ...

Henry Butler, Lord of Umallia Henry Butler, Lord of Umallia, founder of Burrishoole, died 1272. Ancestry Butler was a descendant of Theobald Walter, 1st Baron Butler, founder of the Butler dynasty of Ireland. Theobald Butler, 4th Chief Butler of Ireland was a close relat ...

References

{{Authority control Baronies of County Mayo