Foxford () is a town 16 km south of Ballina in

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 ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. It stands on the N26 national primary route from

Swinford Swinford () is a town in County Mayo, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is surrounded by a number of smaller villages, including Midfield, County Mayo, Midfield and Meelick, County Mayo, Meelick. It is just off the N5 road (Ireland), N5 road, 1 ...

to Ballina and has a railway station served by trains between Manulla Junction and Ballina. Foxford lies on the

River Moy The River Moy () is a river in the west of Ireland. Name Ptolemy's ''Geography'' (2nd century AD) described a river called Λιβνιου (''Libniu'', perhaps from *''lei''- "flow"), which probably referred to the River Moy. The Moy is first ...

, a

salmon Salmon (; : salmon) are any of several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the genera ''Salmo'' and ''Oncorhynchus'' of the family (biology), family Salmonidae, native ...

-fishing river, close to Lough Conn and Lough Cullin and between the Nephin and

Ox Mountains The Ox Mountains or Slieve Gamph (, 'storm mountains') are a mountain range in County Sligo on the west coast of Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Eu ...

. The Foxford Way is an 86-km waymarked tourist trail that circles Foxford, taking in the Ox Mountains, bogland, archeological sites, lakeshores and river banks. Agnes Morrogh Bernard founded a convent and started a water-powered woollen mill here in 1892.Agnes Morrogh Bernard
Towns Villages, Retrieved 6 June 2017 The Foxford Woollen Mills are known for producing characteristic wool blankets.

Etymology

The name Foxford comes from the , meaning "mouth of the waterfall". The name previously referred to a large fox-shaped rock at a ford by the town. This may be the same rock as " Cromwell's Rock", which signifies the ford where it is thought Cromwell's Army crossed the River Moy during his campaign.

Transport

Road

The N26 road passes through the town, crossing a narrow bridge over the River Moy. The N58 serves as the main road to

Castlebar Castlebar () is the county town of County Mayo, Ireland. Developing around a 13th-century castle of the de Barry family, from which the town got its name, the town now acts as a social and economic focal point for the surrounding hinterland. Wi ...

, travelling south to through

Strade Straide (), or Strade, is a village in County Mayo, Ireland. It is located on the N58 national secondary road between Foxford and Castlebar. The name Strade is an anglicisation of the Irish words ''an tsráid'', meaning ''the street''. Str ...

, and joining the N5 in Ballyvary. The R318 travels west along the Station Road towards Pontoon, through Drummin Forest, before connecting to the R310. In 2005 a new link road between the N26 and N58 was built, easing traffic congestion in the town centre.

Rail

Foxford railway station is on the Manulla Junction to Ballina line which connects to the Westport- Dublin Heuston service. The station opened on 1 May 1868. After being closed (against local opposition) in 1963, it was reopened in 1988.

Notable people

* Laura Bernal (1956–2020), Argentina's ambassador to Ireland who died in office, was a regular visitor to Foxford and is buried at Craggagh Cemetery a short distance away. * Agnes Bernard (1842–1932), founder of convent, woollen mills, and a band in Foxford. * Admiral William Brown (1777–1857), founder of the

Argentine Navy The Argentine Navy (ARA; ). This forms the basis for the navy's ship prefix "ARA". is the navy of Argentina. It is one of the three branches of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic, together with the Argentine Army, Army and the Argentine ...

, hero of the

Argentine War of Independence The Argentine War of Independence () was a secessionist civil war (until 1816) fought from 1810 to 1818 by Argentine patriotic forces under Manuel Belgrano, Juan José Castelli, Martín Miguel de Güemes, Martin Miguel de Guemes and José de ...

, and defender of

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

in the

Cisplatine War The Cisplatine War was an armed conflict fought in the 1820s between the Empire of Brazil and the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata over control of Brazil's Cisplatina province. It was fought in the aftermath of the United Provinces' an ...

, was born in Foxford. * F. R. Higgins (1896–1941), poet and theatre director, born in Foxford. * Mike Flanagan (1926–2014), soldier who assisted the formation of the Israeli armed forces. * Marie-Louise O'Donnell (born 1952), academic, broadcaster, politician. Foxford wollen mill

External links

Mayo on the Move: FoxfordFoxford railway station

References

{{County Mayo Towns and villages in County Mayo