Mayo, County Mayo

Mayo Maigh Eó
—  Town  —
Remains of Mayo abbey church
Mayo Location in Ireland
Coordinates: 53°45′00″N 9°07′00″W / 53.7500°N 9.1167°W / 53.7500; -9.1167Coordinates: 53°45′00″N 9°07′00″W / 53.7500°N 9.1167°W / 53.7500; -9.1167
Country	Ireland
Province	Connacht
County	County Mayo
Elevation	72 m (236 ft)
Population (2002)
– Rural	426
Time zone	WET (UTC+0)
– Summer (DST)	IST (WEST) (UTC-1)
Irish Grid Reference	M263783

Mayo or Mayo Abbey (Irish: Maigh Eó, meaning "Plain of the yew trees") is a village in County Mayo, Ireland. Although it bears the same name as the county, it is not the county seat, which is Castlebar. Mayo Abbey is a small historic village in south Mayo approximately 16 km to the south of Castlebar and 10 km north west of Claremorris.

History

The village was an important centre in the Celtic and Anglo-Saxon Christian world in the seventh and eighth centuries. St. Colmán, Bishop of Lindisfarne, founded a monastery here for a group of Saxon monks in the 670s. For more than a thousand years it remained the most important centre in the region^{[citation needed]} becoming in turn a diocese and a Norman town and giving its name to the county.

Culture

The BBC four part documentary "Amongst Women" was filmed in Mayo Abbey using the Old Catholic Church, the graveyard and the post office/shop.

Sport

Mayo Gaels is the local Gaelic football team. They compete at all underage levels as well as senior and junior football.

Annalistic references

• 726 - Gerald, of Magh Eo, died on the 13th of March.

• 726 - Muireadhach, son of Indreachtach, was slain; he was Bishop of Magh Eo.

• 905 - The oratory of Magh-eo was burned.

• M1209.1. Kele O'Duffy, Bishop of Mayo of the Saxons ... died.

• M1478.1. The Bishop O'Higgin, i.e. Bishop of Mayo-na-Saxon, died.

See also

• List of towns and villages in Ireland
• List of abbeys and priories in Ireland (County Mayo)