Carrowteige
| Ceathrú Thaidhg | |
|---|---|
| Village | |
  Ceathrú Thaidhg Location in Ireland | |
| Coordinates: 54°18′50″N 9°49′01″W / 54.3139°N 9.8169°WCoordinates: 54°18′50″N 9°49′01″W / 54.3139°N 9.8169°W | |
| Country | Ireland |
| Province | Connacht |
| County | County Mayo |
| Elevation | 91 m (299 ft) |
| Irish Grid Reference | F818421 |
| Ceathrú Thaidhg is the only official name. The anglicized spelling Carrowteige has no official status. | |
Ceathrú Thaidhg (anglicized as Carrowteige)[1] is a Gaeltacht[2] village and townland on the Dún Chaocháin peninsula in northwestern County Mayo, Ireland. It is within Kilcommon (Cill Chomáin) parish in the barony of Erris. Carrowteige is a relatively small townland with an acreage of just 403 acres (1.63 km2).
History
Caochán, after whom the peninsula is named, was a legendary giant of Celtic sagas (poss 1st century AD) who had only one eye. His image was represented on the slopes of the hills overlooking Sruwaddacon Bay when the Tír Saile was created during the 1990s.
In 1841, a road was approved to run from Glenamoy to Carrowteige. In 1842 the drains for the road were partially opened. By 1843 a report declared that 'the chief part of the draining, forming and sodding of the road from Glenamoy to Portacloy has been executed'(Ballina Advertiser, 10 March 1843) but by 1845 the road was still far from completed. Eventually in 1846, it was declared completed. There were no bridges on the road. At Muingnabo, the river bed was paved at a ford and remained that way until 1886 when the Annie Brady Bridge was erected. During the Irish Famine and its aftermath, emigration was a way of life from this area. The emigrant and their family parted at this river ford, most never to meet again - 'here indeed were witnessed, scenes of lamentation almost as bad as death, for in most cases in those days it meant separation forever, a living death. Friends and exiles alike carried the painful remembrance of the sad parting' (Corduff, I.F.C. Ms.1242 p. 438). Annie Brady was the wife of the Inspector of Fisheries for the area who witnessed these sad partings and the difficulty in crossing the ford. She raised money to build a bridge at the site, so that the poor of Erris could travel further with their loved ones. In 1933, a flood carried away the Annie Brady Bridge but it was replaced and is still there today.
Kilcommon people have a reputation of protest which may be in their genes. In the 1950s the roads through Dún Chaocháin were in terrible condition. Having failed to draw the County Council's attention to the matter, Harry Corduff, national schoolteacher refused to pay his road taxes. He was imprisoned in Mountjoy Jail for a week. Public support for his cause was great.
Throughout Erris until about 1900, the custom was 'in most cottages, the family lived and slept in one room using the others as store rooms. they knew no other kind of house life. In this one room the family retired to sleep, only partially undressed. Often the only furniture in the room was a chair, a couple of small wooden stools, with a cooking pot, a kettle and a tea pot and some cups'(Micks, The Congested Districts Board. p. 92). The biggest industry was that of lace schools. The Department of Lands and Fisheries took over the lace schools from The Congested Districts Board about 1923 and formed Gaeltarra Éireann, a semi-state body, to manage them but to curback expenditure the lace school in Carrowteige was closed in 1976. Sewing and knitting industry gave most of the employment in both factories and homes over the years.
A Catholic Church, 'Church of the Immaculate Conception' was built and opened in 1972. Mass here is in the Irish language.
Cliff Walks
There are several looped cliff walks which start and end at Carrowteige village. Maps are available from Comhar Dún Chaocháin Teo, Sean Scoil in the village. The walks are of various lengths and suitable for individuals and groups. This area would have great appeal to walkers who love wilderness, high cliffs which overlook Broadhaven Bay and the wider Atlantic Ocean, nature and wildlife. They take walkers past some of the Tír Saile sculpture trail, a trail of sculptures to commemorate over 5,000 years of human habitation in this part of North Mayo.
References
Noone, Fr. Sean. Where the Sun Sets (1991) Naas
