Faulagh
Encyclopedia
Faulagh is a townland
in Kilcommon
, Erris
, County Mayo
, Ireland
, some 946 acres (3.8 km²) in size. It's a remote
spot on the main Ballycastle
to Belmullet
road. Faulagh and its neighbouring townland Muingerroon South are located on a mountain which skirts the townland
of Bellanaboy where the contentious Corrib Gas
terminal has been constructed over the last ten years. There is a small village cluster of houses and farms in Faulagh (the name means "Enclosures") along a small road branching off to the village of Knocknalower above Pollathomas, the main village in the parish. Muingerroon South townland is 1454 acres (5.9 km²) in size - habitation is fairly sparse and the existing houses mainly form a linear pattern along the main road overlooking Carrowmore Lake
.
covered slopes. On the slopes of Faulagh and Muingerroon overlooking Carrowmore Lake
, the drinking water supply for the greater Erris
area, there are a number of megalithic tombs, many of them buried below the blanket bog but with many also still visible.
The southern slopes of the mountain must have been quite heavily populated during Neolithic
and possibly also Bronze Age
times. There has been little archaeological research carried out on the mountain but there are prehistoric field (agriculture)
walls similar to those found further east at the much publicised Ceide Fields
. The southern slopes have the remains of megalithic tombs of various types. Court tombs, wedge tombs and portal tombs have been identified and several other tombs and structures in the townland are listed as unclassified or as hut sites. On the northern slopes, facing Sruwaddacon Bay
, there is an unclassified tomb known locally as The Grey Stone (see Gallery).
One of the court tombs on the southern slopes appears to have three lots of concentric circles carved into the face of one of its stones, a fact not recorded or recognised in the National Monument (Ireland)
register of archaeological sites (see Gallery).
There are signs in the form of vertical ancient schist
stone "kerb slabs", of an ancient way-marked "pathway" across several mountains in the western portion of Kilcommon townland. This "waymarked way may have run all the way to Glengad
townland, Kilcommon
from the Faulagh and Muingerroon area. Glengad is some nine kilometres to the north of Faulagh. Vertical stones set into the ground and now almost disappeared into the blanket bog are particularly obvious on a site in Graghil townland in the north of the Dún Chiortáin peninsula of Kilcommon (see Gallery) and await further investigation. Pictured is one of the marker stones in Faulagh which had all but disappeared under the bog and there are many signs of the trail across the intervening landscape for at least nine kilometres to Graghil townland on the Broadhaven Bay
coast. Remnants of this way-marked trail are to be found from the townlands of Glengad
, through Graghil and Gortbrack, through Knocknalower and across to Faulagh and Muingerroon, a trail running at a mid level up the mountainsides along which a myriad of suspected megalithic tombs and prehistoric stone circle
s are to be found also. Cnoc Nansai in particular has lots of cap stones (an isolated very large slab of rock, usually flattened in shape) at ground level which when one sticks their arm underneath, it can be felt and seen (using a torch) that there are orthostats and a hollow space or a water or mud filled space beneath the large flagstone
s.
Townland
A townland or bally is a small geographical division of land used in Ireland. The townland system is of Gaelic origin—most townlands are believed to pre-date the Norman invasion and most have names derived from the Irish language...
in Kilcommon
Kilcommon
Kilcommon is a civil parish in Erris, north Mayo consisting of two large peninsulas; Dún Chaocháin and Dún Chiortáin. It consists of 37 townlands, some of which are so remote that they have no inhabitants...
, Erris
Erris
Erris is a barony in northwestern County Mayo in Ireland consisting of over , much of which is mountainous blanket bog. It has extensive sea coasts along its west and north boundaries. The main towns are Belmullet and Bangor Erris. The name Erris derives from the Irish 'Iar Ros' meaning 'western...
, County Mayo
County Mayo
County Mayo is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the village of Mayo, which is now generally known as Mayo Abbey. Mayo County Council is the local authority for the county. The population of the county is 130,552...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, some 946 acres (3.8 km²) in size. It's a remote
Wilderness
Wilderness or wildland is a natural environment on Earth that has not been significantly modified by human activity. It may also be defined as: "The most intact, undisturbed wild natural areas left on our planet—those last truly wild places that humans do not control and have not developed with...
spot on the main Ballycastle
Ballycastle, County Mayo
Ballycastle is a village in County Mayo, Ireland, situated northwest from Ballina, near Mayo's north coast in the West of Ireland. Ballycastle is also on the edge of an Irish speaking area called a Gaeltacht....
to Belmullet
Belmullet
Belmullet is a coastal Gaeltacht town with a population of around 2,000 on the Mullet Peninsula in the barony of Erris, County Mayo, Ireland. Its name means the "mouth of the mullet"...
road. Faulagh and its neighbouring townland Muingerroon South are located on a mountain which skirts the townland
Townland
A townland or bally is a small geographical division of land used in Ireland. The townland system is of Gaelic origin—most townlands are believed to pre-date the Norman invasion and most have names derived from the Irish language...
of Bellanaboy where the contentious Corrib Gas
Corrib gas controversy
The Corrib gas controversy concerns plans by Shell E&P Ireland, Statoil Exploration Limited, Vermilion Energy Trust and the Irish government for processing the Corrib gas field through Broadhaven Bay and Sruth Fada Conn Bay in Kilcommon parish, Erris, County Mayo, and objections raised against...
terminal has been constructed over the last ten years. There is a small village cluster of houses and farms in Faulagh (the name means "Enclosures") along a small road branching off to the village of Knocknalower above Pollathomas, the main village in the parish. Muingerroon South townland is 1454 acres (5.9 km²) in size - habitation is fairly sparse and the existing houses mainly form a linear pattern along the main road overlooking Carrowmore Lake
Carrowmore Lake
Carrowmore Lake is situated in the parishes of Kiltane and Kilcommon Erris, County Mayo between the villages of Bangor Erris and Barnatra at the southern end of Broadhaven Bay. The freshwater lake is over four miles long and almost 3 miles wide at its widest point...
.
Archaeology
Faulagh and its neighbouring townland Muingerroon have several ancient prehistoric sites on their blanket bogBlanket bog
Blanket bog or blanket mire is an area of peatland, forming where there is a climate of high rainfall and a low level of evapotranspiration, allowing peat to develop not only in wet hollows but over large expanses of undulating ground. The blanketing of the ground with a variable depth of peat...
covered slopes. On the slopes of Faulagh and Muingerroon overlooking Carrowmore Lake
Carrowmore Lake
Carrowmore Lake is situated in the parishes of Kiltane and Kilcommon Erris, County Mayo between the villages of Bangor Erris and Barnatra at the southern end of Broadhaven Bay. The freshwater lake is over four miles long and almost 3 miles wide at its widest point...
, the drinking water supply for the greater Erris
Erris
Erris is a barony in northwestern County Mayo in Ireland consisting of over , much of which is mountainous blanket bog. It has extensive sea coasts along its west and north boundaries. The main towns are Belmullet and Bangor Erris. The name Erris derives from the Irish 'Iar Ros' meaning 'western...
area, there are a number of megalithic tombs, many of them buried below the blanket bog but with many also still visible.
The southern slopes of the mountain must have been quite heavily populated during Neolithic
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
and possibly also Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
times. There has been little archaeological research carried out on the mountain but there are prehistoric field (agriculture)
Field (agriculture)
In agriculture, the word field refers generally to an area of land enclosed or otherwise and used for agricultural purposes such as:* Cultivating crops* Usage as a paddock or, generally, an enclosure of livestock...
walls similar to those found further east at the much publicised Ceide Fields
Céide Fields
The Céide Fields is an archaeological site on the north Mayo coast in the west of Ireland, about 8 kilometres northwest of Ballycastle. The site is the most extensive Stone Age site in the world and contains the oldest known field systems in the world...
. The southern slopes have the remains of megalithic tombs of various types. Court tombs, wedge tombs and portal tombs have been identified and several other tombs and structures in the townland are listed as unclassified or as hut sites. On the northern slopes, facing Sruwaddacon Bay
Sruwaddacon Bay
Sruwaddacon Bay is a tidal estuary which runs through the middle of the Gaeltacht Kilcommon Parish, Erris, North County Mayo; it is of historical importance in Irish legend, an important marine habitat, an E.U. Special Area of Conservation and an E.U...
, there is an unclassified tomb known locally as The Grey Stone (see Gallery).
One of the court tombs on the southern slopes appears to have three lots of concentric circles carved into the face of one of its stones, a fact not recorded or recognised in the National Monument (Ireland)
National Monument (Ireland)
The Irish state has officially approved the following List of National Monuments of Ireland. In the Republic of Ireland, a structure or site may be deemed to be a "National Monument", and therefore worthy of state protection, if it is of national importance...
register of archaeological sites (see Gallery).
There are signs in the form of vertical ancient schist
Schist
The schists constitute a group of medium-grade metamorphic rocks, chiefly notable for the preponderance of lamellar minerals such as micas, chlorite, talc, hornblende, graphite, and others. Quartz often occurs in drawn-out grains to such an extent that a particular form called quartz schist is...
stone "kerb slabs", of an ancient way-marked "pathway" across several mountains in the western portion of Kilcommon townland. This "waymarked way may have run all the way to Glengad
Glengad
Glengad is a small Gaeltacht village in the parish of Kilcommon in northwest County Mayo, Ireland. The townland is also known as Dooncarton , a name which comes from an Iron Age tribal chieftain called Ciortan, a character who appears in the Ulster Cycle legend of the Táin Bó Flidhais.The village...
townland, Kilcommon
Kilcommon
Kilcommon is a civil parish in Erris, north Mayo consisting of two large peninsulas; Dún Chaocháin and Dún Chiortáin. It consists of 37 townlands, some of which are so remote that they have no inhabitants...
from the Faulagh and Muingerroon area. Glengad is some nine kilometres to the north of Faulagh. Vertical stones set into the ground and now almost disappeared into the blanket bog are particularly obvious on a site in Graghil townland in the north of the Dún Chiortáin peninsula of Kilcommon (see Gallery) and await further investigation. Pictured is one of the marker stones in Faulagh which had all but disappeared under the bog and there are many signs of the trail across the intervening landscape for at least nine kilometres to Graghil townland on the Broadhaven Bay
Broadhaven Bay
Broadhaven Bay is a natural bay of the Atlantic Ocean situated on the northwestern coast of County Mayo, Ireland. The opening of the bay faces northward, stretching between Erris Head on the west side and Kid Island on the east side with approximately 8.6 km between the two sides.It borders...
coast. Remnants of this way-marked trail are to be found from the townlands of Glengad
Glengad
Glengad is a small Gaeltacht village in the parish of Kilcommon in northwest County Mayo, Ireland. The townland is also known as Dooncarton , a name which comes from an Iron Age tribal chieftain called Ciortan, a character who appears in the Ulster Cycle legend of the Táin Bó Flidhais.The village...
, through Graghil and Gortbrack, through Knocknalower and across to Faulagh and Muingerroon, a trail running at a mid level up the mountainsides along which a myriad of suspected megalithic tombs and prehistoric stone circle
Stone circle
A stone circle is a monument of standing stones arranged in a circle. Such monuments have been constructed across the world throughout history for many different reasons....
s are to be found also. Cnoc Nansai in particular has lots of cap stones (an isolated very large slab of rock, usually flattened in shape) at ground level which when one sticks their arm underneath, it can be felt and seen (using a torch) that there are orthostats and a hollow space or a water or mud filled space beneath the large flagstone
Flagstone
Flagstone, is a generic flat stone, usually used for paving slabs or walkways, patios, fences and roofing. It may be used for memorials, headstones, facades and other constructions. The name derives from Middle English flagge meaning turf, perhaps from Old Norse flaga meaning slab.Flagstone is a...
s.