Manulla

Manulla, Co. Mayo in the West of Ireland

mayo-ireland-manulla

The small picturesque village of Manulla is located on the N60 between Balla and Castlebar and is steeped in folklore and history. Manulla is a low-lying rural area dotted with unspoilt lakes and rivers and surrounded by hills and mountains, with magnificent views of the adjoining countryside.

Fishing

Fishing is one of the many attractions in the area. The Manulla River rises in the rich limestone plains of east Mayo and offers good trout fishing downstream from Moyhenna Bridge. Of all the River Moy tributaries, this river most resembles a chalk stream with deep clear pools which hold heavy trout. On a mild summer evening, this river can offer excellent dry fly fishing to the experienced angler. Pike fishing can also be enjoyed on some of the smaller loughs on the Manulla river system such as Lakelands, Peenogue Lake and Cuiltybo Lough.

Manulla Castle

The ruins of the ancient Manulla Castle can be found north of the village. Tradition has it that this castle was owned and inhabited by Walter McEvilly at the time of the Division of Connaught, in the late 1500s. The McEvilly family were closely related to pirate sea-queen Granuaile (Grace O'Malley).

Land League Cottage

Located about a mile from the village at Lisnolan is the famous Land League Cottage. Symbolic of the trials and troubles experienced through the Land League Movement in the 1880s, the cottage was built on the border of the Dunville, Lynch-Blosse and Kilmaine estates of the time, for a man named Tom Brennan, who was the son of evicted tenants. In order to thwart any efforts by the three landlords to oppose it, the cottage was built in one day by a large group of local workers, including Land Leaguers and Cumann na mBan members. By a remarkable coincidence three of the main men who worked on the building of it had the surnames Earley, Noone and Knight, which greatly added to the saga surrounding this great feat of building a house in the course of one day.

Holy Well

St Patrick visited Manulla which was then known as 'Findmagh' (meaning ‘Fair Plain’) and he founded a church there, putting his monk, Bishop Cainneach, in charge. Prior to his coming the area had been pagan and had a well called 'Slán' (the healer) which was the centre of Druid worship in the region. The Druids believed that a dead prophet was buried under the stone that covered the well and that he was buried there so that the water from the well might wash his bones and also because he feared fire. It was here at this well that St Patrick converted the pagans to Christianity. He asked the locals to lift the stone off the well but they were unable, so Patrick and Bishop Cainneach lifted it, whereafter Patrick said to Cainneach "They seed will be blessed forever". The church founded there became the principal church in the region and the well was later re-named St Patrick's Well.

Manulla FC

Manulla football club was formed in 1976 with the aim of promoting, fostering and developing the game of association football in a small rural area in Central Mayo. For a number of years the football was played in fields owned by various local people and in 1985 the club purchased over 10 acres of land at Carramore, which they put much time and money into developing. One of their proudest achievements was the official opening of the club house, two playing pitches and spacious car park on Monday, August 3rd, 1992 by the then Republic of Ireland captain, Mick McCarthy.

Manulla Junction

Manulla Junction was built around the 1860’s with the arrival of the railway to the west of Ireland. Once a bustling and busy station, it closed for some time in the 1950’s. Today, the junction is used only as a transfer point, where rail travellers from Foxford and Ballina join the main train from Westport to Dublin.