Stately houses Spiritual enclaves Simple storiesWith relics of a rural life now past and a faith that was challenged, Mayo’s visitor centres are worth exploring, writes Áine Ryan
National Museum of Ireland – Country LifeMAJESTIC yew and beech trees define its winding avenue. Below the still, silent waters of the turlough (lake) echo secret reflections of its magical, subterranean past. The rolling green terraces defy their 19th century regal formality and add warmth to the grey Victorian gothic façade of the house. The air is filled with ascendancy grandeur and the pomp of past privilege. Visitors are mesmerised, silenced, by the imposing sense of timelessness. The hum and screech of nearby traffic is but an intermittent distant intrusion.
Clearly, the location of the National Museum of Ireland – Country Life at Turlough Park House, near Mayo’s county town, Castlebar, has proven to be visionary and inspired. Mayo County Council bought the derelict stately house, and adjacent 36 acres, in 1991.
A decade later, in September 1991, the refurbished house was opened by then Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Síle de Valera, the granddaughter of former collecting folk-life material was undertaken.
A positive working relationship between the Irish Folklore Commission – established in 1935 – and the National Museum of Ireland, contributed to the acquisition of folk-life objects. The work of the commission was invaluable, since they not only recorded the stories and lore of the ‘characters’, but also acquired a considerable number of objects, representing every aspect of a very recently disappeared way of life.
Ballintubber AbbeyIT is known as ‘the abbey that refused to die’. No wonder. Mass has been continuously celebrated there for almost 800 years. It has survived the regal edicts of infamous King Henry VII, destruction by the notorious Oliver Cromwell and the punitive Penal Laws.
In the restored Chapter House, there are poignant images of the starving and famine-stricken people of County Mayo kneeling and praying in long grass in the roofless abbey in the 1840s. It was 40 years later before the community had the strength and wherewithal to begin the mammoth task of its restoration.
The contemporary story of Ballintubber Abbey is intrinsically connected with its long-time curate, a former Mayo Person of the Year, the inimitable Fr Frank Fahey. Over the last two decades, along with his dedicated team, he has transformed the historic abbey into a spiritual entity that reaches far beyond its Gothic and Irish-Romanesque walls.
The innovative retreat experience at Ballintubber Abbey interprets the multi-layered panorama provided by the local landscape, which is replete with ancient artefacts and folk history. It includes the Celtic Furrow centre where 5,000 years of Irish farm practices and spirituality are interpreted; the Tóchar PhΡdraig pilgrim path (built circa 350AD) which leads to holy mountain, Croagh Patrick; and Church Island, situated on Lough Carra.
Of course, Ballintubber Abbey has also become famous in recent times for the list of celebrities who have chosen to hold their nuptials there. Irish-born actor, Pierce Brosnan, of James Bond fame, along with Westlife’s Shane Filan are among that parade.
Foxford Woollen MillsTHE ICONIC status of the Foxford Woollen Mills was reaffirmed in November 2007 with the re-launch of the historic mills. Originally, the mill was founded in 1892 by Sister of Charity, Agnes-Morough Bernard, and a northern Irish, Protestant mill-owner, John Charles Smith, in an effort to provide employment for the many locals still suffering from the rigours of repeated potato famine and colonial repression.
At its height, it employed over 200 local craftspeople and became world-famous for its soft rugs, multi-patterned blankets and tweed. However, in the 1970s and 1980s, its business suffered a significant slump with the general decline in the milling industry as the manufacture of synthetics burgeoned.
Ironically, it was given a second lease of life when the accountant, Mr Joe Queenan, employed by the liquidator saw its potential.
Moreover, the fact that natural fabrics have become fashionable once again provided the ideal opportunity to modernise both the brand and design. Nowadays, the Foxford Woollen Mills attracts 70,000 visitors annually. The newly refurbished state-of-the-art facility encompasses a shop, a multi-media presentation which relates the history of the venture, a tour of the weaving and dyeing operations, a restaurant, jewellery workshop and art gallery.
Enniscoe HouseSECRETED behind its protective ramparts of winding beech and oak, Enniscoe House is undoubtedly one of County Mayo’s hidden treasures. as it elusively overlooks Lough Conn, from atop its natural terrace and in the shelter of bare Nephin.
Run by Susan Kellett and her son DJ (and dog Frodo), the house is much more than a stately home, which offers guest accommodation and award-winning cuisine. It also encompasses a small museum, a renowned geneaology centre and a restored Victorian walled garden.
The present Enniscoe House dates back to the early 1700s, when it was known as Prospect House. It was extended in the 1790s by one of Susan’s ancestors, Colonel George Jackson, and was later briefly commandeered in 1798 by General Humbert and his army, after they landed in Kilcummin, to assist the famous United Irishmen’s Rebellion.
With relics of a rural life now past and a faith that was challenged, Mayo’s visitor centres are worth exploring
