Mayo, a county of Ireland, province of Connaught, bounded E by Roscommon, S by Galway, W and N by the Atlantic, and NE by Sligo, containing 796,000 acres, divided into 68 parishes. It sends 2 members to parliament. The W coast is mountainous, and thinly inhabited; but the interior produces excellent pasturage, and is watered by several lakes and rivers. Mayo has many historical connections including the “Ceide Fields” which contains many Stone Age tombs and monuments.

Mayo’s chief town is Castlebar.

The more common surnames in the North Mayo (Bed and breakfasts, Mayo, Ireland) include Gallagher, Durkan, McHale, Barrett, McNulty, McNicholas, Brennan, Henry, Doyle, Harkin, Dogherty, Foy, Kelly, Loftus, Gaughan and Lavelle. The common surnames in South Mayo (Holiday apartments, Mayo, Ireland) include Walsh, Burke, Gibbons, Prendergast, Joyce, Murray, Gallagher, Lydon, Heneghan, Murphy, O’Malley, Kelly, Moran, Duffy, O’Connor, Waldron, Farragher.

Emigrants from Mayo in the early 1700s settled in Jamaica and Monserrat. By the end of the 1700s emigrants were leaving for Australia, America and Canada. Famine emigration was chiefly to New York, Boston, Philadelphia and the north of England.

There are two “Irish Family History Foundation” centres for County Mayo and they cover genealogical information for the whole county. One covers North Mayo and the other covers South Mayo:

The Mayo North Family Heritage Centre, situated near the town of Crossmolina, on the grounds of Enniscoe Estate which also houses a heritage museum and forge.

The Mayo South Family Heritage Centre, situated on Main Street, Ballinrobe and is dedicated to promoting the rich heritage of the region.

If your ancestors came from the Westport and Clew Bay area (Achill Island to Louisburgh) you should also contact the CenClew Bay Heritage tre. The Mayo (Holiday Cottages, Mayo, Ireland) Family History Centres have experienced researchers to help locate information about Mayo ancestors from the local records available. Birth, Death and Marriage records are collected in each county by the registrar for the appropriate Health Board. In some cases; these records have been transferred to other offices for proper archiving. You will need to contact the appropriate parish for older birth, death, marriage records and for baptismal records.