The name of my home district is Murrisk. The townland is Carrowkeel. The parish is Aughavale. There are a lot of families in Murrisk. The most common names are Gradys and Gavins. All the houses are slated now but in former years all the houses were thatched. There are not many ancient ruins in my home district. There is a ruin of an old abbey where the Augustinian monks lived long ago. The inside grounds of this old abbey is a graveyard now. There are not many old people in my home district now the majority of them know Irish and they can tell various stories of olden times in Ireland.
Gruane Uaile the sea Queen of the west was baptized in Murrisk abbey. There are many names of rocks and fields in my home district. There is a place called log na ndeimh in at the foot of Croaghpatrick where St Patrick banished the serpents long ago.
Told by Michael Gavin Murrisk To Agnes Ní Gabhainn.

I
This story was written by James Fair, Gloshpatrick. He got the story from Austie Burke an old fisherman from Murrisk. This is supposed to be one of his own adventures while fishing on Clew Bay. The story is written exactly as he related it.
It's well night 40 years ago, I well remember when the great herring fishery started in October after the inner part of Clew Bay had been blessed, after the Murrisk Harvest Station, by Rev. Father McGirr (died in R.I.P.) the course going out and coming back to Murrisk was noted for over three years for the run of the herrings. As the herrings came to the trawlers, so did the fairies accompany them. I well remember meeting a boat with a crew of about 20. A very unlikely thing to be seen in one of our own winter herring boats in Murrisk. Of two and a half tons or three.
This incident happened off Rossmalley. I was the youngest of the crew of four. We had made the third shot on this night of December at the hour of twelve o'clock. When we had missed out catch at this hour, we decided to start for the bathing house Rossmalley, when we encountered our new friends. We shot our nets then about half- one and

There isn't any ancient ruin in any of the four villages connected with this school. Murrisk Abbey is the nearest old ruin but there are no pupils from Murrisk attending this school.

Murrisk or Muirisc (sea shore marsh) gave its name to the barony. Manannan sailed over “Cuan Módh”. His huntsman Cullen let loose his hounds from among the islands in the bay to pursue a wild ferocious boar. After a long chase the boar was overtaken but he killed the hounds in the Lake now called “LOC CONN” while Cullen was drowned in the neighboring lake called now “Lough Cullen.”Maev, Connacht's famous Queen is said to have been called “Maev of Murrisk” and to have granted the district to a tribe of the Firbolgs.

Burrishoole, and the western part of the Barony Murrisk. Umhall was the more level eastern part of the territory.
The name Aicill survives in that part of the Island of Achill and Aicill or Eacail was used to designate what is now the Barony of Murrisk as late as the middle of the thirteenth century. The O'Malley country, however, has been more commonly known as Umhall since the Patrician period. After the de Burg came in 1235 what is present the Barony of Burrishoole, including Achill, was called lower umhall (pronounced ooal). Umhall Lochtrach, N ether or Northern Owal, Owle, Owyll, and other variants of the spelling. The English form is pronounced ool. In Nether Owal was a multitude of small islands in Clew Bay.
Umhall Machtrach, Southern or Upper (up towards Rome) Umhall or Owal, called also Owle Mailly, or owlmale, is the Barony of Murrisk

A biborium of the Demesne, Westport House was presented by Lord Peter Sligo to the Abbot of Murrisk in the year 1707. The Abbot put it in the Church was raided and the biborium was stolen. This biborium was put up on a shop window in Dublin for sale afterwards. Now the Sligos had turned protestants. One day one fo them was passing down the street and he saw it and under it was written the inscription that it was presented by Lord Sligo to the Abbot of Murrisk. He bought it and presented it to the protestant Church in Wesport and it is still used there.

About sixty years ago there was a sheep fair in Murrisk. There is a sheep fair still in it but not as it was sixty years ago. In those years there used to be hundreds upon hundreds of sheep at the fair. At the present time there are only about two hundred sheep at that fair or pattern. The sheep now is not as good a sheep as they used to be in those times. There was not as good a price as there is now. A few shilling's was the price of the best sheep at the fair that time. There are no races in Murrisk now as there used to be then. In those days

Clare Island. He got there in a Curragh and when he approached the place all the apartments were lit up and signs of festivity were to be seen all round. When the priest knocked Gráinne herself appeared to greet him. He asked her what was the cause of all the hilarity. She explained that the Queen’s Ambassador was being entertained within. Whereupon Fr. Gibbons told her that it looked very bad to see the Queen’s envoy respected thus, while the Queen’s soldiers were after sacking and burning their house in Murrisk, on hearing this the Sea-queen became furious and swore she would avenge the dead on the morrow. True to her word, at dawn next mornings she gave orders to her Gallies anchored on the strand to get under weigh proceed to Murrisk with herself in Command. On approaching the place all guns were trained on the Abbey, but there was no one there; the mob had gone. She then came ashore and decided to follow them, but on nearing Castlebar she was there informed that the soldiers had turned off on the Galway road where they arrived that evening and burned and looted St. Michael’s Church.It was with a broken heart poor Fr. Gibbons returned to view the ruins of his Master’s House, which he loved and laboured in. His little community was scattered and all they held dear stolen or destroyed. After some little time he got in contact with his brother friars again and the came together bid adieu to Murrisk forever. They then repaired to Ballyhaunis where they founded another house of their order, which despite the persecution that followed in after years lived through all and thank God still flourishes today. The two chalices that belonged to the mother-house are still kept in bondage in two local Protestant Churches

Murrisk is situated beside the sea about sis miles to the west of Westport. As the name tells us, it is by the sea, Muir meaning the sea and Uisge the waterIt is at the foot of Croagh Patrick or Cruac Pádhraic the hill of St Patrick where St Patrick spent forty days and forty nights praying and fasting on top of this mountain.Before St Patrick came it was called Cruachán Eagla or the Eagles mountain because the eagles used to live there. At that time most of it was covered with woods.The small road leading to Croagh Patrick is called Bóthar na Míos or the road of the dishes. It probably got that name because there used to be a Pattern in Murrisk in a field near the road. The people used to cook food at the pattern and eat it from dishes.To the North East of Murrisk the sea comes in, in some places and forms deep holes in the land. This

with Clare island, Innisturk, Caher island, Innisbofin, Innishark, Davillawn, and the smaller islands in their neighbourhood. At one time a part of the Barony of Carra, and the half-barony of Ross in the County Galway were in Umhall, a subject to O'Malley". Knox (The History of the County of Mayo) suggests that Aicill and Umhall mean Highland and Leowland, a plausible explanation. The name Umhall is Latinised Umhalla in the Tripartite Laife of Saint Patrick.
The principal residence of the O'Malley chiefs was the Dun of Belclare (Dun Bevil an Chlair, the dun of the Gate of the Plain, that is the Plain of Murrisk) or Murrisk Castle at the mouth of the Owenwee River on Westport Bay. There had been a dam at that place from before historic time. The Crannog of the O'Malleys was on an island in Loch Moher behind Croaghpatrick.

Once upon a time there lived a rich land lord in Murrisk. All the land of Murrisk belonged to him.
There was a certain woman that was not able to pay her rent. She was very poor and she had no way of earning her living. Her only support was a cow and calf.
When the time came and the woman was compelled to pay her rent, she had to sell her cow and calf in order to pay it. However she was able to pay the rent this time but when her turn came again she had no cow or calf to sell and she was not able to pay the rent.

Not far from my house are some Caves. They are situated at the bottom of a (cliffe) cliff, overlooking the little village of the Deerpark, and part of Clew Bay. To the East of the caves is a wood and two lakes, and to the West are hills.
The village of Murrisk and part of Clew Bay can be seen from the Caves. You can also see the Murrisk hills and the top of Croagh Patrick. There is a good view of Belclare and Cloora, and Belclare river which flows through both villages and enters the sea at Poll Garb.

There were two giants who lived at a place called Murrisk and they were always fighting in a little field. On the fence of the field there was a big rock. Once as they were fighting one of them killed the other and when he had him killed he broke the rock and that rock was called the giant's rock and it is still visible. Some of the people of the district used to hear music at this rock and when they used to go to the rock they could not hear or see anything.

There were two giants at a place called Murrisk and they were always fighting. It was in a field they used to fight, and there was a rock on the fence. One day as they were fighting one of giants killed the other. The victorious giant took the rock and broke it and it is called the giants rock and it is still to be seen there.

no longer hold out he went to ÓMáile's stronghold at Murrisk on the shores of Clew Bay. ÓMaile took him to France. He lived for some years in Paris but we are told he went to Amiens and died there.

he had to remain hidden at last he got word that the English were coming to surround the place where he was. He went to Murrisk on Clew Bay about five miles from Westport. Here Ó Máile the well known smuggler had a boat and he sailed with him to France. He lived for some time in Paris. It is supposed that he went to America and died in New York.

I have failed to find any stories connected with this period of our history. There is a field in Gloshpatrick called ‘log an aifrinn’. An old woman named Mrs Fair who died last winter at the age of 84 told that she heard from her parents that Mass was said in this valley. Reference is made to it also in the Story of Murrisk Abbey which will be found further on in this book

The usual Irish custom of wearing the shamrock is carried out on this day. A few of the old men drown the shamrock by taking a few drinks in the public house. There are not any great celebrations to honour the feast but occasionally the Mullagh and Murrisk bands play through the village.

in Murrisk. Long ago they used to boil big pots of beef and sell it out in pounds at this pattern, along with the soup and bread.