The Mullet Peninsula ()—also known as the Mullet ( an Mhuirthead) and sometimes as the Erris Peninsula—is a peninsula in the barony of Erris in County Mayo, Ireland. As of 2016 it has a population of 3963.
The Mullet Peninsula is part of the Mayo Gaeltacht, meaning that Irish language is a relatively common language. According to the 2016 census about 8% of the population spoke Irish on a daily basis outside the education system.
Name
The origin of the names
Mullet and
an Mhuirthead is not clear. They may have come from Irish
Muileat or
an Mhuileat, which has been translated as "(the)
isthmus".
[ Placenames Database of Ireland: Belmullet (archival records)] Bernard O'Hara in
Mayo: Aspects of its Heritage suggests that "A change from 'L' to 'R', which is quite common in Irish" may have resulted in a change to
an Mhuireat, which in turn became
an Mhuirthead. It has also been suggested that the name may be from English and refer to the fish or the star shape used in heraldry.
[O'Hara, Bernard. Mayo: Aspects of its Heritage. 1982. p.79]
Antiquities and places of interest
Despite its apparent sandy 'barrenness', the Mullet Peninsula has much to offer in way of interesting historical artefacts.
The parish of
Kilcommon which lies to the northeast of the Mullet has more
Faulagh such as in-situ
.
Several islands lie off the coast of the Mullet peninsula including the Inishkea Islands, Inishglora and Duvillaun. St. Brendan the Navigator established a monastery at Inishglora at the start of his sea voyage.
The Saint Deirbhle heritage centre based at Aughleam near the southern end of the peninsula has a collection of books and historical information on the area. The saint's old church and St. Deirbhile's Well, where it is alleged that a cure for eye problems can be acquired, is a couple of miles from the centre.
Glosh tower on Termon Hill is one of the 82 Napoleonic signal towers built 1801-1806 by the English holds a commanding view of the area.
Sculptures may be found on Glosh Beach.
Ocean wave energy test site
In the northwest of the Mullet peninsula a site for testing full-scale ocean
wave power devices has been selected between Frenchport Pier, Annagh Head and Cross. This site will be the first time full-scale devices have been tested off the west coast of Ireland. Prototypes have been tank tested in Cork and scaled models have undergone testing near
Spiddal in
Galway Bay in recent years. The wave energy potential in the Atlantic Ocean between North Mayo and West Donegal is one of the best in the world for the development of this new renewable energy technology. Several device types will be tested off the Mullet Peninsula.
[http://www.mayotoday.ie/2010/05/04/wave-energy/-4177]
Transport
Bus Éireann route 446 links the peninsula with
Belmullet,
Bangor Erris,
Bellacorick,
Crossmolina and Ballina. There is one service a day in each direction, including Sundays. On Friday evenings an extra journey operates from Ballina. Onward bus and rail connections are available at Ballina.
See also
-
Blacksod Bay Railway Terminus
-
Wild Atlantic Way
