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County

Mayo

Maigh Eo

Mayo’s local histories range from prehistoric farming beneath blanket bog to towns linked with roads, harbours and nineteenth-century trade.

Recorded locationMayo53.98730° N · 9.64794° WInteractive map supplied by OpenStreetMap.
Recorded place location · Logainm.ieOpen in OpenStreetMap ↗

The name

A reliable full-name meaning has not been established here. The recorded Irish and English forms are given without an unsupported translation.

Recorded forms

  • Maigh Eo · Irish · main form · validated name
  • Mayo · English · main form

Place & story

Fields beneath the bog

Céide Fields preserves prehistoric field systems beneath blanket bog on Mayo’s north coast. The buried walls reveal an earlier farming landscape below the present surface. [4]

The bay and the inland route

Lewis’s 1837 Westport entry describes agricultural exports and timber imports through Clew Bay, with the Mall and estate landscape beside the river. Inland Castlebar was a market and administrative centre on the road towards Westport. [2] [3]

Folklore & tradition

The children of Lir in the western sea

In Joyce’s Children of Lir, the swan children spend the final three hundred years of their exile at Irros Domnann and Inis Glora, the Erris and Inishglora landscape of western Mayo. After their long wandering, the story brings them into contact with the Christian hermit Kemoc. [5]

Geographic information

Place type
County
County
Mayo
Coordinates
53.98730, -9.64794
Mapped area
5,596.52 km²
Logainm ID
100023 ↗

Population over time

County Mayo, including its cities

County population, 1841–2022

137,970people · 2022

0100K200K300K400K 1841: 388,887 people18411851: 274,499 people1861: 254,796 people1871: 246,030 people1881: 245,212 people1891: 219,034 people1901: 199,166 people19011911: 192,177 people1926: 172,690 people1936: 161,349 people1946: 148,120 people1951: 141,867 people19511956: 133,052 people1961: 123,330 people1966: 115,547 people1971: 109,525 people1979: 114,019 people1981: 114,766 people1986: 115,184 people1991: 110,713 people1996: 111,524 people2002: 117,446 people2006: 123,839 people2011: 130,638 people2016: 130,507 people2022: 137,970 people2022

Figures cover the whole county including its cities. CSO recommends this series for long-term comparison, although minor boundary changes have occurred.

View population figures
County Mayo, including its cities — census population
Census yearPopulation
1841388,887
1851274,499
1861254,796
1871246,030
1881245,212
1891219,034
1901199,166
1911192,177
1926172,690
1936161,349
1946148,120
1951141,867
1956133,052
1961123,330
1966115,547
1971109,525
1979114,019
1981114,766
1986115,184
1991110,713
1996111,524
2002117,446
2006123,839
2011130,638
2016130,507
2022137,970

Source: CSO F1001 — Population at Each Census. CC BY 4.0. Retrieved 2026-10-25.

People & family history

Census figures refer to the matched historical census area for each year. Boundaries and spellings can change over time.

Explore this county

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Sources & further reading

  1. Logainm.ie — Mayo. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
  2. Westport — A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland (1837)
  3. Castlebar — A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland (1837)
  4. Céide Fields
  5. P. W. Joyce, Old Celtic Romances: The Fate of the Children of Lir (1920 edition)
  6. Boundary geometry retains its source attribution and licence in the downloadable geographic record. Map tiles © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2025-01-10. How this page was prepared.