placenamesGeata Mór
An Geata Mór
Geata Mór, also known as Binghamstown, preserves a record of estate development, church building and maritime infrastructure on the Mullet peninsula.
The name
These Irish name elements are associated with this record in the Logainm glossary.
An element’s translation is a clue, rather than a complete explanation of the name. Its form and meaning depend on local history and the full Irish name.
Recorded forms
- An Geata Mór · Irish · main form · validated name
- Geata Mór · English · main form
Place & story
Binghamstown House
Binghamstown House was built by Major Denis Bingham in 1796. The University of Galway’s Landed Estates research records its letting to Dean Lyons in the 1820s and Luke Lyons’s occupation at the time of Griffith’s Valuation, when the property was valued at £13 15 s. The house is distinct from Bingham’s Castle at Elly. These separate residences help explain why references to the Bingham family in this district do not always describe the same building. [2]
A church plan with an expensive spire
The Representative Church Body Library preserves an 1827 design for a church at Binghamstown, catalogued under architect George Papworth. The drawing includes the plan and elevation, internal arrangements, tower and vestry. A bishop’s annotation approves the scheme on condition that the spire be omitted because of its expense. It is a direct record of a practical decision in church planning, showing how the proposed skyline could be altered before construction. [3]
The pier at Saleen
At Curraghboy, the pier extending into Saleen Harbour belongs to the same period of development. The National Inventory of Architectural Heritage dates its beginning to 1822, records work still underway in 1824 and completion by 1830. Its angled, L-shaped form is built with granite ashlar walls that slope outward towards their base, capped with cut granite. The structure records the investment in landing facilities along this part of the Mullet coast. [4]
Geographic information
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Geata Mór. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Binghamstown House, property 268 · University of Galway / Landed Estates
- Binghamstown church plan and elevation,1827, drawingi_01902500201 · George Papworth / Representative Church Body Library
- Curraghboy pier, Geata Mór, NIAH 31301601, Mayo survey listing · National Inventory of Architectural Heritage
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2025-01-10. How this page was prepared.