placenamesMeelick
Míleac
The Mayo parish preserves an unusually detailed medieval tower interior and a former school reused by its community.
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
- Míleac · Irish · main form · non-validated name
- Meelick · English · main form
Place & story
A vault within the tower
Meelick’s round tower stands on a low hill within the old graveyard. Its conical roof has disappeared, but the monument inventory records surviving evidence of several internal floors. Most were wooden; one was a stone vault with a ladder opening allowing access above it. Jane O’Shaughnessy’s survey also notes a circular groove incised into the foundation stones, possibly a construction guide. This interpretation is tentative, unlike the visible groove itself. [2]
From school to community centre
Meelick National School’s own account identifies its home as Culleens near Swinford and records an earlier school built in 1883. That older building became the local community centre. A replacement school opened in a building erected in 1965 and was substantially extended in 2006. The succession of buildings shows how an educational site could acquire a further public use after teaching moved elsewhere. [3]
Geographic information
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Meelick. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Meelick round tower, MA071-028003-; compiled Jane O’Shaughnessy, 2018 · National Monuments Service
- Meelick National School: General Information and History · Saint Joseph’s National School, Meelick, County Mayo
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2025-01-10. How this page was prepared.