Barroosky Explained

Official Name:Barroosky
Subdivision Name:Ireland
Subdivision Type3:County
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name1:Connacht
Subdivision Name3:County Mayo
Subdivision Type1:Province
Timezone1:WET
Timezone1 Dst:IST (WEST)
Settlement Type:Townland
Pushpin Map:Ireland
Pushpin Map Caption:Location in Ireland
Pushpin Label Position:right
Blank Name Sec1:Irish Grid Reference
Blank Info Sec1:F 94231 30017
Coordinates:54.2083°N -9.622°W
Native Name Lang:ie
Footnotes:As this is in the Gaeltacht, the Irish Barr Rúscaígh is the only official name. The anglicized spelling Barroosky has no official status.
Area Total Km2:7.78

Barroosky (also spelt as Barroskey or Barrooskey. Irish: Barr Rúscaígh, meaning "top of the undulation")[1] is a Gaeltacht townland within the civil parish of Kilcommon in County Mayo, Ireland.[2] It is located within the ecclesiastical parish of Kilcommon-Erris.[3] Barroosky townland has an area of approximately 1923acres.[2]

Barroosky is also the name of the electoral division (ED) in which the townland lies.[2] As of 2022, Barroosky ED had a population of 96 people.[4]

History

In Irish folklore, Barroosky is mentioned in the epic tale of Táin Bó Flidhais. It also is mentioned in a popular Erris folktale called the Fool of Barr Rúscaígh as part of the year of the French celebrations.[5] In 1911, the population was recorded as 34.[6]

In September 1922, during the Irish Civil War, the Battle of Glenamoy took place nearby.[7]

Agriculture and geography

The area in which the Barroosky lies on is mostly covered in peaty, blanket bog which covers much of the North Mayo coastlines of Kilcommon and the Barony of Erris.[8]

Glenamoy bog

The Glenamoy bog complex, which spans parts of Barroosky,[9] is a large site situated in the extreme north-west of Erris, County Mayo.[10] The area, which incorporates both inland and coastal regions, has a wet and oceanic climate and there are frequent strong winds across the largely treeless and relatively exposed area. The bog complex is drained by four main river systems - the Glenamoy, the Muingnabo, the Belderg and the Glenglassra rivers. Extreme oceanic blanket bog dominates the site in its inland areas.

Sheskin forestry

Barroosky is situated near to the Sheskin Forest (not to be confused with Sheskin, County Monaghan) which stretches from near Ballycastle to Bellacorick. The forest is a large area of conifer forest plantation established on the bog lands of north Mayo.[11] A hunting lodge built by the McDonnell family and later owned by the Jameson family, now in ruins lies there.[12] [13] [14]

Notes and References

  1. Book: Noone, Fr Sean . Where The Sun Sets . 1991 . The Leinster Leader . 1991 . 0951817906 . 1st . Naas . 148.
  2. Web site: Barroosky Townland, Co. Mayo. 2018-12-11. www.townlands.ie.
  3. Web site: Parish of Kilcommon Erris, County Mayo, Ireland. en-US. 2018-12-11.
  4. Web site: FP009 - Population and Actual and Percentage Change 2016 to 2022 . Central Statistics Office . data.gov.ie . 2 January 2024 . Barr Rúscaí, Co.Mayo, 29054 [..] Electoral Division [..] Population - 2022 [..] 96 .
  5. Book: Beiner, Guy. Remembering the Year of the French: Irish Folk History and Social Memory. 2007. Univ of Wisconsin Press. 9780299218249. en.
  6. Web site: Census of Ireland, 1911. www.census.nationalarchives.ie. 2021-12-02.
  7. Web site: Civil War in Mayo: The Battle of Glenamoy, 1922 by Thomas Langan Family History in North County Mayo. goldenlangan.com. 2018-12-09.
  8. Web site: Glenamoy Bog Complex SAC. Protected Planet. 2018-12-11.
  9. Web site: Site Synopsis - Glenamoy Bog Complex . National Parks and Wildlife Service . 14 April 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20071218152314/http://www.npws.ie/en/media/Media,3965,en.pdf . 18 December 2007 . dead .
  10. Web site: EUNIS -Site factsheet for Glenamoy Bog Complex SAC. eunis.eea.europa.eu. 2018-12-11.
  11. Web site: Sheskin North. Coillte. en-US. 2018-12-11.
  12. Web site: Estate Record: Jameson (Sheskin). landedestates.nuigalway.ie. 2018-12-11.
  13. Web site: HUSSEY DE BURGH, U. H. The Landowners of Ireland. An alphabetical list of the owners of estates of 500 acres or £500 valuation and upwards in Ireland. Dublin: Hodges, Foster and Figgis, 1878. [available online at www.askaboutireland.ie]]. landedestates.nuigalway.ie. 2018-12-11.
  14. Connolly. Linda. August 2004. The limits of 'Irish Studies': historicism, culturalism, paternalism. Irish Studies Review. 12. 2. 139–162. 10.1080/0967088042000228914. 145506909. 0967-0882.