| Gweesalia | |
| Other Name: | Geesala |
| Native Name: | Gaoth Sáile |
| Settlement Type: | Village |
| Pushpin Map: | Ireland |
| Pushpin Label Position: | left |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in Ireland |
| Coordinates: | 54.1125°N -9.8992°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | Ireland |
| Subdivision Type1: | Province |
| Subdivision Name1: | Connacht |
| Subdivision Type2: | County |
| Subdivision Name2: | County Mayo |
| Unit Pref: | Metric |
Gweesalia or Geesala (in Irish, and officially, Irish: Gaoth Sáile)[1] is a small Gaeltacht village situated on the Gweesalia peninsula in the Electoral Division of Rathhill, in the Civil Parish of Kilcommon, in the Barony of Erris in western County Mayo, Ireland.
The village has a general store, pub, community centre (that contains a boxing club and cafe), post office, St Columkille’s Catholic Church, playground and a hotel.
Evidence of ancient settlement in the area include a ringfort and several reputed crannog sites in the neighbouring townlands of An Ráith, Tulachán Dubh and Dumha Locha.[2] Within the village itself, the local Catholic church was designed by architect Ralph Henry Byrne and opened in 1932.[3]
John Millington Synge's play, The Playboy of the Western World is reputedly set in the area,[4] and its first act is based in a fictional shebeen (unlicensed pub) in Geesala.[5] [6] The play's "savage hero" is partially based on a man convicted of assaulting a woman on Achill Island in 1894, the details of which were recounted to Synge while on the Aran Islands.[7] [8]
On Saturdays only Bus Éireann route 446 links Gweesalia with Blacksod and Ballina.[9] Onward bus and rail connections are available at Ballina.
Geesala National School has won a number of county titles in Gaelic football and is well represented at minor, U-21 and senior levels. The village's boxing club has produced such boxers as Henry Coyle and Jimmy Monaghan, with some of its students achieving world titles in lightweight and bantamweight divisions.