Ballina Municipal District

Heritage and art in Ballina Municipal District

North Mayo Heritage & Art

This collection highlights the architectural and artistic heritage of North Mayo, centered on the 12th-century Killala Round Tower and the 15th-century Franciscan friaries of Moyne and Rosserk. It also features key installations from the Tír Sáile Sculpture Trail, Ireland’s largest public art project. These site-specific artworks, including pieces at Downpatrick Head and Lacken Bay, were created to commemorate the 5,000-year history of the Céide Fields and the region's rugged Atlantic landscape.

North Mayo Heritage & Art — Map

A

Killala Round Tower

A well-preserved 12th-century ecclesiastical tower standing 25 meters tall. Built from local limestone, it features a distinctive conical cap and an elevated doorway.

B

Moyne Abbey

A 15th-century Franciscan friary featuring a well-preserved church, cloister, and domestic buildings. It is notable for its late Irish Gothic architecture and square central tower.

C

Rosserk Abbey

A Franciscan friary founded around 1440. It contains an unusual double piscina with a carved angel and fine stone tracery in the east window.

D

Downpatrick Head

Coastal headland featuring the 45-meter-high Dún Briste sea stack, ruins of a church founded by St. Patrick, and a 1940s coastal observation post.

E

Inishcoe Castle

Ruins of a 13th-century fortress on the shores of Lough Conn, historically associated with the Barrett family.

F

Gateway to North Mayo Sculpture Trail

Part of the Tír Sáile trail, these site-specific sculptures celebrate the 5,000-year-old landscape and heritage of the North Mayo coast.

G

Wind Trees by Elos O'Baoil

A Tír Sáile sculpture located near Ballycastle, designed to interact with the Atlantic winds and the surrounding bogland landscape.

H

Battling Forces

A stone sculpture by Maurice Casper located at Downpatrick Head. Part of the Tír Sáile trail, it represents the elemental struggle between land and sea.

I

The Inter Communication Park

A Tír Sáile installation in Killala by Jarlath Daly, featuring bronze and stone elements referencing the area's historical communication links.

J

Tonnta na Blianta

A granite sculpture by Li Chi-Huan overlooking Lacken Bay. Part of the Tír Sáile trail, its title translates to 'Waves of the Years'.

Other Lists

Ballina Municipal District Essentials Coastal Secrets & Ancient Ruins Historic Religious Sites Historic Castles and Fortifications