Gweesalia or Geesala (Irish: Gaoth Sáile)[1] is a small 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.
![]() | This article needs additional citations for verification. (February 2014) |
Gweesalia
Gaoth Sáile Geesala | |
---|---|
Village | |
![]() John Millington Synge bar (now closed) in Geesala | |
![]() ![]() Gweesalia Location in Ireland | |
Coordinates: 54°06′45″N 9°53′57″W | |
Country | Ireland |
Province | Connacht |
County | County Mayo |
The village has a national school, a community centre that contains a cafe and boxing club, two general stores, a post office, St Colmcille's Catholic Church, and one pub.
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.[citation needed]
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.[citation needed]
Places in County Mayo | ||
---|---|---|
County town: Castlebar | ||
Towns | ![]() | |
Villages and townlands |
| |
Baronies | ||
Landforms | ||
|
![]() | This article related to the geography of County Mayo, Ireland is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |