Aughalasheen and the Mullet Peninsula
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Aughalasheen And The Mullet Peninsula Historical Aspects Aughalasheen village is located to the North East of the Mullet Peninsula and its main town is Belmullet. It is approximately 6kms from Belmullet. Broadhaven Bay lies to its North. It belongs to the Parish of Kilmore in the Killala Diocese. It is also part of the Barony of Erris. It wasn’t until 1273 that the Norman Invasion reached Erris (over 100 years after the Normans first arrived in Ireland) when the Norman family of Barretts (who came from Munster) conquered Dónall Iorrais Ó Conchubhair (descendant of Ruairí Ó Conchubhair, High King of Ireland). The Barretts built three castles on the Mullet; Miles Barrett built a small castle in Knocknalina, the site of the post office now. The arrival of the Normans was not as disastrous in the long- term as later arrivals. The Normans became more Irish than the Irish, they married the Irish, spoke the language and gaelicised their name. The Irish, however, never regained their lands though they were returned as tenants. The families of Breathnach (Walshe) and McAndrews came to Erris about this time. English law declined until the the latter part of the sixteenth century. In 1584 Richard Bingham became Governor of Connaught. The Crown Queen Elizabeth sold or granted large plots of land to Lords. The Lords collected rent from their tenants in the barony and they in turn would pay rents to the Queen. Richard had a reputation of being a cruel man; burning, looting and killing without mercy. He immediately set about collecting the rents and forcing the Irish chieftains into submission. From 1539 monasteries and the Catholic faith and teaching were suppressed. Mass was prohibited. Masses in the Mullet were said in houses or at open air altars. Catholics continued to bury their dead in church grounds, however, land changed hands frequently. The most prominent names of freeholders were of Norman origin: Barretts, Bourkes and Cormicks. In 1695 SirArthur Shaen inherited the lands of Erris from his father. It is thought he lived in Shanahee. He started but did not complete Shaen’s Cut – the forerunner to the present canal joining Blacksod Bay and Broadhaven Bay. He discovered ore in Cloneen and built a furnace on the banks of the Cloneen River. Patrick Dixon of Gort an Éadain recalls a story his Grandmother Mary Barrett told him. ‘The furnace was not a great success and a local oracle foretold that it would never be a success until a child was burned in it. A child was found and was nearly sacrificed until luckily a gentleman rode by and saved the child’. During the seventeenth century native Irish families from the North of Ireland arrived in the Mullet following plantations in Ulster. These included: Reillys, O’Donnells (they were to become powerful landowners), Connells, McManamons, Gallaghers and Geraghtys. Sir Arthur had no male heir. His two daughters inherited his lands equally. Francis married John Bingham and Susanna’s second husband was Henry Boyle Carter. The Carters were absentee landlords until the last quarter of the nineteenth century but the Binghams became resident landlords when Major Denis Bingham came to live here in 1796. The British at this time feared an attack by Napoleon in France. In an effort to defend the coast they built signal towers running clockwise from Dublin to Malin Head. In 1803 the signal towers were erected in the Parish, one in Glosh and the other one on Sliabh Mór (Tower Hill). Signals were made by showing flags and four hoops covered in black canvas in various combinations. In this way they could communicate with adjacent stations (Tower Hill was in contact with the tower on Benwee Head) and naval ships offshore. The threat of attack was removed when the French and Spanish fleets were destroyed in the battle of Trafalgar in 1805 and the British abandoned the Signal Towers. The Tower Hill tower was demolished by a great gale in 1957. The sea around the Mullet and the Islands were far from safe and peaceful at this time. Many vessels laden with provisions were plundered. The raiders usually surrounded the ships in currachs, on the pretext of selling them fish. The crew were then over powered as a large number of seamen boarded. Shipwrecks and ships that found themselves becalmed were also plundered. The coming of the Coastguards and the building of the Coastguard stations in the early 1800’s made life more difficult for the pirates. There were Coastguard stations at Blacksod, Elly, Termocarra, Knocknalina and there were also stations across the bay in Claggan and Doohoma and on the North Coast at Dú Caochán. It became clear to Dean Lyons and the Coastguard Service that lighthouses along the coast might be a solution not only to the piracy but to the loss of ships on this extremely dangerous coast. Two lighthouses were built on Eagle Island originally; Eagle Island East and Eagle Island West. The first lights appeared in 1895 the East Station was closed after a mighty storm in December 1894 damaged it beyond repair. Broadhaven Lighthouse is on the mainland and is located at the mouth of Broadhaven Bay in the seaside village of Ballyglass. It enjoys comparative peace, tucked up on Gob a Chaisil Point and guides ships clear of hidden rocks on the Western side of Broadhaven, into safe anchorage. A light or beacon was first looked for by the coast guards in 1843. The board inspector, George Halpin, reported that as a lighthouse was not approved, a beacon could be built on floors with steps in the event of a lighthouse being erected at a later date. The board favoured a beacon but the idea was postponed until the end of 1845 due to difficulty in securing a plot of ground. Strong local representation was made to the board for a lighthouse and buoys to mark the channel to Belmullet. This was supported by George Halpin, but the lighthouse was out on the long finger. In June of 1845 the inspector reported to headquarters that the tower was completed and suggested it should be fitted up as a harbour light. The board again concurred and ordered that Trinity house be informed. Their approval was given several months later and a lantern was delivered. The light was supplied by Wilkins of London and 87ft above water. It showed white to seaward and to the East and red on the West side. Meanwhile a dwelling and store for the keeper was designed and the construction work was carried out by the board’s workmen under the supervision of the inspector. The 50ft tower was left in its natural grey stone colour. The lighthouses became established on the 1st June 1885 and was visible up to 12 miles. It cost in the region of £6,976.10d. Several years later in 1924 an inspection committee gave approval for improvements to be carried out at an additional cost of £500. The work was continually postponed until 1930 when the board of trade sanctioned Broadhaven to be an unwatched station. The light power was increased and the colour of the tower changed to white at a cost of £434.10s.7d. Further alterations were carried out in the following years and by 1971 it was converted to electric power. The first keeper to take up duty in 1846 was a man named Ryan. This fact was established when it was discovered that his name had been carved out in rock near the lighthouse. The last keeper in 1932 was a man named Coupe, from Belmullet, who spent 17 years on Blackrock Lighthouse. It was known as a retirement station for for keepers going into their final years of service. Those who served on the Broadhaven Bay station included people named Murphy and King. King incidentally died in tragic circumstances at his home in Wicklow in 1923. Food supplies were taken to Broadhaven by the present attendant, Willie Padden, whose late grandfather, James, had also held the contract. His uncle, the late Anthony Padden, was a supplier too. The Coastguards were based in Ballyglass and the station burned down in 1920. Blackrock lighthouse was first lit in 1864. At 282ft above high water it is the second highest of all our lighthouses. June 30th 1864 was also the day of the first lighting of the Blacksod Lighthouse. The lighthouse is unique as it is only one of two lighthouses in the world of square shape (the other is built on the German coast) Major Bingham wanted to make a profit from his lands so he changed his farming methods. Commonage fields were divided and closed and each tenant was given his own small holding. The English spade replaced the ‘gabhal’ used locally. Tenants could now produce grain and livestock for export. Major Bingham organised the construction of a road from Castlebar to the Mullet in 1817 to create a road network of exports and markets. He built the town of Binghamstown and two new piers at Saleen and Blacksod. The absentee landlord arranged for the town of Belmullet to be built. Belmullet town thrived at Binghamstown’s expense. The lands around Aughalasheen were owned by Carter. The fortunes of the Binghams declined and their lands in the South of the Mullet fell into the hands of lesser landlords – Everard, Knox, Kirkwood, Nash and McDonnell. There are now no Binghams in Erris, although a number of descendants remain – McAndrews, Shaws, Rowans and Sullivans. In 1825 a new Parish Priest came to the Kilmore Parish – John Patrick Lyons. He was one of the most significant figures in pre-famine Connaught.