| Easkey Iascaigh |
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| Location | ||
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| Irish grid reference G374381 |
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| Statistics | ||
| Province: | Connacht | |
| County: | County Sligo | |
| Elevation: | 1 m | |
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Population (2006) |
240 1,233 |
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| Website: http://www.westsligo.com/easkey/ | ||
Easkey or Easky (Irish: Iascaigh, meaning "abounding in fish") is a coastal village on the R297 regional road in County Sligo, Ireland. It is located on the Atlantic coast, 26 miles from Sligo and 15 miles from Ballina, County Mayo. The village name derives from the Gaelic term for fish ('iasc') and 'Iascaigh' literally means "abounding in fish," due to the Easkey River that lies adjacent to the village itself. Easkey, as a parish, was originally called "Imleach Iseal." The area is popular in terms of its highly attractive scenery and the village has attracted a wide variety of tourists interested in water sports such as surfing, kayaking and fishing. The village boasts many attractive walking routes around the river estuary and coastline (with splendid views of the Slieve League and Benbulbin mountains) and through the local woods situated in the townland of Fortland. Geologists have become increasingly interested with the rugged coastline around Easkey, as it holds fossil structures that date back for millions of years.
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History
The village and surrounding area are steeped in history.
Ancient History of Easkey
The parish of Easkey is part of the barony of Tireragh. Tireragh translates as 'Tir-Fiachrach' in Irish, meaning "the land of Fiachra." This barony was founded by the Uí Fiachrach Muaidhe, who were, themselves, a branch of the Uí Fiachrach dynasty of Connachta.
Easkey was originally named "Imleach Iseal/Isil" which means the "low imleach," or "land verging on the water." The first settlements in the area seem to have taken residence in Castletown, a townland that exists to the west of the present-day village.
In John O'Donovan's textbook "The Genealogies, Tribes and Customs of Hy-Fiachrach, commonly called O'Dowd's Country," it is documented that a man called Maoldubh, a son of Fiachra Ealgach (the son of King Daithi), was born and bred in Easkey and established a fort in the Castletown area called 'Dun Maoilduibh.' It seems that the O'Dowd family - a common surname in the area today - descended from this figure.
In O'Donovan's book, Easkey is also mentioned through the following reference: "To Iasca, of the land of the white-blossomed apple-trees, Belongs the O'Mailduns of high renown." This is a reference to a powerful clan known - in modern parlance - as the O'Muldoon's, a surname that is virtually non-existent in the area today. They held the "mansion seat" in Castletown and were defenders of the area at large.
O'Dowd Castle
Built in 1207, the castle became home to the O'Dowd chieftains of Tireragh (the barony of much of West Sligo). The castle was originally built for Oliver McDonnell who came to the area to marry an O'Dowd widow. A dominant landmark in West Sligo, the castle is situated adjacent to Easkey pier. Much of the original structure of the castle has been lost over time, yet the main body of the castle remains. It is 63 feet in height, the highest part is known as the "Sailor's Bed."
The Split Rock
On the R297, heading towards Sligo in the townland of Kileenduff lies the Ice Age boulder known locally as the "Split Rock." Local legend holds that the rock was split as a result of an argument between two giants on the Slieve Gamph mountains (Ox Mountains), one of whom was Fionn MacCumhaill. It is said that the rock will close if one walks through the rock 3 times.
A fast food take away in the village is named after The Split Rock.
Easkey Abbey
Unusually, the centre of the village is dominated by the structure of the Old Abbey and graveyard which dates back to Medieval times. The graveyard was in use up until Roslea cemetery opened in 1888 and holds some uniquely designed tombstones.
Easkey Bridge
The bridge provides access to the main village from the Sligo side of the area. It was built in 1847 after the old bridge was washed away in a storm in 1844. It contains the Bullance stone, which is built into the bridge wall and is a symbolic drinking trough, which qualified the village to hold a "Fair Day". The water is reputedly a cure for skin infections. Hangings took place at the bridge in the 19th century. A similar type bridge is located south of the village in the local woods. This is known as "Fortland Bridge."
The parish of Easkey, including the townlands of Rathlee, Killeenduff and Owenbeg are littered with numerous forts and mounts which date back to ancient times.
Water Sports
Surfing
Surfing is an extremely popular attraction in Easkey. The village is widely known as one of the finest surfing areas in the world. What makes Easkey renowned is that it has two reef breaks, the left just by the river mouth (known as "Easkey left"), and the right to the east of the castle (known as "Easkey right"). The waves in Easkey break over rocks rather than on sand which makes the waves more attractive to surfers because they are hollowed and faster than beach breaks. The surfing area in Easkey faces in such a way that the prevailing winds, which are south-westerly, are offshore.
In 1979, the Pro/Am Surfing World Championships came to Easkey. Various national surfing events continue to be held here.
In 1995 the Irish Surfing Association established its headquarters in the Easkey Surf and Information Centre on Main Street. The building, now known as "Easkey House" is located in the centre of Easkey village. It houses the headquarters of the Irish Surfing Association and there is also a restaurant in the building.
Kayaking
The Easkey River has proven to be a popular river for kayaking and canoeing. In 2003, Easkey hosted the World Surf Kayaking Championships, which firmly put the area on the international circuit as a premier Surf Kayaking location. Inexperienced kayakers are not advised to enter the waters at Easkey as this can prove to be a danger to other water users, due to the powerful waves at these breaks.
Fishing
The Easkey River is a highly attractive river for fishing of salmon and trout. The river rises in Lough Easkey in the Ox Mountains and moves through bogland and various terrains before flowing past the village. Anglers from many parts of the West and North-West of Ireland are attracted to fishing there. Notable for fishing on the river is the former Republic of Ireland football manager Jack Charlton. The acclaimed actor Sean Connery has also been noted fishing on the river.
Culture
Jack Harte (Irish writer) was born in the Easkey townland of Killeenduff, where his father was the local blacksmith. He draws on his experience growing up in the area, and ultimately being torn away from it as his father was forced to move in search of work, in his novel In the Wake of the Bagger. Another novel, Reflections in a Tar-Barrel is also set in the area. Harte also draws on Easkey, its people and mythologies, in many of his short stories.
The sculptor Fred Conlon was born and grew up in Killeenduff, Easkey.
Beside, Easkey House, at the kiosk, there is a sculpture called "The Time of Day", erected in the late 1980s. It is a sculpture of two men, one leaning on his bicycle and the other sitting down looking in the opposite direction. It conveys the sense of rural-life in the area, where locals would meet and discuss the trivial and not-so-trivial events of life.
The Pulitzer Prize winning American poet William Morris Meredith, Jr. resided in the Easkey area during his visit to County Sligo in the summer of 2006, for the W. B. Yeats International Summer School.
Local Townlands
The parish of Easkey contains a numerous amount of localised townland-names. They are (in alphabetical order): Aderavoher, Alternan Park, Ballybeg, Ballycummin, Ballymeeny, Ballymeeny (Armstrong), Ballymeeny (or Hillas or Carrownabinna), Ballymeeny (Jones), Booakaun (Browne), Bookaun (Tottenham), Bunowna, Caltragh, Carrowmacbryan, Carrownrod, Carrownrush, Carrowpadden, Castletown, Cloonagleavragh, Cloonagleavragh Park, Cooga, Curraghnagap, Easky Town, Finned, Fortland, Keadues, Killeenduff, Kilmacurkan, Lenadoon, Monereagh, Old-Grange, Owenbeg, Owenykeevaun or Tawnamaddoo, Rathlee, Rathmeel, Shannonspark East, Shannonspark West and Shraheens.
Local Surnames
Some local surnames that are strongly associated with Easkey are: Rolston, Flannelly, Kilcullen, Feeney, Scott, Burns, Taylor, Connolly, Keaveney, Hanley, Cavanagh, Weir, Kelly, Harte, McGuire, Calpin, Boland, Devaney and Conlon, to name but a few.
Local Amenities
The village itself has a restaurant, take-away, local pubs, shops, a post-office, Roman Catholic and Church of Ireland churches, butchers, a newly designed community centre, family and resource centre, physiotherapists and a hairdresser.
To the east of the village is the local vocational school, Colaiste Iascaigh. The parish of Easkey has 3 primary schools situated in the townlands of Rathlee, Killeenduff and Owenbeg. The main national school situated in the village was controversially closed due to lack of numbers due to the erection of a telephone mast beside the local Garda barracks. Ironically, the building is now used as a pre-school.
Gaelic Football
The parish holds a very strong tradition in Gaelic football with Easkey G.A.A. club being founded in 1886, just two years after the formation of the Gaelic Athletic Association. The club is generally regarded as one of the strongest in County Sligo; however - after some 20 years - the club lost its Senior-status in 2009, after losing a relegation play-off to Shamrock Gaels; therefore the club will play Intermediate football in 2010. They hold 5 Sligo Senior Football Championship titles, the last arriving back in 1966, building on previous wins in 1935, 1936, 1937 and 1941. They reached the 1999 Senior-Championship final, but were defeated by Tourlestrane. The club holds a strong tradition of club players representing the Senior Sligo G.A.A. team down through the decades. The captain of the 2007 Sligo team that won their first provincial Senior Connacht Championship for 32 years is Noel McGuire, a native of the parish and long-serving player on the Easkey team.
'Reeling in the Years'
Easkey G.A.A. was the focus of a segment of the popular RTE series Reeling in the Years. In the 1986 episode, it was highlighted that the club had lost 15 players (a full-team) due to immigration to Britain and the USA.
See also
External links
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