Mayo Association film on Mayo
Ballinrobe could typify this films essence with her well known visitors, scenery, racing, fishing, history and heritage, music and dance and her emigrants and new immigrants!
By Averil Staunton
Received information on this excellent film clip on Mayo from the Mayo Association, and while not directly connected with Ballinrobe, I think our community would be proud of it wherever they are worldwide
We in Ballinrobe could claim connections from being part of the County Mayo. Our musical society was chosen by the Riverdance creators to stage the Irish premier of “The Pirate Queen” in 2010 and went on to win the All Ireland AIMS award.
The verb ‘to boycott’ was created in this area and many emigrants left from the Ballinrobe railway station for the New World………
John King born in Currabee in 1862, is Ballinrobe’s nautical connection who, like so many more young people, emigrated to the United States as a young man. There was a US guided missile armed destroyer, the USS John King (DDG-3) named after him, which was commissioned in 1961 and a bronze sculpture in his honour was erected in Cornmarket in 2010.
Monsignor Horan hailed from Tooreen just outside Ballinrobe and Mrs. Nixon visited Ballinrobe in the 1970s having had family connections here.
Ballinrobe has the only, very successful Racecourse in Mayo, a superb 18th hole Golf Course having had many distinguished visitors and has wonderful wild brown trout fishing on Loughs Mask and Carra.
So as I said, while not directly connected with Ballinrobe this Mayo Association film deserves a place on our Ballinrobe website, as we are all part of the wonderful County Mayo.