Gweesalia

Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use Irish English Template:Refimprove Template:Main otherTemplate:Template otherTemplate:Main other Gweesalia or Geesala (in Irish, and officially, ) is a small Gaeltacht village in County Mayo, Ireland. It is on the Gweesalia peninsula in the Electoral Division of Rathhill, in the Civil Parish of Kilcommon, in the Barony of Erris in the west of the county.

The village has a general store, pub, community centre (that contains a boxing club and cafe), post office, St Columkille’s Catholic Church, playground and a hotel.Template:Fact

History

Built heritage

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. Within the village itself, the local Catholic church was designed by architect Ralph Henry Byrne and opened in 1932.

Synge connection

John Millington Synge's play, The Playboy of the Western World is reputedly set in the area, and its first act is based in a fictional shebeen (unlicensed pub) in Geesala. 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.

Transport

On Saturdays only Bus Éireann route 446 links Gweesalia with Blacksod and Ballina. Onward bus and rail connections are available at Ballina.Template:Fact

Sport

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.Template:Fact

See also

• List of towns and villages in Ireland