Things to do and see in Mayo

County Mayo is a county with an area of 5,398 sq km (2,084 sq mi) located in the western part of Ireland in the province of Connacht surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the northern and western side, bounded by County Sligo and County Roscommon on the east and County Galway by the south. People of Mayo live through fishing and farming in general.

The county's major attractions are the charming but not crowded resorts and beaches, magnificent and perfect fishing waters and fishing conditions, exhilarating hill walks and mountain trails, excellent golf courses, and other equally interesting and enjoyable recreational spots, as well as educational and informative museums and halls holding most of Ireland's most prized archaeological and historical treasures.

The main tourist destinations fond in Mayo include the following:

Museum of Country Life, Turlough Park, Castlebar

This museum is one of the favorite tourist spots in Mayo which accommodate hundreds of thousands of visitors in its first year since it was opened to the public. Here you can learn the lives and times of the local's ancestral period during the mid-18th century to the mid-20th century. In this museum one is transported back to the early times complete with the furnishings and ornaments of that era.

The Marian Shrine - Knock

This world renowned Marian shrine is a place where individuals seeking inner peace and enlightenment should go. Many visitors find peace and tranquility in this place as they pray to the Blessed Virgin Mary. This shrine is the also the exact location where the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Joseph, and St. John had an apparition and was witnessed by fifteen devotees on the 21st of August 1879.

Kiltimagh Museum

The Kiltimagh Museum is former part of a railway that was redeveloped and reestablished as a Museum in the 1980 by the Historica Society after acquiring the old Goods store, a portion of the Kiltimagh Railway Station. The thousands of emigrates accommodated by the railway during its operations were among the things featured in the exhibits. As of today, the Museum holds many relics and works of art from the past namely the Land League Banner, 19th century town band instruments, things from the Kiltimagh Lace Schoo, and old Railway pieces.

Ballintubber Abbey

The 13th century Ballintubber abbey is a one-of a-kind church in Ireland which is still being used by the local people because it is founded by an Irish King. Also, it is interesting to note that this church held masses for over 781 consecutive years without a single break.