placenamesCarracastle
Ceathrú an Chaisil
Carracastle’s Mayo village centre contains a church and parochial house whose architecture and occupants connect it with parish life and the politics of 1918.
The name
These Irish name elements are associated with this record in the Logainm glossary.
An element’s translation is a clue, rather than a complete explanation of the name. Its form and meaning depend on local history and the full Irish name.
Recorded forms
- Ceathrú an Chaisil · Irish · main form · validated name
- Carracastle · English · main form
Place & story
Glass and stone at Saint James’s
Saint James’s Church in Cashelduff contains memorial windows named for the Owens–Phillips, Harpey–Nolan and Morrisroe families. The National Inventory of Architectural Heritage singles out their Gothic character and the three-part Trinity window at the chancel. The interior was reordered in 1970 following the Second Vatican Council. Outside, dressed limestone contrasts with the rougher wall surfaces, while a bellcote rises over the entrance gable. [2]
The parochial house
Diagonally opposite the church, the parochial house combines projecting gables, decorative timberwork and terracotta roof ornament. Its reception rooms have box-bay windows, giving the compact residence a more elaborate frontage. The architectural survey identifies Patrick Durcan as its parish-priest occupant in 1901 and Philip John Mulligan in 1911. These named occupants connect the building’s surviving fabric with the clergy who served the community around the turn of the twentieth century. [3]
Father Mulligan and the election
In his Bureau of Military History statement, Seán Walsh recalled Father Phil Mulligan, parish priest of Carracastle, as an active supporter of Sinn Féin during the 1918 election campaign in East Mayo. Walsh contrasted his position with that of much of the senior clergy, who supported John Dillon. The recollection places a named Carracastle priest within the political divisions surrounding the contest between Dillon and Éamon de Valera. [4]
Geographic information
- Place type
- Population centre
- County
- Mayo
- Barony
- Costello
- Civil parish
- Kilbeagh
- Within
- Cashelduff
- Coordinates
- 53.95066, -8.69412
- Logainm ID
- 133050 ↗
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Carracastle. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Saint James’s Catholic Church, Cashelduff, NIAH 31306309 · National Inventory of Architectural Heritage
- Parochial House, Cashelduff, NIAH 31306310 · National Inventory of Architectural Heritage
- Witness Statement 1733, Seán Walsh, p.8 · Seán Walsh, Bureau of Military History / Military Archives
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2026-07-07. How this page was prepared.