Kilcummin (Irish: Cill Chuimín)[1] is a beachhead and civil parish on the northern coast of County Mayo in Ireland.[2] Traditionally a fishing community,[3] the Kilcummin area is sparsely populated. The "Tír Sáile - North Mayo Sculpture Trail" and "Tour d'Humbert" tourist route lead through the area. Kilcummin overlooks Killala Bay, the blue flag beach "An Trá nRoss", "Bartra Island" and lies on the opposite shore to Enniscrone and its beach in County Sligo.
Kilcummin
Cill Chuimín | |
|---|---|
Townland | |
 Kilcummin pier | |
  Kilcummin Location in Ireland | |
| Coordinates: 54°16′44″N 9°12′50″W / 54.278888°N 9.213946°W | |
| Country | Ireland |
| Province | Connacht |
| County | County Mayo |
| Time zone | UTC+0 (WET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-1 (IST (WEST)) |
| Irish Grid Reference | G206379 |
Name
editKilcummin is named after the early Irish saint Cuimín, and derives from the Irish Cill Chuimín, meaning "church of Cuimín".[1] Other variants of the Irish spelling (seen on local signage) include "Cilcummin" and "Cill Chummín".
Prior to being named Kilcummin a map of Connaught from the 5th Century indicates that the area was originally known as "Forrac".[4]
History
editThe remains of the church of Saint Cuimín (for which the area is named) are still to be found in the local cemetery, along with a holy well at which to this day worshippers come to pray.[3] Saint Cuimín's grave has been lost over the centuries, but it is believed that a group of stones in Kilcummin cemetery once belonged to his tomb.[5][6]
Kilcummin is noted as the site where a French expedition commanded by General Humbert[7] landed on 22 August 1798, in an attempt to assist Irish rebels during the 1798 rebellion.[8] The French forces came ashore at Leac A' Chaonaigh (the 'moss covered rock') which is near Kilcummin.[citation needed] Humbert commanded three frigates, the Concorde, Franchise, and the Médée altogether carrying 1070 French forces, three cannon, and approximately 3000 muskets.[9]
Gallery
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Signpost on the Lacken Road showing variant Irish spelling
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Kilcummin cemetery
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Headstone on the grave of St Cummin, with the old church of St Cummin (dated to pre-8th Century)
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Leac A’ Chaonaigh - the site of the French Landing in 1798 near Kilcummin village.
References
edit- ^ a b "Cill Chuimín / Kilcummin". logainm.ie. Placenames Database of Ireland. 4 August 2019.
- ^ "Civil Parish of Kilcummin, Co. Mayo". townlands.ie. Irish Townlands. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
- ^ a b "Kilcummin (Cill Chuimín - Cuimíns Church)". sacredlandscapes.ie. Archived from the original on 17 August 2019. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
- ^ H.T. Knox (1908). The History of the County of Mayo. Dublin: Hodges, Figgis & Co.
- ^ "Kilcummin Graveyard Headstones". GoldenLangan.com. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
- ^ "Early Christian Sites - Kilcummin". earlychristianireland.org.[dead link]
- ^ Bill Peterson (2001). "In the Footsteps of Général Humbert: The French Invasion of Ireland, 1798". wargame.ch. Archived from the original on 31 January 2008.
- ^ "In Humbert's Footsteps - 1798 & the Year of the French". Mayo County Library. Mayo County Council. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
On 22 August 1798, a French expedition of 1,000 men under the leadership of General Jean Joseph Amable Humbert (b.1767) landed at Kilcummin
- ^ Diary of an Expedition, Humbert's Army of Ireland, archived from the original on 12 June 2016, retrieved 4 August 2019 – via iol.ie