Mayo Heritage Publications

Mayo's Wild Things and Places

Mayo’s Wild Things and Places is a beautifully illustrated book describing a wide variety of habitats throughout the county, ranging from our vast expanses of peatlands to the unlikely habitats found in our towns and villages. There is no other county in Ireland that can rival Mayo for its natural beauty and for the wealth and diversity of wildlife habitats found here. From the mountains to the lakes, the moorland, sandy beaches and coastal cliffs, the offshore islands, rivers and peatlands, turloughs, farmland, grasslands and limestone pavement, the wealth is truly remarkable. The book highlights a selection of species that you will find in these places and gives a description, an illustration and information about each.

Mayo's Wild Things and Places

This book is available from Mayo County Council's Heritage Office and local bookshops

124pp Softback; Price €15 + p&p

Wild Mayo

Wild Mayo: A new book on the landscape and wildlife of Mayo.

Limestone lakes and turloughs, moorland and machair - Mayo’s dramatic landscape offers unspoiled natural habitats that are now among the most precious in western Europe. Its bogs and unpolluted rivers and lakes are home to rare plants and animals, its offshore islands shelter breeding seabirds and migrant Arctic geese.

Wild Mayo takes the reader on a journey of discovery through the county. It describes the rich wildlife and flora of a remarkable range of habitats, from mountain summit to pristine Atlantic shore.

Wild Mayo

Michael Viney, writer, painter and naturalist, lives on the Mayo coast below Mweelrea Mountain. He has written and illustrated a weekly column on nature and ecology for The Irish Times for more than 30 years. Among his books are “Ireland: A Smithsonian Natural History”, written for America’s Smithsonian Institution, “A Year’s Turning”, a month-by-month chronicle of life at Thallabawn and “Ireland’s Ocean: A Natural History”, published by The Collins Press.

Wild Mayo is available from the Heritage Officer, Mayo County Council.

100pp Hardback; Cost €15 + p&p. Wild Mayo is currently out of print.

Stained Glass Windows of Mayo by Harry Clarke & the Clarke Studios

A beautifully-illustrated account of the stained glass windows in Mayo produced by the outstandingly brilliant stained glass artist, Harry Clarke (1889-1931) & also windows produced by the Clarke Studios. Stained Glass Windows of Mayo by Harry Clarke & The Clarke Studios contains information on each window, along with a description and a photograph.

This booklet is available from the Mayo County Council Heritage Office and local bookshops.

44pp Softback; Cost €5 + p&p

Mayo's Hedgerows

Mayo’s hedgerow network is a major asset to the county, and is uniquely valuable in terms of agriculture, enhancing the landscape, providing a haven for wildlife, maintaining and improving water quality, sequestering carbon, supporting tourism and providing employment. Hedgerows line many of our roads and laneways, framing our passage through much of the countryside, and in certain areas give the impression of a timeless tunnel through an ageless wooded landscape. Our hedgerow network is an important part of the cultural history and heritage of the county. Mayo’s Hedgerow’s with its many interesting facts about hedgerows and its guidance on hedgerow establishment and management will be of benefit and interest to landowners, residents, both urban and rural, and visitors alike.

Mayo's Hedgerows is available from the Heritage Office of Mayo County Council

32pp Softback; Cost €5 + p&p

Mayo Shopfronts

Wonderful examples of traditional shopfronts can still be found throughout the county, whether in the larger towns such as Castlebar, Ballina,Westportand Claremorris or in smaller villages such as the Neale and Hollymount. These shopfronts, fashioned out of exemplary craftsmanship, are an important and integral part of the built heritage of the county. It is these shopfronts which give our towns and villages much of their intrinsic and unique character. In this booklet, Mayo Local Authorities have endeavoured to document those shopfronts in the county that are considered to be socially and culturally important and that are deemed part of the special character of Mayo’s towns and villages. Mayo Shopfronts also provides an insightful understanding of the grounding principles of shopfront evolution, design and craftsmanship.