Tourmakeady
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| Tourmakeady Tuar Mhic Éadaigh |
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| Location | ||
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| Irish Grid Reference M097694 |
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| Statistics | ||
| Province: | Connacht | |
| County: | County Mayo | |
| Elevation: | 58m | |
| Population (2002) | 1,000 (est) | |
Tourmakeady (Tuar Mhic Éadaigh in Irish) is a rural district in County Mayo in the west of Ireland. It has a population of approximately 1000 people. It is located on the shores of Lough Mask. Part of Tourmakeady was originally in neighbouring County Galway, but was placed under the administration of County Mayo in 1898. Tourmakeady lies within the largest Gaeltacht (Irish speaking) region in Ireland.
On May 3, 1921, during the Irish War of Independence the Irish Republican Army south Mayo flying column of around 30 men together with a small number of men from east Mayo mounted an ambush at Tourmakeady, in which six British soldiers and one IRA volunteer were killed. The IRA column was then pursued over the Partry Mountains by 600 British troops guided by aeroplanes. They were surrounded but despite being ounumbered over 15 to 1 managed to hold off the British forces until night fall when they managed to break through a weak point in enemy lines. The British causaulties in this second engagement were not revealed.
The English actor Robert Shaw, best known for his work in Jaws and The Sting, lived in Tourmakeady until his death in 1978.
From the time of the Great Famine of the mid-1840s onwards, Tourmakeady has experienced a high level of emigration. Many decendants of emigrants return to Tourmakeady every year to find their roots. The genealogical records for this area have been computerised at the South Mayo Family Research Centre in nearby Ballinrobe to make the task of tracing roots easier.
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