Murrisk

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Murrisk
Muraisc

Location

WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates:
53°46′42″N 9°37′53″W / 53.7783, -9.6315

Irish grid reference
L925821

Statistics

70 m

Population (2002)

235

Murrisk (Irish: Muraisc) is a village in County Mayo, Ireland, on the south side of Clew Bay, about 8 km west of Westport and 4 km east of Lecanvey. Murrisk lies at the foot of Ireland's famous pilgrimage mountain, Croagh Patrick, and is the starting-point for the pilgrimage. Every year, on the last Sunday of July, thousands of people converge on the village to make the pilgrimage. There is a small interpretative centre in the village, which focuses on Croagh Patrick.

1 Places of interest
2 Religion
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] Places of interest

Famine Memorial

The Abbey ruins, 1792

The ruined Murrisk Abbey just to the seaward side of the village was an Augustinian abbey founded in 1457 by the O'Malley family. It was officially suppressed in the Reformation, but survived for some time.
Murrisk is also the site of Ireland's National Famine Memorial, designed by Irish artist John Behan, which abstractly resembles a coffin ship filled with dying people. The monument was unveiled in July of 1997 by President Mary Robinson.

[edit] Religion

Murrisk is part of both the Roman Catholic and Church of Ireland parishes of Oughaval. Catholic records consist of marriages (from 1825) and baptisms (from 1845) and Church of Ireland records of baptisms, marriages and burials (all from 1802). These records are held at the South Mayo Family Research Centre in Ballinrobe which is 32 km southeast of Westport.