The most frequent family names with roots in County Mayo — names that spread through Ireland and the Irish diaspora:
County Mayo sits on Ireland's rugged western Atlantic coast — a landscape of blanket bog, quartzite mountains, and extraordinary light. It was once described as "God's own country" by its people and "God's forgotten country" by the British administrators who oversaw the worst of the Famine there.
The Famine devastated Mayo more severely than almost any other county. In 1841, Mayo had a population of 389,000; by 1851 it had fallen to 274,000 — and it kept falling for another century. The exodus of Mayo families to America defined communities from Springfield, Massachusetts to Butte, Montana.
The O'Malley clan — whose most famous member was the pirate queen Grace O'Malley (Gráinne Ní Mháille) — dominated the coastal territories for centuries. The Burkes, the Flanagans, the Costellos: these Mayo names built parishes and churches and political machines in cities across America.
The phrase 'Mayo, God help us' — a cry of weary pride — became a rallying call for Mayo emigrants in America. Mayo emigrants were among the founders of Irish-American organisations in New York, Boston, and Chicago. The Mayo Association of New York has met continuously since 1883.
Love Ireland has covered Croagh Patrick's annual pilgrimage, the boglands of Erris, and the extraordinary coastline between Achill Island and Killala. If Mayo is where your family came from, the newsletter keeps that landscape alive.
Subscribe to Love Ireland — FreeIf your family came from County Mayo, here's where to start your research:
Many of the most common County Mayo surnames have their own dedicated pages on this site: