Table of contents
Killala
Location
The town of Killala and the Killala Bay situated 15 minutes north of Ballina in County Mayo. Its a very small, peaceful and beautiful spot for a stop off an a quick wander. Steeped in history and a perfect location for fisherman.
A Brief History
Killala has rich and interesting history which once saw the first invasion by the French in the 1798 rebellion. August 1798, an expedition of 1,000 French men lead by General Humbert landed just north of Killala to help liberate Ireland.
More recently in 1981 the town was used for the multi million pound television series ” The Year Of The French”
In 1998 Killala celebrated the bicentenary of the French Rebellion by twinning with the commune of Chauvé in France.
Our Trip
We were on our way to Eniscrone beach for the day, but our young son had fallen asleep in the car so we decided to visit Killala to kill some time.
Killala Bay is a estuary for the River Moy and lies a perfect spot for fishing trips.
As you can see from the two pictures below its a beautiful and big bay.
Round Tower
Killala Bay centre which is very small is situated up a little hill and at the top of this hill is the tall round tower. Made up solely from limestone and standing at 25m tall. The tower was built in the 12th century and it is known to be the best of 5 towers in the County Mayo region. Many years ago, the towers were used as a watch tower. The door to this tower was placed at 13m from the ground to warn off possible invaders.
Now the Round Tower is a focal point a good little attraction for this village.
Here below is a little bit of information from the tower itself
The Village
The Killala center is a small but very quaint little village with real old style shops like this little butchers below. Traditional newsagents and a pub and restaurant also line this lovely street.
It had a great feel as everyone who we came across was so friendly and went out there way to say hello. It seemed to be run by locals for locals with no big chain businesses around.
Killala Fishing
Killala is known for its fishing and is a prime fishing location in Ireland. The deep waters just off sure are known for great places to catch Hake and John Dory. With species closer to the shore including coalfish, cod, grey gurnard, red gurnard, pollack, ray, conger, skate, tope and turbot.
The ever famous river Moy is only a mere 8km away and is known for its abundance of top quality trout and salmon.
Some Final Information
After a little wander around we headed back to the car down at the bay and took in the final views of this stunning little town.
We then even took a few minutes to read a bit about the bay and the area from these signs below.
Thanks for stopping by just a small post today but we felt this lovely little town Killala in County Mayo deserved a little write up.
As always don’t forget to leave your comments.
Fancy learning a bit more about the emerald island of Ireland check out a few of our posts below
Lough Key Forest Park, Roscommon, Ireland
Beautiful nature and plenty of history. Had no idea the French were so adventurous!
What an interesting place. I love that it was a random stop because your son was asleep! It’s wonderful that the people were so friendly. The round tower looks a bit random, with the house at the bottom though hehe. You can find me at Charlie’s meats 🙂
This quaint little town sounds like the perfect stop before a day on the beach!
I love how you always include the history behind a place – even on a random stop! I also love towers or steeples that act as a beacon of sorts in a small town. Thanks for sharing this!
I really love the round tower. It seems the monks had the right idea with the tower but it also reminds me of a lighthouse. I bet the fishing in Killala was amazing with all the different types of fish. I’ve never heard of coalfish though. Beautiful scenery in Ireland, as always.
Wait I think I was here. I stayed in a hotel in Ballina called the ice house. Now that I see the round tower it’s all coming back to me. Very quaint little place.
Great post guys! I don’t know what caught me more, the Mayo name of the history of the places.
It really sound like a fantastic place to visit. Only thing that I might not like is that it seems not to be very sunny ahhaha.
Thanks for sharing guys.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything quite like that tower. Very cool!
I always appreciate informational signs because it makes it easy to do a self-guided tour! This looks like a quaint little town, thanks for sharing.
Very cute little town, made for a great, unexpected adventure
