Killala (Irish: Cill Ala, meaning ‘the mottled church’) is a village in County Mayo in Ireland, north of Ballina. The railway line from Dublin to Ballina once extended to Killala. To the west of Killala is a Townsplots West (known locally as Enagh Beg), which contains a number of ancient forts. By the end of the 18th century, Killala had established a small sea port, where fishing was the primary activity. The town also produced coarse linens and woolen products.
Killala was the site of the first engagement which the French force of General Jean Joseph Amable Humbert that invaded Ireland to assist the Irish Rebellion of 1798 participated in. On August 22 1798, Humbert landed at the nearby Kilcummin Harbor with 1,109 French troops with the objective of supporting the rebellion. Humbert’s force quickly seized the town and advanced to Ballina, which his men also captured with little trouble. The force then moved further inland and on August 27, it won a battle in Castlebar against a larger government force commanded by General Gerard Lake. The town was also the site of the last land engagement of the rebellion on 23 September 1798 when a government force led by Major-General Eyre Power Trench captured Killala.
Along the left bank of the river are the ruins of several monasteries. Rosserk, a Franciscan house of strict observance, was founded in 1460. The Abbey of Moyne still stands on a site just over the river, and further on, north of Killala, was the DominicanRathfran Friary. On the promontory of Errew running into Lough Conn another monastery existed as such till comparatively recent times. A round tower in Killala itself, still preserved, indicated the ancient celebrity of the place as an ecclesiastical centre. Places of interest are:
The Round Tower – The last remaining medieval structure of a monastic establishment, thought to have been built in the 12th century. The monastery is traditionally said to have been founded here by St. Patrick, who appointed St. Muiredach as the first bishop of Killala. The tower stands 52 metres (170 feet) high, and it is composed of limestone.
Cathedral Church of St. Patrick – Constructed in the 1670s, it is one of two Cathedral Churches belonging to the Church of Ireland’s Diocese of Tuam, Limerick and Killaloe.
