Gweesalia is a small village in the barony of Erris

Erris

Erris is a barony in northwestern County Mayo in Ireland consisting of over , much of which is mountainous blanket bog. It has extensive sea coasts along its west and north boundaries. The main towns are Belmullet and Bangor Erris. The name Erris derives from the Irish 'Iar Ros' meaning 'western...

 in the west of County Mayo

County Mayo

County Mayo is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the village of Mayo, which is now generally known as Mayo Abbey. Mayo County Council is the local authority for the county. The population of the county is 130,552...

, Ireland

Republic of Ireland

Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

. It has a population of a couple of hundred, and has suffered much from emigration over the years. The village has one pub (the High Chapparal), a hotel (Erris House ),a National school, 2 general stores (Moran's and Munnelly's), and a post office.

Events

Each summer there is a festival which runs between the second and third weeks in August, which attracts a lot of emigrants to return home. The highlight is the point to point beach racing on Doolough

Doolough

Doolough is a coastal townland covering an area of in Kiltane Parish, Erris, North County Mayo. It is on the Doohoma peninsula south of Belmullet town. Its name comes from its location on miles of local sand dunes and beaches.- History :...

 beach. A number of villages surround Geesala, and the only way to Dooyork, Doohoma

Doohoma

- General Description :Doohoma, is named after the mass grave situated in the sand dunes in close proximity to the sea. This was as a result of the great Great Famine of 1845....

 and surrounding townlands is through Geesala.

Literature

Geesala is also the setting for John Millington Synge

John Millington Synge

Edmund John Millington Synge was an Irish playwright, poet, prose writer, and collector of folklore. He was a key figure in the Irish Literary Revival and was one of the cofounders of the Abbey Theatre...

's seminal Irish play, The Playboy of the Western World

The Playboy of the Western World

The Playboy of the Western World is a three-act play written by Irish playwright John Millington Synge and first performed at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin, on January 26, 1907. It is set in Michael James Flaherty's public house in County Mayo during the early 1900s...

.

Sport

• Geesala National School is well known as a centre of footballing excellence, having a long history of county titles in both men's and women's gaelic football and is well-represented at minor, U-21 and senior levels.
• Geesala Boxing Club is a well known club and has also produced many high calibre boxers such as Henry Coyle
  Henry Coyle (boxer)
  Henry “Western Warrior” Coyle is a professional boxer from Geesala near Belmullet, County Mayo, Ireland who currently fights out of Chicago, U.S....
  
   and Jimmy Monaghan
  Jimmy Monaghan
  Jimmy Monaghan is a musician from Belmullet, Ireland. He is the principal songwriter for the Galway based anti-folk band Music for Dead Birds. He was also an amateur boxer, winning four national titles and received the Western People Sports Star of the year award in 2004. He was shortlisted for the...
  
  , with some of its students achieving world titles in Lightweight and Bantamweight divisions, and attracting the attention of such quality trainers as Nicholas Cruz.

See also

• List of towns and villages in Ireland