Kilcummin is a beachhead

Beachhead

Beachhead is a military term used to describe the line created when a unit reaches a beach, and begins to defend that area of beach, while other reinforcements help out, until a unit large enough to begin advancing has arrived. It is sometimes used interchangeably with Bridgehead and Lodgement...

 on the northern coast 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...

, in northwestern Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

. The Kilcummin area is sparsely populated. A Mr Noel Collins is the owner of the only pub on Kilcummin Pier.

Name

Kilcummin is named after the early Irish saint Cuimín, and derives from the Irish

Irish language

Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...

 Cill Chuimín, meaning "church of Cuimín". Other variants of the Irish spelling (seen on local signage) include "Cilcummin" and "Cill Chummín".

Prior to being named Kilcummin a map of Connaught from the 5th Century indicates that the area was originally known as "Forrac".

History

The remains of the church of Saint Cummin (for which the area is named) are still to be found in the locality.

Kilcummin is noted as the site where a French expedition commanded by General Humbert landed on August 22, 1798, in an attempt to assist Irish rebels during the 1798 rebellion. Humbert commanded three frigates, the Concorde, Franchise, and the Médée altogether carrying 1070 French forces, three cannon

Cannon

A cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellents to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...

, and approximately 3000 muskets.