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County Mayo

County Mayo
Contae Mhaigh Eo
Coat of arms of County Mayo
Coat of arms
Motto: Dia is Muire Linn  (Irish)
"God and Mary be with us"
Location of County Mayo
Country Ireland
Province Connacht
Dáil Éireann Mayo
EU Parliament Midlands–North-West
County town Coat of arms of Castlebar.pngCastlebar
Government
 • Type County Council
Area
 • Total 5,586 km2 (2,157 sq mi)
Area rank 3rd
Population (2011) 130,638
 • Rank 17th
Vehicle index
mark code
MO
Website www.mayococo.ie

County Mayo (Irish: Contae Mhaigh Eo, meaning "Plain of the yew trees") is a county in Ireland. In the West of Ireland, it is part of the province of Connacht and is named after the village of Mayo, now generally known as Mayo Abbey. Mayo County Council is the local authority for the county. The population of the county was 130,638 at the 2011 census. The boundaries of the county, which was formed in 1585, reflect the Mac William Íochtar lordship at that time.

It is bounded on the north and west by the Atlantic Ocean; to the south by County Galway; the east by County Roscommon; and the northeast by County Sligo. Mayo is the third-largest of Ireland's 32 counties in area and 15th largest in terms of population. It is the second-largest of Connacht’s five counties in both size and population. There is a distinct geological difference between the west and the east of the county. The west consists largely of poor subsoils and is covered with large areas of extensive Atlantic blanket bog, whereas the east is largely a limestone landscape. Agricultural land is therefore more productive in the east than in the west.

Mayo County Council (Irish: Comhairle Contae Mhaigh Eo) is the authority responsible for local government. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The County is divided into four municipal areas Castlebar, Ballina, Claremorris and West (an area which stretches from Westport to Belmullet). The council is responsible for housing and community, roads and transportation, urban planning and development, amenity and culture, and environment. For the purpose of local elections the county is divided into its four municipal districts, replacing the former six local electoral areas: Ballina (6), Belmullet (4), Castlebar (7), Claremorris (6), Swinford (4) and Westport (4). The county town is at Áras an Contae in Castlebar the main population centre located in the centre of the county. For national elections half of the Claremorris Municipal District is in Galway West and stretches from Ashford Castle to Ireland West Airport.


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