The Ballinglen Arts Foundation
Main Street
Ballycastle, Co Mayo, F26 X5N3
Ireland
telephone: +353 (0) 96 43184
email: ballinglenarts@gmail.com
All queries should be directed to:
Úna Forde, Managing Director of The Ballinglen Arts Foundation & Ballinglen Museum of Art
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Location
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Ballycastle
Ballycastle is a delightful small village on the north coast of County Mayo. It's main street has two pubs, two churches, and a post office. Mary's Cottage Kitchen sits at the bottom of the hill, and The Stella Maris Hotel is situated at the quay, 3 kilometres from The Ballinglen Arts Foundation, which sits right in the middle of village.
Don't hesitate to let local people know you are visiting The Ballinglen Arts Foundation—it will enrich your visit in often surprising ways. -
County Mayo
County Mayo has something for everyone. From relaxing to doing, learning to creating, this beautiful, pristine corner of Ireland welcomes visitors with an extensive list of activities. Check out the links below for some of our favorites.
Museums of Mayo
Mayo Walks
Golf Mayo
Stella Maris, Country House Hotel
Achill Island
Ceide Fields, 6000 year old Neolithic site
Foxford Woollen Mills
Ballina and North County Mayo
Kilcullen's Seaweed Baths
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Environment
The British geographer J B Whittow has written, “The wonderful range of sea-cliffs of North Mayo is virtually unknown to the tourist; they are described by some writers as the most spectacular sea-cliff scenery in the whole of Ireland.”
The famous Irish naturalist Robert Lloyd Praeger wrote of how moved he was by “the broad undulations of the treeless, roadless moorland, the tall hills, the illimitable silver sea, the savage coastline, the booming waves, the singing wind, the smell of peat smoke and wild thyme.”
And here is a description, capturing the essence of the north Mayo coast by F H A Aalen in The Atlas of the Irish Rural Landscape: “The character and the hues of the landscape are constantly affected by the variable weather: the same places never look exactly the same. The hazy humid atmosphere mutes colours, producing a subtle spectrum of green, brown, and blue. Kaleidoscope colour changes occur as light is filtered through moving banks of cloud or sporadic rain; with clear air and direct sunlight, the lush grass and foliage spring into vivid almost lurid colours. In the west of Ireland, the open vistas, theatrical cumulus mushrooms and melodramatic sunsets generate a dynamic quality of light, addictive to a romantic artist, photographer and film maker.”
A E Johann has summed the environment up as, “A smiling landscape, under clouds of melancholy.”