Ballycastle National School, Carrowkibbock Upper townland, Co. Mayo
(dated: 1892)
ING: 110455, 337374
West of Killala Bay on the north coast of Co. Mayo is the rural village of Ballycastle. On an overcast day, the beauty of this place can be well hidden, and the village can appear unremarkable – despite it’s pleasant setting by the Ballinglen River which flows into the Atlantic nearby at Bunatrahir Bay.
A modern national school stands in the village today, though adjacent to the R315 stands the dilapidated remains of the former, late 19th-century two-roomed school house erected to a standardised design for the Commissioners of National Education in Ireland. Closed in 1970, a prolonged period of neglect notwithstanding, the elementary form and massing survive intact together with substantial quantities of the original fabric, thereby upholding much of the character or integrity of a national school making a pleasing, if increasingly forlorn visual statement in a gently rolling setting (NIAH).
With the roof now collapsing and the interior becoming more and more exposed to the harsh elements of the Atlantic Coast, the suspended wooden floor is also beginning to give way. Despite being exposed to this harsh weather, the chimney stack in the northern classroom retains it’s brightly coloured paint. For more on fireplaces in schools houses, see ‘Keeping the classroom warm‘.
If you or someone you know attended this national school, please do get in touch and share any stories, anecdotes, photographs, or any other memories you may have.
Disused School Houses - Home Page 
My dad John/jack murphy attended this school from around 1930-till maybe 1935. He always told us he was thrown out for letting out a sack of eels haha. He lived in the farm across the field with his sister Mary and brothers Martin and Michael. This is all I really know. He came over to England when he was young as many did. We still have family in the area and the farm is still In the family joe
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I think my grandmother Cora b1889 came to this school around the turn of the century, (or possibly was there one down in town?) and/or maybe subsequently to the nuns… She had the sense to see that the days of uneducated women were numbered and very miserable, society had no need of decorative but unproductive ladies, so rough or not, she went out and got herself learnded! Family legends (ie. so far unsubstantiated) say she went on to art college in Dublin where she got a very chunky medal (which I do have) for lace designs, and then came back to work for the Congested Districts Board as a designer for the lace-makers, and possibly also a courier of supplies/finished goods?? Hoping to get hold of Mr William Micks’ book about his life’s work leading the CDB to learn more about this.
So excited to see the photos, Thank you!
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