Heritage panels launched in east Mayo

THREE heritage panels have been launched in Killasser by Bernard O’Hara, president of the Killasser/Callow Heritage Society.

Located at Killasser Church, Callow Church and Killasser Cemetery, they were financed by profit from the sale of two of his books, Killasser: Heritage of a Mayo Parish, and Exploring Mayo, both of which were published by the society.

The society also co-financed the bilingual signage at Killasser Church from the same source, with Mayo County Council.

The panels provide a synopsis of aspects of the rich archaeological and historical heritage of the parish, with evidence of human habitation for over 5,000 years.

Killasser/Callow Heritage Society was established in 2011 to research and record the heritage of the parish. Now, there are few parishes with a better recorded heritage, with books on its archaeology, history, both churches and all schools that operated there in the 20th century.

The panels are dedicated to the memory of Maureen Murphy, who was secretary of the society until her untimely death in January last, and who made a huge contribution to her local community in Killasser and Callow, in Swinford, and around the region.

The other members of the society are Áine Ní Chiaráin, chairperson, Micheál Murphy, Fr. John Durkan, Tom Hennigan (who discovered about 70 new archaeological monuments in the parish in the 1980s), Louis Mc Nulty and Pádraic O’Hara.