Local history: Mayo’s sparse public road network in early 1800s

By Tom Gillespie

THE pioneering Scottish engineer Alexander Nimmo came to Ireland in 1811 and remained in the country until the time of his death in 1832.

During this time he was employed by a number of government bodies in various key road building projects.

Clifden born author Kathleen Villiers-Tuthill, in her 2006 book Alexander Nimmo and The Western District, described his visit to Mayo.

Nimmo arrived in Mayo fully acquainted with Bald’s survey and maps. He was also familiar with the maps and the many suggestions and recommendations made by both Griffith and Bald in their respective reports to the Bog Commission.

All of these would prove useful in prioritising works and deciding routes for new roads. Work soon got underway in almost every district in the county.

The publication of Bald’s survey and map had brought a great deal of attention to the more remote regions of the county and given the Mayo Grand Jury and landlords a sound basis from which to consider projected improvements.

The Grand Jury had constructed a road from Castlebar to Ballina, ‘across the narrow part of Lough Conn’, and another along the east of the Moy river from Ballina to Swinford. Both of these appear to have been completed by 1822.

However, a carriage road from Castlebar, intended to run northwest to Bangor and on into Erris, begun in 1819 with an £8,000 loan from the consolidated fund, was nowhere near completion.

Nimmo took over this road and had it extended to the Mullet peninsula. He gave a rough estimate of £6,000 for completing the work, pointing out to the lord lieutenant that the construction of the road would offer ‘useful employment for all the spare and distressed population of this distressed district’, but warned that ‘the future public advances in the improvement of so extensive a tract of country (could) not be easily calculated’.

This road was referred to in Nimmo’s reports as the Central Erris Road. Branches were later added, running down the Mullet to Elly Harbour and Blacksod Point and north along the east coast of Broadhaven. Two branch roads running from Bangor to Ballycroy and along the north bank of the Owenmore River to Tullaghan ferry were also started in 1822. Nimmo would, in time, spend £14,714.18s one this road and its branches.

Nimmo’s assessment of road conditions in northwest Mayo was even more unfavourable than that provided by Griffith 10 years earlier. Two roads, leading from Ballycastle to Killala and Crossmolina, were all that existed in the region.

West of Ballycastle, Nimmo pronounced, ‘as far as Broadhaven (sic) had not even a footpath before the year 1822’, although McPartlan’s map would indicate a bridleroad running through this district in 1802.

Nimmo set then people to work extending the Ballycastle road westward to Belderg (Béal Deirg), with the intention of continuing it to the entrance of Broadhaven at Doonkeeghan, as suggested in Griffith’s bog report.

He estimated a little over £6,919 for completing the work, but, as will be shown later, he was never given sufficient funds to do so; he eventually spent £3,206.9s on the road.

Nimmo referred to the road in his reports as the North Coast Road. This, he told Dublin Castle, would greatly assist the ‘distressed peasantry’ in the vale of Glanamoy, where the poitin makers mentioned by Griffith were still in operation and the people were still ‘in a state of insubordination to law, and exposed to the machinations of the evil minded’.

He began improvement works on Killala pier and on the embankment wall in the harbour. Road works were also started on the east coast of the bay near Inishcrone and Castleconor, and a new line from Ballina to Foxford and on to Swinford.

The road from Ballina to the quay, about one mile, was levelled and similar work was done on the quay road at Killala.

While in the district, Nimmo was employed privately by the merchants of Ballina to survey the Moy river and to suggest ways of improving the navigation to the town.

He began constructing a ship canal on the river as public works, but this was later abandoned when funds ran out.

In other parts of the county, works were started on roads near Newport to Achill Head, Westport to Claremorris, Ballinrobe to Cong and from Westport to Killary Harbour. The latter two would link up the Killary to Cong road, creating an extensive network through the interior and providing access to the port of Westport.

Bridges at Bundorragha on Killary Harbour, Annois at Lough Carra and Kilnacarra were started, and works were also underway at Ballyglass, Ballintobber, the road from Ballina to Moyne and the road from Ballinrobe to Ballyhaunis, by way of Hollymount and Claremorris.

Patrick Knight, the assistant engineer for this region, as will be seen later, was also responsible for the design of Belmullet town and pier, and his knowledge of the county would have been a tremendous asset to Nimmo.

By August the counties of Galway and Mayo were a hive of activity. Almost every district had some form of public works underway and thousands of people were receiving regular wages or food in exchange for labour.

The Grand Juries of both counties passed very few presentments at the August Assizes. Many of the magistrates did not even bother to turn up, deciding instead to leave the matter of public roads to the government.

This was precisely the sort of attitude the government was anxious to discourage.

Just the month before, on July 16, they had refused Nimmo new funding, advising him that the funds already issued to him were ‘sufficient for the execution’ of works in his district.

Nimmo, however, was continuing to receive applications for more roads and bridges and was anxious to proceed. He was aware that the lack of employment in regions of Galway and Mayo not affected by public works was causing great hardship.

He wrote to the chief secretary acquainting him with the situation and pointing out that other counties in his district, Roscommon and Leitrim, had been totally neglected. He had given no employment whatsoever in both counties and the latest reports from his man in the region stated that the labourers were ‘quite unable to work being absolutely starving’.