General Description

Doohoma, ( meaning "black tomb") is named after the mass grave situated in the sand dunes

Dune

In physical geography, a dune is a hill of sand built by wind. Dunes occur in different forms and sizes, formed by interaction with the wind. Most kinds of dunes are longer on the windward side where the sand is pushed up the dune and have a shorter "slip face" in the lee of the wind...

 in close proximity to the sea. This was as a result of the great Great Famine of 1845.
Doohoma is situated on the north-west coast of Kiltane

Kiltane

-Origins:Kiltane derives its name from Cill Seadhna, or Seadhna's church, which was in the townland of Kiltane by the banks of the Owenmore river. The name 'Seadhna' was well known in the Early Christian Period. There is mention of a bishop and priest of that name in an old tract but no detail as...

 parish, Erris

Erris

Erris is a barony in northwestern County Mayo in Ireland consisting of over , much of which is mountainous blanket bog. It has extensive sea coasts along its west and north boundaries. The main towns are Belmullet and Bangor Erris. The name Erris derives from the Irish 'Iar Ros' meaning 'western...

, County Mayo

County Mayo

County Mayo is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the village of Mayo, which is now generally known as Mayo Abbey. Mayo County Council is the local authority for the county. The population of the county is 130,552...

 and is a peninsula on the Atlantic coastline. Its area consists of 1102 acres (4.5 km²), none of it any distance from its beautiful coastline without crowds or pollution. It is situated approx. fifteen miles (24 km) south west of the village of Bangor Erris

Bangor Erris

Bangor Erris is a town in Kiltane parish in Erris, County Mayo, Ireland with a population of 500. It is on the banks of the Owenmore River and is the gateway to the Erris Peninsula linking Belmullet with Ballina and Westport, nestled at the foot of the "Bangor Trail" a 22-mile mountain pass across...

. It overlooks Achill Island

Achill Island

Achill Island in County Mayo is the largest island off the coast of Ireland, and is situated off the west coast. It has a population of 2,700. Its area is . Achill is attached to the mainland by Michael Davitt Bridge, between the villages of Gob an Choire and Poll Raithní . A bridge was first...

 and the Mullet Peninsula. It is a picturesque village with panoramic sea views across Blacksod Bay

Blacksod Bay

Blacksod Bay is a bay of the Atlantic Ocean in Erris, North County Mayo, Ireland. The bay is bounded on its western side by the Mullet Peninsula and to its eastern side by the coastline of Kiltane Parish where it extends southwards from Belmullet towards Gweesalia and Doohoma...

. Its long sandy beaches and safe bays are perfect for watersports such as surfing, kiting, sailing, swimming, fishing, boating and wind surfing.

Doohoma is the central village and collective name for a further six villages, which include Doohoma Head (Cean Romhar), Crook na Mona, Bunnafully, Tallaghan, Roy Carter and Roy Bingham.http://www.thesearodinn.ie/About/About.htm
There are two pubs, The Sea Rod Inn (Barrett's) and Tra Bui (Holmes's), a post office

Post office

A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...

 and two grocery store

Grocery store

A grocery store is a store that retails food. A grocer, the owner of a grocery store, stocks different kinds of foods from assorted places and cultures, and sells these "groceries" to customers. Large grocery stores that stock products other than food, such as clothing or household items, are...

s.

There are two strong community focal points in Doohoma, namely the local Roman Catholic church

Roman Catholic Church

The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

 (Pope Pius X

Pope Pius X

Pope Saint Pius X , born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto, was the 257th Pope of the Catholic Church, serving from 1903 to 1914. He was the first pope since Pope Pius V to be canonized. Pius X rejected modernist interpretations of Catholic doctrine, promoting traditional devotional practices and orthodox...

) and the Doohoma National School. As well as educating the local children, the National School also supplies the Kiltane

Kiltane

-Origins:Kiltane derives its name from Cill Seadhna, or Seadhna's church, which was in the townland of Kiltane by the banks of the Owenmore river. The name 'Seadhna' was well known in the Early Christian Period. There is mention of a bishop and priest of that name in an old tract but no detail as...

 Gaelic Football

Gaelic football

Gaelic football , commonly referred to as "football" or "Gaelic", or "Gah" is a form of football played mainly in Ireland...

 Club with players. There is also an 18 hole golf course

Golf course

A golf course comprises a series of holes, each consisting of a teeing ground, fairway, rough and other hazards, and a green with a flagstick and cup, all designed for the game of golf. A standard round of golf consists of playing 18 holes, thus most golf courses have this number of holes...

.

The town-land was the theme of the RTE documentary 'Doohoma'which dealt with the theme of emigration to England and the effect on local families. In recent years, however, a number of first and second-generation natives have returned to take advantage of the improving economic climate.
http://towns.mayo-ireland.ie/webX?14@@.ee7ad4f
http://www.independent.ie/national-news/the-td-the-developer-and-the-holiday-haven-740601.html
Modern technology has allowed those who emigrated to keep in touch with their old friends from Doohoma all around the world. There are many groups on facebook such as Are you from or been to Erris Co.Mayo Ireland? Photographs and stories can be shared and family trees completed.

History

Like many other parts of County Mayo

County Mayo

County Mayo is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the village of Mayo, which is now generally known as Mayo Abbey. Mayo County Council is the local authority for the county. The population of the county is 130,552...

, Doohoma was devastated during the famine years of the mid 1840's. The population of 455 people in 1841 was more than halved to 218 people by 1851. It has endured high levels of emigration

Emigration

Emigration is the act of leaving one's country or region to settle in another. It is the same as immigration but from the perspective of the country of origin. Human movement before the establishment of political boundaries or within one state is termed migration. There are many reasons why people...

 throughout the years, with the diaspora of Doohoma spreading across the world to such countries as England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

, USA, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 and Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. Despite the geographical distance, these emigrants have kept strong links with the area. The first main road through the townland was not built until 1847.

After the famine, mass burials took place on the sandbanks and, despite repeated requests by local people grew louder for a proper cemetery, a request repeatedly rejected by the civil authorities. Eventually, in 1926 three hundred local men erected a sod wall, which was later consecrated by Bishop James Naughton. Eventually Mayo County Council granted some money to erect a stone wall to replace the sod ditch. Later local residents were unsuccessful in their endeavours to get a road built from the sandbanks to the cemetery, so in 1967 over 100 volunteers built a road to improve access. In 1989 the Council tarred the road for the first time.

Doohoma had a long history of emigration. Fishing was the main occupation of the community but was never able to sustain the growing population entirely so every year in June whole families would go to the potato fields of Scotland. These workers were known as "tattie hokers". There were so many went from Doohoma that ships would moor off Doohoma Head to transport them to the potato fields of Scotland.

The first National School was established in Doohoma in 1859 just outside the boundary of the Tallaghanbawn townland and the first church in the townland was built close by later.

A new industry was opened in the early 1970s - Eagle Isle Seafoods founded in 1972 exports smoked wild Atlantic salmon

Salmon

Salmon is the common name for several species of fish in the family Salmonidae. Several other fish in the same family are called trout; the difference is often said to be that salmon migrate and trout are resident, but this distinction does not strictly hold true...

 all over the world.

In 1987, Mayo County Council

County council

A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries.-United Kingdom:...

 financed a two million pound water scheme. This brought piped water from Carrowmorw Lake, a much needed boost to the local infrastructure.

In the past, the village survived primarily on small farming and fishing communities, but in recent years the occupations of the residents vary.

See also

• List of towns and villages in Ireland