Moat

Area

82,000 m² (8.2 ha, 20.26 acres)

Buildings

5 buildings touch it. Their footprint covers 5,375 m².

Zoning

M4 Self-Sustaining Consolidation Zoning (Mayo County Development Plan 2022-2028) The objective

Townland

Moat

Planning applications on this parcel

• 3 Feb 2026Conditional

  construction of changing rooms and all ancillary works

  Permission · Mayo County Council, 2618

• 18 Mar 2021Conditional

  CONSTRUCT EXTENSION, COMPRISING OF SHOWER/CHANGING ROOM, RESOURCE ROOM, THERAPY/MULTIFUNCTION ROOM AND CORRIDOR, TO THE EXISTING MAIN SCHOOL BUILDING WITH INTERNAL ALTERATIONS ASSOCIATED WITH THE PROPOSED EXTENSION AND ALL ANCILLARY SITE WORKS AND SERVICES

  Permission · Mayo County Council, 21240

• 4 Mar 2019Conditional

  REMOVAL OF EXISTING PREFAB CLASSROOM STRUCTURE AND ADJOINING CORRIDOR AND THE CONSTRUCTION OF AN EXTENSION TO THE EXISTING MAIN SCHOOL BUILDING FOR THE PROVISION OF AN ASD UNIT AND SCIENCE LAB WITH CONNECTING CORRIDOR TO EXISTING SCHOOL BUILDING TOGETHER WITH ASSOCIATED SITE WORKS AND SERVICES

  Permission · Mayo County Council, 19142

• 25 Jan 2019Conditional

  The development will consist of the development of playing pitches to include walking track and pitch lighting, the construction of an extension to existing sports hall and all ancillary site works

  Permission · Mayo County Council, 1940

• 25 Jun 2018N/a

  CONSTRUCT 16 SERVICED DWELLING HOUSES INCLUDING GRAVITY SEWER CONNECTION TO EXISTING SEWER SYSTEM, RELOCATION AND MODIFICATION OF EXISTING SECONDARY SCHOOL ENTRANCE, PROVISION OF ACCESS ROAD TO PHASE 2 OF DEVELOPMENT LANDS AND ALL ANCILLARY SITE SERVICES

  Permission · Mayo County Council, 18458

Source: National Planning Applications, Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, CC BY 4.0. Applicants are not shown.

Designated sites

No designated site (Special Area of Conservation, Special Protection Area, Natural Heritage Area or proposed one) touches this parcel.

Recorded monuments around it

This parcel is in the zone of notification of 13 recorded monuments.

• MA090-024001 Ritual site - holy well
  Description

  In the village of Balla, located immediately to W of a building (MA090-024003-), known locally as the 'Rest House', and c. 50m E of a graveyard (MA090-024005-) and a round tower (MA090-024004-). This well is named ‘Tobermurray’ on the 1838 and 1929 OS 6-inch maps. It consists of a circular, stone-lined depression (diam. 1.3m) linked to a narrow drain or gully (Wth 0.4m; D 0.55m), which extends to WSW beneath a property/boundary wall. A small modern shrine to the Blessed Virgin stands at the point where the gully extends beneath the wall. The well is dry and infilled with rubble. The OS Letters (1838) record that that a station was traditionally performed at the well on 15th August, and that an inscribed stone (MA090-024007-) and two penitential stations (MA090-024002-; MA090-024006-) were associated with the well. A modern spring-fed well, located 6m to NNW has superseded the traditional well. It is enclosed in a semi-circular curve at SW–N by a modern stone wall, incorporated into the line of a property wall, and by iron railings on the E side, and is approached from E by a slopping cobbled path. Attached image: MA090-024001-_01.JPG viewed from E Compiled by: Jane O'Shaughnessy Date of upload: 25 June 2018

• MA090-024002 Penitential station
  Description

  In the village of Balla, located adjacent to a holy well (MA090-024001-). This is one of two stone-built penitential stations, the other being (MA090-024006-), that were associated with the holy well. They are indicated on the 1838 OS 6-inch map as ‘Monuments’, and are described OS Letters (1838) as follows: 'There are also two little pillars of mason-work called by the people Station Monuments (leachta) and used as such, on top of which are two small crosses, one on each, and on which are fixed (in the work of which are placed) two stones, one on each, with inscriptions on them dated 1733.' The inscription was a Latin dedication to the Mother of God. No trace of the penitential stations is now evident, but according to local information, their original location is marked by two low, contiguous heaps (max. diam. c. 3m) of loose stone and earth, located c. 6m E of the well. A small stone cross (shaft H 0.37m; arm L 0.30m), with the inscription ‘IHS’ barely legible in low relief at its centre, is set in concrete in a building (MA090-024003-) adjacent to the holy well. It is possible that this is one of the crosses that surmounted the penitential stations. Attached image: MA090-024002-_01.JPG Cairn of stones which may mark original location of penitential station. Compiled by: Jane O'Shaughnessy Date of upload: 25 June 2018

• MA090-024003 Building
  Description

  Located immediately to E of a holy well (MA090-024001-). The origin of this building, known in local tradition as the ‘Rest House’, is uncertain; it may date to the 17th century. It is recorded in the OS Letters 1838 as follows: 'At the well there is the unroofed walls of a "house" for the sheltering of the lame and the blind that frequent the place on the Patron Day.' Lewis (1837, 102) described it as ‘a chapel’, which was ‘attended by great numbers of the peasantry at patrons held on the 15th of August and 8th of September.’ It is a gable-ended structure, rectangular in plan (int. dims. 5.3m NW−SE; 3.6m NE−SW), built of mortared limestone and sandstone blocks, with larger blocks in the basal courses and quoins. The SE gable has a lintelled doorway (H 1.58m; Wth 1m) above which is a window with a pointed arch. There is another lintelled doorway (H 1.65m; Wth 0.96m) towards the N end of the NW gable, which directly overlooks the well. In the early 2000’s the SE gable still stood to almost its full height (H c. 3.7m), but the NW gable and the SW and NE side walls were in poor condition. Conservation works were undertaken in 2016. Within the interior there is an inscribed stone (MA090-024007-). Attached images: MA090-024003-_01.JPG Building before conservation works, viewed from E MA090-024003-_02.JPG Building before conservation works, viewed from NW Compiled by: Jane O'Shaughnessy Date of upload: 25 June 2018

• MA090-024004 Round tower
  Description

  In Balla village, located in the SW quadrant of a graveyard (MA090-024005-). This round tower is a National Monument (no. 403). It no longer stands to its full height and is unroofed. It consists of a circular tower (diam. c. 5m; current H c. 9-10m) constructed of regularly coursed sandstone block, cut to the curve. The basal courses incorporate larger blocks. Two blocks in these lower courses, one at NE and one at W, have shallow circular depressions in them, reminiscent of bullaun stones. The tower rests on a low narrow stone plinth or offset (W 0.15-0.3m; H 0.1-0.2m). At NW−N in the vicinity of the entrance, the offset appears to have a slight step cut into it. The stonework, in general, is regular, with a smooth surface finish, but the uppermost courses, from about second floor level, are noticeably larger and more finely cut, and suggest a phase of rebuilding. The tower is unusual in having two doorways, at two different levels. The original doorway, a large, lintelled rectangular opening is at second floor level at E. Its position is unusually high; most round tower doorways open onto the first floor. The second, lower, doorway (H c. 1.80m; Wth 0.85m; D 1.15m) is at N. It is set unusually low for a round tower, being only 0.7m above the offset, and it opens onto a raised ground floor level. This doorway is a later insertion, dating to the 15th or 16th century (Rynne 1998, 178). It is round-headed, and has a surround of cut sandstone, chamfered at the outer edge. The inner part of the doorway is roofed with a flat lintel, which is a reused cross-slab (MA090-024008-). There is a small recess cut into the stone at the spring of the arch on both sides of the doorway, so called ‘rynne-holes’, for use with centering (Rynne 1998, 177-178). This doorway is closed by an iron gate of the modern era. In the interior of the tower an offset can be seen at first floor level, and an offset combined with corbels at second floor level, which would have carried timbers floors. A window at the SSW lit the first floor level. This unusual, small inwardly splayed ope forms an inverted U-shape, created by the deliberate shaping of the framing stones. The monastery at Balla was founded by St. Crónán or Mo-Chúa, who died in 637AD. The round tower was most likely built in the 12th century; the late doorway and the change in masonry at second floor level suggest that it may have been damaged and partly rebuilt at a later period. In the 19th century a bell was installed and the tower served as a belfry for an adjacent 19th-century Catholic church (OS Letters 1838). That church, shown on the 1838 OS 6-inch map, has been removed, and a community centre stands on the site. The bell was removed from the tower in the early 20th century. Attached images: MA090-024004-_01.JPG viewed from N MA090-024004-_02.JPG viewed from E MA090-024004-_03.JPG unusually shaped window at first floor level Compiled by: Jane O'Shaughnessy Date of upload: 25 June 2018 This monument is subject to a preservation order made under the National Monuments Acts 1930 to 2014 (PO no. 77/1939).

• MA090-024005 Graveyard
  Description

  Located in Balla village. An irregular-shaped graveyard (c. 40m E-W; c. 80m N-S along a narrow strip at SW) enclosed by a stone wall, and truncated on its E side by modern development, at E by a supermarket, and at SE by a community centre, which stands on the former site of a Roman Catholic chapel shown on the 1838 and 1929 OS 6-inch maps. A market square, bordered at W by a N–S terrace of houses, abuts the S–SW side of the graveyard, and the gently curving graveyard wall at W-NW is respected by a laneway leading to a holy well (MA090-024001-), which is located c. 50m to W. The N end of the graveyard backs onto a field of pasture. The grass-covered graveyard encompasses an elevated area at S and centre, from where a gentle slope falls to NW, N and NE. The majority of the graves are marked by horizontal grave slabs, but there are also upright headstones of plain or ‘Celtic cross’ type, and a few table tombs. There is a high density of graves in the N and E of the graveyard. Here grave slabs are positioned in close proximity, terraced into the natural slope, but with much displacement and slippage, and overlapping of slabs. In the central zone of the graveyard, the grave slabs are arranged in more evenly spaced, ordered rows, and at SW there is a relatively low density of graves. The majority of the grave slabs appear rather roughly cut, with no inscriptions evident, most likely due to weathering. Where dated inscriptions can be seen, they date to the 18th and 19th centuries. One of the earliest dated slabs, which appears to date to 1745, is a sandstone grave slab, in the SW of the graveyard. It has a design in rather crude low relief, which includes a skull, cross-bones, a coffin and a heart. A series of grave slabs are arranged in a radial fashion encircling the base of a round tower (MA090-024004-), which is located to SW of centre. A cross-slab (MA090-024008-), reused as a lintel, is built into a 15th/16th-century doorway on the N side of the round tower. A fragment of another cross-slab (MA090-024009-) is set upright in the ground in the N end of the graveyard. Lewis (1837) recorded that a small church (MA090-024010-) stood within the graveyard, near the round tower, but no trace of this survives. However, a stone altar (MA090-024011-), probably late medieval in date, which may be from that church, is located 16.4m NE of the round tower in the E half of the graveyard. The cross slabs and round tower attest to the presence of an early medieval monastery in Balla, said to have been founded in the early seventh century by St. Crónán., alias Mo-Chúa, who died in 637 AD. Attached images: MA090-024005-_01.JPG viewed from N MA090-024005-_02.JPG N end of graveyard MA090-024005-_03.JPG central section of graveyard MA090-024005-_04.JPG 18th-century graveslab Compiled by: Jane O'Shaughnessy Date of upload: 25 June 2018

• MA090-024006 Penitential station
  Description

  In the village of Balla, located adjacent to a holy well (MA090-024001-). This is one of two stone-built penitential stations, the other being (MA090-024002-), that were associated with the holy well. They are indicated on the 1838 OS 6-inch map as ‘Monuments’, and are described OS Letters (1838) as follows: 'There are also two little pillars of mason-work called by the people Station Monuments (leachta) and used as such, on top of which are two small crosses, one on each, and on which are fixed (in the work of which are placed) two stones, one on each, with inscriptions on them dated 1733.' The inscription was a Latin dedication to the Mother of God. No trace of the penitential stations is now evident, but according to local information, their original location is marked by two low, contiguous heaps (max. diam. c. 3m) of loose stone and earth, located c. 6m E of the well. A small stone cross (shaft H 0.37m; arm L 0.30m), with the inscription ‘IHS’ barely legible in low relief at its centre, is set in concrete in a building (MA090-024003-) adjacent to the holy well. It is possible that this is one of the crosses that surmounted the penitential stations. Compiled by: Jane O'Shaughnessy Date of upload: 25 June 2018

• MA090-024007 Inscribed stone
  Description

  In Balla village, located within a building (MA090-024003-), known as the 'Rest House', adjacent to a holy well (MA090-024001-). The OS Letters (1838) record that this stone was originally set in a stone wall that enclosed the holy well (MA090-024001-), which lies immediately to W. During restoration works in 2016 it was set in the internal face of the NW gable of the building. It consists of a rectangular stone slab (0.54m by 0.47m) with a Latin inscription, now very weathered, carved on one face. The inscription includes a short prayer to the Mother of God, and records that the parish priest of Balla had it put in place on 25th March 1696 (Rynne 1998, 182). Compiled by: Jane O'Shaughnessy Date of upload: 25 June 2018

• MA090-024008 Cross-slab
  Description

  In the Balla village, incorporated into a doorway in a round tower (MA090-024004-). This sandstone cross-slab has been reused as a flat lintel, and is built into a 15th/16th-century doorway on the N side of the round tower. The cross-slab has been modified to fit into the doorway, and its exposed surface is greatly eroded, but part of its decoration can still be seen as faint parallel incised grooves. Rynne (1989, 180) recorded the design as ‘a framed cross with expanded stirrup-shaped terminals. Only one of the cross’s terminals can now be seen: it is 15cm long and 7cm deep, and contains faint decoration, apparently a form of fret. Photographs seem to suggest a sort of simple interlace or linear twist between the outer groove of the frame, close to the edge of the slab, and the inner ones closer to the cross, but this is very uncertain and cannot be visually confirmed absolutely.’ He suggested a 10th-century date for it (ibid.). Attached image: MA090-024008-_01.JPG Compiled by: Jane O'Shaughnessy Date of upload: 25 June 2018

• MA090-024009 Cross-slab
  Description

  In Balla village, located in the N half of a graveyard (MA090-024005-). This fragment of a cross-slab consists of a rectangular slab (Wth 0.6m; T 0.06m; H 0.47 above ground) set upright in the ground, with a plain, double-line ringed cross, within a double-line rectangular frame, inscribed on the W face. The upper portion of the stone has broken off immediately above the arms of the cross in a clean almost horizontal break, so that the upper portion of the shaft and the upper arcs of the ring are missing. The S side of the slab has also been damaged, truncating part of the incised frame. The frame surrounding the cross consists of two close-set (0.025m apart) parallel grooves incised around the outer edge of the slab, 0.02m in from its edge. The cross is outlined by parallel incised grooves (0.5-055m apart), with the arms extending to the inner groove of the frame. Below the arms, 0.4m of the shaft is visible, but its base is concealed beneath ground. The two lower arcs of the ring, also outlined by two incised grooves, describe a semicircle with external diameter of 0.34m, but do not break the arms or shaft of the cross. Another cross-slab (MA090-024008-) is reused as a lintel in the lower doorway of the round tower (MA090-024004-) in the SW part of the graveyard. Attached image: MA090-024009-_01.JPG Compiled by: Jane O'Shaughnessy Date of upload: 25 June 2018

• MA090-024010 Church
  Description

  In Balla village, located near a round tower (MA090-024004-) in a graveyard (MA090-024005-). Lewis (1837, 102) recorded that near the round tower were 'the ruins of a small church, of the same kind of stone, and apparently of similar workmanship, in one of the walls of which is a monumental inscription of great antiquity'. No trace of the church survives. However, a stone altar (MA090-024011-), probably of late medieval in date, which may have come from this church, is located 16.4m NE of the round tower in the E half of the graveyard. Compiled by: Jane O'Shaughnessy Date of upload: 25 June 2018

And 3 more.

Architectural heritage

• Athavallie House, country house, 1805–1810 · Regional interest
  Description

  Detached four-bay two-storey country house, built 1808; extant 1811, on a U-shaped plan with pair of single-bay (two-bay deep) two-storey lower returns (south). Occupied, 1901. Vacant, 1911. In alternative use, 1914-8. Sold, 1919. Adapted to alternative use, 1920. Adapted to alternative use, 1987. Renovated, 2007. Replacement hipped artificial slate roof on a U-shaped plan retaining sections of slate finish, tuck pointed drag edged tooled limestone ashlar central chimney stacks having stringcourses below chamfered capping supporting crested terracotta tapered or yellow terracotta octagonal pots, and uPVC rainwater goods on cut-limestone eaves retaining cast-iron downpipes. Roughcast walls on cut-limestone or rendered chamfered plinth. Square-headed window openings with drag edged dragged cut-limestone sills, and concealed dressings framing six-over-six timber sash windows including some six-over-six timber sash windows without horns. Set in landscaped grounds.

• Athavallie House, walled garden, 1805–1838 · Regional interest
  Description

  Walled garden, extant 1838, on a rectangular plan with ivy-covered boundary wall to perimeter having overgrown coping. Now disused. Set in unkempt grounds shared with Athavallie House.

Designated sites: National Parks and Wildlife Service. Recorded monuments: Sites and Monuments Record, National Monuments Service. Buildings: National Inventory of Architectural Heritage. Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, CC BY 4.0. Works at or in relation to a recorded monument need two months' written notice to the National Monuments Service (National Monuments (Amendment) Act 1994, section 12).

Ground and risks

Radon

At the centre of this parcel, about 1 in 5 homes in this area is likely to have high radon levels. Testing a home

Landslides

The 1:50,000 map rates the landslide susceptibility here as low.

Terrain model

No LiDAR survey of the Office of Public Works covers the centre of this parcel.

Flooding

The Office of Public Works publishes its flood maps on floodinfo.ie.

Radon Risk Map of Ireland, Environmental Protection Agency, and Landslide Susceptibility Classification, Geological Survey Ireland, both under CC BY 4.0. LiDAR: contains Irish Public Sector Data (Geological Survey Ireland & the Office of Public Works) licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.

Download this parcel as DXF, in Irish Transverse Mercator metres, with its neighbours and buildings, for a drawing program. GeoJSON, in WGS 84, suits a map, and KML opens in Google Earth.

Registered freehold land, Tailte Éireann, CC BY 4.0. A parcel is the land of a title, not an address. The owner's name is in the Land Registry of Tailte Éireann: a copy of the folio can be ordered on landdirect.ie, for a fee.