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Cryptozoology

Cryptozoology is a pseudoscience and subculture that searches for and studies unknown, legendary, or extinct animals whose present existence is disputed or unsubstantiated, particularly those popular in folklore, such as Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, Yeti, the chupacabra, the Jersey Devil, or the Mokele-mbembe. Cryptozoologists refer to these entities as cryptids, a term coined by the subculture. Because it does not follow the scientific method, cryptozoology is considered a pseudoscience by mainstream science: it is neither a branch of zoology nor of folklore studies. It was originally founded in the 1950s by zoologists Bernard Heuvelmans and Ivan T. Sanderson.

Scholars have noted that the subculture rejected mainstream approaches from an early date, and that adherents often express hostility to mainstream science. Scholars have studied cryptozoologists and their influence (including cryptozoology's association with Young Earth creationism), noted parallels in cryptozoology and other pseudosciences such as ghost hunting and ufology, and highlighted uncritical media propagation of cryptozoologist claims.

Terminology, history, and approach
As a field, cryptozoology originates from the works of Bernard Heuvelmans, a Belgian zoologist, and Ivan T. Sanderson, a Scottish zoologist. Notably, Heuvelmans published On the Track of Unknown Animals (French Sur la Piste des Bêtes Ignorées) in 1955, a landmark work among cryptozoologists that was followed by numerous other like works. Similarly, Sanderson published a series of books that contributed to the developing hallmarks of cryptozoology, including Abominable Snowmen: Legend Come to Life (1961). Heuvelmans himself traced cryptozoology to the work of Anthonie Cornelis Oudemans, who theorized that a large unidentified species of seal was responsible for sea serpent reports.

Cryptozoology is 'the study of hidden animals' (from Ancient Greek: κρυπτός, kryptós "hidden, secret"; Ancient Greek ζῷον, zōion "animal", and λόγος, logos, i.e. "knowledge, study"). The term dates from 1959 or before— Heuvelmans attributes the coinage of the term cryptozoology to Sanderson. Following cryptozoology, the term cryptid was coined in 1983 by cryptozoologist J. E. Wall in the summer issue of the International Society of Cryptozoology newsletter. According to Wall "[It has been] suggested that new terms be coined to replace sensational and often misleading terms like 'monster'. My suggestion is 'cryptid', meaning a living thing having the quality of being hidden or unknown ... describing those creatures which are (or may be) subjects of cryptozoological investigation."

The Oxford English Dictionary defines the noun cryptid as "an animal whose existence or survival to the present day is disputed or unsubstantiated; any animal of interest to a cryptozoologist". While used by most cryptozoologists, the term cryptid is not used by academic zoologists. In a textbook aimed at undergraduates, academics Caleb W. Lack and Jacques Rousseau note that the subculture's focus on what it deems to be "cryptids" is a pseudoscientific extension of older belief in monsters and other similar entities from the folkloric record, yet with a "new, more scientific-sounding name: cryptids".

While biologists regularly identify new species, cryptozoologists often focus on creatures from the folkloric record. Most famously, these include the Loch Ness Monster, Bigfoot, the chupacabra, as well as other "imposing beasts that could be labeled as monsters". In their search for these entities, cryptozoologists may employ devices such as motion-sensitive cameras, night-vision equipment, and audio-recording equipment. While there have been attempts to codify cryptozoological approaches, unlike biologists, zoologists, botanists, and other academic disciplines, however, "there are no accepted, uniform, or successful methods for pursuing cryptids". Some scholars have identified precursors to modern cryptozoology in certain medieval approaches to the folkloric record, and the psychology behind the cryptozoology approach has been the subject of academic study.

Few cryptozoologists have a formal science education, and fewer still have a science background directly relevant to cryptozoology. Adherents often misrepresent the academic backgrounds of cryptozoologists. According to writer Daniel Loxton and paleontologist Donald Prothero, "[c]ryptozoologists have often promoted 'Professor Roy Mackal, PhD.' as one of their leading figures and one of the few with a legitimate doctorate in biology. What is rarely mentioned, however, is that he had no training that would qualify him to undertake competent research on exotic animals. This raises the specter of 'credential mongering', by which an individual or organization feints a person's graduate degree as proof of expertise, even though his or her training is not specifically relevant to the field under consideration." Besides Heuvelmans, Sanderson, and Mackal, other notable cryptozoologists with academic backgrounds include Grover Krantz, Karl Shuker, and Richard Greenwell.

Historically, notable cryptozoologists have often identified instances featuring "irrefutable evidence" (such as Sanderson and Krantz), only for the evidence to be revealed as the product of a hoax. This may occur during a closer examination by experts or upon confession of the hoaxer.

Expeditions
Cryptozoologists have often led expeditions to find evidence of their claims. Bigfoot researcher René Dahinden led unsuccessful expedition into caves to find evidence of sasquatch, which Daniel Loxton attributes to changes in the popular perception of bigfoot. Lensgrave Adam Christoffer Knuth led an expedition into Lake Tele in the Congo to find the Mokele-mbembe in 2018. While they found no evidence of the creature, they did find a new species of green algae.

Young Earth creationism
A subset of cryptozoology promotes the pseudoscience of Young Earth creationism, rejecting conventional science in favor of a Biblical interpretation and promoting concepts such as "living dinosaurs". Science writer Sharon A. Hill observes that the Young Earth creationist segment of cryptozoology is "well-funded and able to conduct expeditions with a goal of finding a living dinosaur that they think would invalidate evolution".

Anthropologist Jeb J. Card says that "[c]reationists have embraced cryptozoology and some cryptozoological expeditions are funded by and conducted by creationists hoping to disprove evolution." In a 2013 interview, paleontologist Donald Prothero notes an uptick in creationist cryptozoologists. He observes that "[p]eople who actively search for Loch Ness monsters or Mokele Mbembe do it entirely as creationist ministers. They think that if they found a dinosaur in the Congo it would overturn all of evolution. It wouldn't. It would just be a late-occurring dinosaur, but that's their mistaken notion of evolution."

Citing a 2013 exhibit at the Petersburg, Kentucky-based Creation Museum, which claimed that dragons were once biological creatures who walked the earth alongside humanity and is broadly dedicated to Young Earth creationism, religious studies academic Justin Mullis notes that "[c]ryptozoology has a long and curious history with Young Earth Creationism, with this new exhibit being just one of the most recent examples".

Academic Paul Thomas analyzes the influence and connections between cryptozoology in his 2020 study of the Creation Museum and the creationist theme park Ark Encounter. Thomas comments that, "while the Creation Museum and the Ark Encounter are flirting with pseudoarchaeology, coquettishly whispering pseudoarchaeological rhetoric, they are each fully in bed with cryptozoology" and observes that "[y]oung-earth creationists and cryptozoologists make natural bed fellows. As with pseudoarchaeology, both young-earth creationists and cryptozoologists bristle at the rejection of mainstream secular science and lament a seeming conspiracy to prevent serious consideration of their claims."

Lack of critical media coverage
Media outlets have often uncritically disseminated information from cryptozoologist sources, including newspapers that repeat false claims made by cryptozoologists or television shows that feature cryptozoologists as monster hunters (such as the popular and purportedly nonfiction American television show MonsterQuest, which aired from 2007 to 2010). Media coverage of purported "cryptids" often fails to provide more likely explanations, further propagating claims made by cryptozoologists.

Reception and pseudoscience
There is a broad consensus among academics that cryptozoology is a pseudoscience. The subculture is regularly criticized for reliance on anecdotal information and because in the course of investigating animals that most scientists believe are unlikely to have existed, cryptozoologists do not follow the scientific method. No academic course of study nor university degree program grants the status of cryptozoologist and the subculture is primarily the domain of individuals without training in the natural sciences.

Anthropologist Jeb J. Card summarizes cryptozoology in a survey of pseudoscience and pseudoarchaeology:

Card notes that "cryptozoologists often show their disdain and even hatred for professional scientists, including those who enthusiastically participated in cryptozoology", which he traces back to Heuvelmans's early "rage against critics of cryptozoology". He finds parallels with cryptozoology and other pseudosciences, such as ghost hunting and ufology, and compares the approach of cryptozoologists to colonial big-game hunters, and to aspects of European imperialism. According to Card, "[m]ost cryptids are framed as the subject of indigenous legends typically collected in the heyday of comparative folklore, though such legends may be heavily modified or worse. Cryptozoology's complicated mix of sympathy, interest, and appropriation of indigenous culture (or non-indigenous construction of it) is also found in New Age circles and dubious "Indian burial grounds" and other legends [...] invoked in hauntings such as the "Amityville" hoax [...]".

In a 2011 foreword for The American Biology Teacher, then National Association of Biology Teachers president Dan Ward uses cryptozoology as an example of "technological pseudoscience" that may confuse students about the scientific method. Ward says that "Cryptozoology [...] is not valid science or even science at all. It is monster hunting." Historian of science Brian Regal includes an entry for cryptozoology in his Pseudoscience: A Critical Encyclopedia (2009). Regal says that "as an intellectual endeavor, cryptozoology has been studied as much as cryptozoologists have sought hidden animals".

In a 1992 issue of Folklore, folklorist Véronique Campion-Vincent says:

Campion-Vincent says that "four currents can be distinguished in the study of mysterious animal appearances": "Forteans" ("compiler[s] of anomalies" such as via publications like the Fortean Times), "occultists" (which she describes as related to "Forteans"), "folklorists", and "cryptozoologists". Regarding cryptozoologists, Campion-Vincent says that "this movement seems to deserve the appellation of parascience, like parapsychology: the same corpus is reviewed; many scientists participate, but for those who have an official status of university professor or researcher, the participation is a private hobby".

In her Encyclopedia of American Folklore, academic Linda Watts says that "folklore concerning unreal animals or beings, sometimes called monsters, is a popular field of inquiry" and describes cryptozoology as an example of "American narrative traditions" that "feature many monsters".

In his analysis of cryptozoology, folklorist Peter Dendle says that "cryptozoology devotees consciously position themselves in defiance of mainstream science" and that:

In a paper published in 2013, Dendle refers to cryptozoologists as "contemporary monster hunters" that "keep alive a sense of wonder in a world that has been very thoroughly charted, mapped, and tracked, and that is largely available for close scrutiny on Google Earth and satellite imaging" and that "on the whole the devotion of substantial resources for this pursuit betrays a lack of awareness of the basis for scholarly consensus (largely ignoring, for instance, evidence of evolutionary biology and the fossil record)."

According to historian Mike Dash, few scientists doubt there are thousands of unknown animals, particularly invertebrates, awaiting discovery; however, cryptozoologists are largely uninterested in researching and cataloging newly discovered species of ants or beetles, instead focusing their efforts towards "more elusive" creatures that have often defied decades of work aimed at confirming their existence.

Paleontologist George Gaylord Simpson (1984) lists cryptozoology among examples of human gullibility, along with creationism:

Paleontologist Donald Prothero (2007) cites cryptozoology as an example of pseudoscience and categorizes it, along with Holocaust denial and UFO abductions claims, as aspects of American culture that are "clearly baloney".

In Scientifical Americans: The Culture of Amateur Paranormal Researchers (2017), Hill surveys the field and discusses aspects of the subculture, noting internal attempts at creating more scientific approaches and the involvement of Young Earth creationists and a prevalence of hoaxes. She concludes that many cryptozoologists are "passionate and sincere in their belief that mystery animals exist. As such, they give deference to every report of a sighting, often without critical questioning. As with the ghost seekers, cryptozoologists are convinced that they will be the ones to solve the mystery and make history. With the lure of mystery and money undermining diligent and ethical research, the field of cryptozoology has serious credibility problems."

Cryptobotany
Cryptobotany is a sub-discipline of cryptozoology researching the possible existence of plant cryptids. According to British cryptozoologist Karl Shuker's 2003 book The Beasts That Hide From Man there are unconfirmed reports, primarily from Latin America, of still-undiscovered species of large carnivorous plants.

Organizations
There have been several organizations, of varying types, dedicated or related to cryptozoology. These include:
 * International Fortean Organization – a network of professional Fortean researchers and writers based in the United States
 * International Society of Cryptozoology – an American organisation that existed from 1982 to 1998
 * Kosmopoisk – a Russian organisation whose interests include cryptozoology and Ufology
 * The Centre for Fortean Zoology- an English organization centered around hunting for unknown animals

Museums and exhibitions
The zoological and cryptozoological collection and archive of Bernard Heuvelmans is held at the Musée Cantonal de Zoologie in Lausanne and consists of around "1,000 books, 25,000 files, 25,000 photographs, correspondence, and artifacts".

In 2006, the Bates College Museum of Art held the "Cryptozoology: Out of Time Place Scale" exhibition, which compared cryptozoological creatures with recently extinct animals like the thylacine and extant taxa like the coelacanth, once thought long extinct (living fossils). The following year, the American Museum of Natural History put on a mixed exhibition of imaginary and extinct animals, including the elephant bird Aepyornis maximus and the great ape Gigantopithecus blacki, under the name "Mythic Creatures: Dragons, Unicorns and Mermaids".

In 2003, cryptozoologist Loren Coleman opened the International Cryptozoology Museum in Portland, Maine. The museum houses more than 3000 cryptozoology related artifacts.

title: Cryptozoology


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Craig Charles

Craig Joseph Charles (born 11 July 1964) is an English actor, comedian, DJ, and television and radio presenter. He is best known for his roles as Dave Lister in the science fiction sitcom Red Dwarf and Lloyd Mullaney in the soap opera Coronation Street (2005–2015). He presented the gladiator-style game show Robot Wars from 1998 to 2004, and narrated the comedy endurance show Takeshi's Castle. As a DJ, he appears on BBC Radio 6 Music.

Charles first appeared on television as a performance poet, which led to minor presenting roles. After finding fame in Red Dwarf, he regularly featured on national television with celebrity appearances on many popular shows while he continued to host a wide variety of programmes. From 2017 to 2022, Charles hosted The Gadget Show for Channel 5. His acting credits include playing inmate Eugene Buffy in the ITV drama The Governor, and leading roles in the British films Fated and Clubbing to Death.

Charles has hosted The Craig Charles Funk and Soul Show on BBC radio since 2002, and performs DJ sets at numerous clubs and festivals, nationally and internationally. In September 2015, he left Coronation Street after ten years of acting, to film new episodes of Red Dwarf and to continue his BBC Radio 6 Music and BBC Radio 2 broadcasting.

Early life
Craig Joseph Charles was born in Liverpool on 11 July 1964, the son of a Guyanese father and Irish mother. He grew up on the Cantril Farm housing estate with his older brother, Dean (died 2014), and two other brothers, Jimmy and Emile. He attended West Derby Comprehensive School followed by Childwall Hall College of Further Education, studying A-levels in History, Government & Politics, English Literature and General Studies. He won a national competition run by The Guardian newspaper for a poem he wrote when he was 12 years old. Upon leaving school, Charles spent time working in a studio at Central Hall on Renshaw Street in Liverpool.

Early career
Charles began his career as a contemporary and urban performance poet on the British cabaret circuit. His performances were considered original, with Charles described as having a natural ironic wit which appealed to talent scouts. In 1981, Charles climbed on stage at a Teardrop Explodes concert and recited a humorous, but derogatory, poem about the band's singer, Julian Cope. He was invited to open subsequent gigs for the group and went on to perform as a support act in pubs and clubs for the following three years, and at events such as the Larks in the Park music festival at Sefton Park (1982). He performed poetry reading poems by Vladimir Mayakovsky, W. H. Auden and E. E. Cummings, at Liverpool's Everyman Theatre (1983), with such poets as Roger McGough and Adrian Henri.

Charles was involved in the Liverpool music scene, writing and singing lyrics for a number of local rock bands. In 1980, he played keyboards, bass and provided voice in the rock band Watt 4. He performed his political rap lyrics as a 'Wordsmith'. In 1983, Charles was invited to record a session on the John Peel BBC Radio show, performing his poems backed by a band. This was his first professional engagement. He recorded a further Peel Session in 1984.

Charles realised he was using poetry as a vehicle for his sense of humour and progressed into stand-up comedy. He was part of the Red Wedge comedy tour in 1986, which aimed to raise awareness of the social problems of the time, in support of the Labour Party. He also performed his first one-man show in 1986, which premiered in Edinburgh, and then toured internationally. Charles was a guest on programmes including Janice Long's Radio 1 show, and he was a regular panellist on Ned Sherrin's chat show Loose Ends (1987–88) on BBC Radio 4.

Performance poetry
Charles first appeared on television as the resident poet on the arts programme Riverside on BBC2 and on the day-time BBC1 chat show Pebble Mill at One. Charles was the resident poet on the Channel 4 programme Black on Black (1985) and its entertainment-based successor Club Mix (1986), and he appeared, weekly, as a John Cooper Clarke-style 'punk poet' on the BBC2 pop music programme Oxford Road Show (ORS). Charles performed his political poems as stand-up comedy on the late-night show Saturday Live (1985–87) and on the prime-time BBC1 chat show Wogan (1986–87), where he performed a topical poem in a weekly feature. He also appeared as a guest on shows including Open Air (1988). Charles included significant acting in his performance style, enabling him to put the emotion across. In September 2015, Charles performed his "epic" poem Scary Fairy and the Tales of the Dark Wood live with the BBC Philharmonic orchestra, in a concert to be broadcast on BBC Radio 2's Friday Night Is Music Night at Halloween.

Red Dwarf
Charles' first television acting role was the Liverpudlian slob Dave Lister in science fiction comedy series Red Dwarf from 1988 to 1999. He was introduced to the show by Saturday Live and Red Dwarf producer Paul Jackson, who wanted his opinion on whether the black character Cat was a racist stereotype. Charles, who like all of the eventual main cast had no acting experience, was eventually offered an audition after begging Jackson.

Charles has appeared in all twelve series as well as Red Dwarf: The Promised Land (2020). Charles' younger brother, Emile Charles, guest-starred in the third-series episode "Timeslides", and the songs "Bad News" and "Cash" in this episode were written by Charles and performed by his band. The role has involved Charles playing a variety of alternative characters, including a gangster, a cowboy and angelic and evil versions of Lister, and in him carrying out a wide range of stunts, and acting involving special effects. All series, except 7 and 9, were recorded in front of a studio audience. Along with Danny John-Jules (Cat), Charles is one of only two cast members to appear in every episode of Red Dwarf to date.

Charles reads the audiobook editions of both the Red Dwarf novel Last Human and his book The Log: A Dwarfer's Guide to Everything, and he regularly attends sci-fi, comedy and memorabilia conventions in connection with the Red Dwarf franchise. During Back to Earth, Lister visits the set of Coronation Street, where he meets the actor Craig Charles.

Robot Wars
Charles presented Robot Wars on BBC2 (1998–2003) and Channel 5 (2003–04), from series 2 until series 7, which included two Extreme series and numerous 'specials'. Charles was the main host and presided over the arena in which teams of amateur engineers battled their home-made radio-controlled robots against each other, and against the house robots. Charles introduced the show, enthusiastically announced the results of the battles and spoke to the contestants after the main events. He ended each episode with a short Robot Wars-themed poem. Charles' son, Jack, appeared on the show on several occasions, and was a contestant on "Team Nemesis" during series 4. Charles also hosted the Robot Wars Live UK tour, in 2001 and shows performed at the Wembley Arena.

Robot Wars returned to the BBC in 2016. Charles stated his interest in hosting it again, but the job went to Dara Ó Briain and Angela Scanlon.

Takeshi's Castle
Charles provided the English voice-over commentary for the Challenge (2002–04) rebroadcast of the popular game show Takeshi's Castle, originally by Tokyo Broadcasting System in Japan. In each episode, between 100 and 142 contestants attempted to pass a series of wacky and near-impossible physical challenges to reach the Show Down at the castle against Japanese actor Takeshi Kitano for a chance to win large cash prizes. Charles co-wrote the programme and commentated throughout all 122 episodes of the four series, and also some special and "best of" episodes. He provided comedy insights into the contestants' abilities, which were designed to appeal to adult audiences, as well as younger viewers - and also coined the term "Keshi Heads" to describe fans of the show. A 2013 reboot narrated by Dick and Dom was not as well received.

Coronation Street
In 2005, Charles joined the main cast of Coronation Street, playing a philandering taxicab driver, Lloyd Mullaney. Charles introduced aspects of the character himself, making Lloyd a Northern Soul DJ and record collector, and funk music enthusiast. Charles has chosen funk and soul songs playing as backing tracks during scenes, and posters for The Craig Charles Funk & Soul Club and Red Dwarf have appeared in the background.

Charles portrayed Lloyd as tough, but kind-hearted and romantic, and the character was popular with viewers. Charles added a comedy element to the role, but was also involved in traumatic and emotional scenes with intricate storylines. In 2010, his character was involved in the show's dramatic 50th anniversary tram crash storyline, which was broadcast live. Charles presented documentaries for the show, including 50 Years of Corrie Stunts (2010), which is included on the Tram Crash DVD. In November 2011, Charles took time off from Coronation Street to film a new series of Red Dwarf, returning in April 2012. In February 2014 an online mini-series, Steve & Lloyd's Streetcar Stories, ran alongside the television show's storyline.

In May 2015, Craig announced he would be leaving Coronation Street for Red Dwarf, BBC Radio 2 and BBC Radio 6 Music. Lloyd left in a red Cadillac during the live episode on 23 September, although his final pre-recorded farewell scenes with Steve were shown during the following episode.

Other acting roles
Charles has acted in episodes of popular dramas such as The Bill (1995), EastEnders (2002) and Holby City (2003) and in the comedy The 10 Percenters (1996). Charles played the emotionally disturbed and violent prisoner, Eugene Buffy, in the highly successful Lynda La Plante drama series The Governor (1996); the title role in the Channel 4 pirate sitcom Captain Butler (1997); the warden of a women's prison in the Canadian sci-fi fantasy Lexx (2001); Detective Chief Inspector Mercer in seven episodes of the BBC soap opera Doctors (2003); and soccer agent, Joel Brooks, in the Sky TV football soap Dream Team (2004).

Other presenting roles
Charles has presented children's television programmes, including What's That Noise? (1989) and Parallel 9 (1992) on BBC1 and Go Getters (1994) on ITV. He was the travelling reporter for the highly acclaimed, but controversial, BBC 'mockumentary' Ghostwatch, which tricked viewers into believing it was a live investigation into ghost sightings in a suburban home on Halloween night (1992). Charles presented the virtual reality game show Cyberzone (1993) on BBC2; the late-night entertainment show Funky Bunker (1997) on ITV; the reality show Jailbreak (2000) on Channel 5; the discussion show Amazing Space: The Pub Guide to the Universe (2001) on National Geographic; and the late-night current affairs chat show Weapons of Mass Distraction (2004) on ITV.

Other appearances
Charles has appeared on celebrity editions of University Challenge (1998), Can't Cook, Won't Cook (1998), The Weakest Link (2004), The Chase (2012) and Pointless (2013), and comedy panel shows such as Have I Got News for You (1995), Just a Minute (1995) and They Think It's All Over (1996) and Keith Lemon's Through the Keyhole (2014). He was a team captain on the sci-fi quiz series Space Cadets (1997) on Channel 4, which guest-starred William Shatner. Charles has opened The National Lottery Draw (1997) and his home has featured on Through the Keyhole. Charles was a contestant in the Celebrity Poker Club tournament (2004) on Challenge, where he reached the semi-finals, and in the Channel 4 reality game show, The Games (2005), which documented the contestants' intensive training regime and each live Olympic Games-style sporting event.

From 16 November 2014, Charles took part in the fourteenth series of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! However, on 20 November, Charles left the series soon after learning that his brother Dean had died after suffering a heart attack.

Radio
As well as his early appearances on shows such as Radio 4's Loose Ends (1987–88) and Kaleidoscope in the early 1990s, Charles could be heard on the London Radio Station Kiss 100 (Kiss FM) as the Breakfast show presenter. In 1995, Charles played the Porter in Steven Berkoff's adaptation of Shakespeare's Macbeth, on Radio 4.

Since 2002, Charles has been a DJ on BBC Radio 6 Music presenting The Craig Charles Funk and Soul Show, on air on Saturday evenings 6 pm to 9 pm, where he plays a diverse range of funk and soul music, from classic tracks to the latest releases, and provides publicity for less familiar bands. Charles explains the context for the music and carries out interviews with guest musicians. He was with the station at its launch, and while it was being tested during the previous year, under the name Network Y. Charles has also hosted the station's Breakfast Show (2004), and sits in for other presenters including Andrew Collins, Phil Wilding, Phill Jupitus, and Radcliffe & Maconie.

From January until November 2014, Charles also broadcast The Funk and Soul Show live on BBC Radio 2, immediately after his 6 Music show. He regularly sits in for various presenters, and has presented numerous programmes on the station, including The Craig Charles Soul All-Nighter (2011), which he hosted continuously for 12 hours, and the Beatleland (2012) documentary on The Beatles. Charles has also chosen music as a guest of other broadcasters such as Ken Bruce on Radio 2 and Liz Kershaw on 6 Music. Charles covered for Graham Norton on Radio 2's Saturday mid-morning show during Norton's 10-week 2015 summer break. From 16 April 2016 until 18 June 2022, Charles presented the House Party on Saturday nights on BBC Radio 2, with the show airing between 10 pm and midnight. For eight weeks from April–June 2020, he also presented Craig Charles At Teatime between 4 pm and 7 pm on weekdays on Radio 6 Music. The show was sometimes billed as Craig Charles Weekend Workout on Fridays.

Since 18 October 2021, Charles has hosted the weekday afternoon show on BBC Radio 6 Music (1 pm – 4 pm). The shows include the "Trunk of Punk" and the "Jar of Ska". In 2023 the weekday show won the Gold Aria award for Best Music Entertainment Show.

Music
Charles has been involved in the music industry through much of his career. His bands have included Watt 4 (1980), in which he played keyboards and sang; Craig Charles and the Beat Burglars (1989); The Sons of Gordon Gekko (1989), where he wrote lyrics and also composed tunes; and The Eye (2000–02), with whom he recorded the rock album Giving You the Eye, Live at the Edinburgh Festival. Charles plays guitar and piano.

In 1987, Charles provided the poem track used for the opening credits of the BBC series The Marksman (in which he also acted), which is included on the album "The Marksman: Music from the BBC TV Series". Charles wrote lyrics for Suzanne Rhatigan's album To Hell with Love (1992). In 1993, Charles was signed to the Acid Jazz record label.

In 2009, Charles formed the Fantasy Funk Band from the leading British musicians in the genre, and has presented the band at festivals, including Glastonbury and the BBC's Proms in the Park. As a continuation of his 6 Music show, Charles regularly takes the Craig Charles Funk & Soul Club to varied venues across the UK and abroad, and to the major UK music festivals. He performs live DJ sets, occasionally comperes and curates events, including his own Craig Charles Fantasy Weekender, and has broadcast the radio show live from festival locations.

In 2012, Charles released the compilation album The Craig Charles Funk & Soul Club, on CD and as a digital download, as part of a three-album deal with Freestyle Records. The second volume was released in the same format in 2013, and the third in 2014. He followed these with a Craig Charles Funk and Soul Classics album of three CDs in 2015.

Stand-up comedy and theatre
Charles returned to stand-up comedy between 1995 and 2001, regularly touring his one-man adult-rated shows nationally and releasing the videos Craig Charles: Live on Earth! (1995), Live Official Bootleg (1996) and Sickbag (2000). International performances included the Great Norwegian Comedy Festival and the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.

Charles appeared in the John Godber comedy play Teechers, in which he swapped in and out of various roles, at the Arts Theatre, London, and at the Edinburgh Festival (1989), and he played Idle Jack in the pantomime Dick Whittington, at the Hull New Theatre (1997). In 2000, he performed the show Craig Charles and His Band at the Edinburgh Festival.

Charles has a regular slot at Butlins Minehead House Of Fun Weekend every third November for three nights, of DJing, Comedy, Twanging and singing.

Film roles
Charles played Eddie in the 1987 political drama Business as Usual. In 2006, Charles starred in two British feature films: the fantasy film Fated and the gangster film Clubbing to Death. Charles voiced Zipper the Cat in the animation Prince Cinders (1993) and Asterix in Asterix Conquers America (1994). Roles in short films include playing Keith Dennis in the comedy The Colour of Funny (1999) and Mark in the drama Ten Minutes (2004).

Writing
In 1993, Charles worked with Russell Bell on the Craig Charles Almanac of Total Knowledge, writing about his 'streetwise' sense of humour on a range of topics, from the world's most embarrassing stories to how to explain the mysteries of the universe. In 1997, Charles and Bell wrote Charles' Red Dwarf character's book The Log, in which Lister decides to leave a log detailing mankind's greatest achievements. In 1998, Charles published No Other Blue, a collection of his poetry, with illustrations by Philippa Drakeford, on diverse personal subjects including prison, his mother's final illness, love and politics at home and abroad. More recently he has written a series of nursery rhymes titled "Scary Fairy and the Tales of the Dark Wood".

In 2000, Charles wrote his first autobiography about his experiences growing up in Liverpool, titled No Irish, No Niggers. In 2007, he announced he would release his autobiography, planned for March 2008, published by Hodder Headline and titled On the Rocks, which would cover the recent incidents in his life and be based on much of his journal, which Charles said he kept while in rehab.

Charles has been involved in journalism and has had a column in Time Out magazine. In 1994, he launched a single issue of Comedy magazine with articles dedicated to the comedy circuit. In 2005 and 2006, Charles was a monthly columnist for the Liverpool Echo newspaper. His television writing credits include The Easter Stories (1994), Funky Bunker (1997) and Takeshi's Castle (2002). He is also involved in music journalism as he wrote liner notes for the funk and soul music producer Mr. Confuse for his albums Feel The Fire (2008), Do You Realize (2012) and Only A Man (2018) regarding his work as a music presenter for The Craig Charles Funk and Soul Show on BBC Radio 6 Music.

Personal life
Charles resides in Altrincham, Greater Manchester. He has three children: a son named Jack from his first marriage to actress Cathy Tyson, and two daughters named Anna-Jo and Nellie from his second marriage to Jackie Fleming.

In July 1994, Charles and another man were charged with rape and four counts of indecent assault, following allegations by an associate and ex-girlfriend of Charles. Charles was remanded in custody for three-and-a-half months before being granted bail, during which time he was assaulted by a man wielding a makeshift knife. In March 1995, Charles and his co-accused were acquitted of all charges at trial. After being acquitted, Charles spoke of the need to restore anonymity for those accused of rape. He stated, "The fact that my name and address along with my picture can appear on the front of the papers before the so-called 'victim' has even signed a statement proves that anonymity for rape defendants is a must and that the law must be changed."

Charles has battled drug addiction—he described himself in 2015 as "quite an addictive person", trying to find healthier addictions, of which work was one. In June 2006, newspaper allegations of crack cocaine use resulted in Charles being suspended from both Coronation Street and BBC Radio 6 Music. In August, Charles was arrested and released on bail pending further enquiries, and in September he accepted a caution for possession of a Class A drug. Charles returned to hosting his 6 Music show from November 2006 and filming Coronation Street from January 2007. In a 2015 interview, Charles spoke of his need to remain "vigilant" in abstaining from drugs. In 2020 he said that the newspaper reports were the best thing that could have happened to him, leading him to join Narcotics Anonymous and straighten out his personal life.

Published

 * 1993, Craig Charles Almanac of Total Knowledge (with Russell Bell), Penguin Books
 * 1997, The Log: A Dwarfer's Guide to Everything (with Russell Bell), Penguin Books
 * 1998, No Other Blue (illustrations by Philippa Drakeford), Penguin Books

Unpublished

 * 2000, No Irish, No Niggers, Penguin Books
 * 2008, On the Rocks, Hodder Headline

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Craig Charles


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County Mayo

County Mayo is a county in Ireland. In the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, it is named after the village of Mayo, now generally known as Mayo Abbey. Mayo County Council is the local authority. The population was 137,231 at the 2022 census. The boundaries of the county, which was formed in 1585, reflect the Mac William Íochtar lordship at that time.

Geography
It is bounded on the north and west by the Atlantic Ocean; on the south by County Galway; on the east by County Roscommon; and on the northeast by County Sligo. Mayo is the third-largest of Ireland's 32 counties in area and 18th largest in terms of population. It is the second-largest of Connacht's five counties in both size and population. Mayo has 1168 km of coastline, or approximately 21% of the total coastline of the State. It is one of three counties which claims to have the longest coastline in Ireland, alongside Cork and Donegal. There is a distinct geological difference between the west and the east of the county. The west consists largely of poor subsoils and is covered with large areas of extensive Atlantic blanket bog, whereas the east is largely a limestone landscape. Agricultural land is therefore more productive in the east than in the west.

 * The highest point in Mayo (and Connacht) is Mweelrea, at 814 m
 * The River Moy in the northeast of the county is renowned for its salmon fishing
 * Ireland's largest island, Achill Island, lies off Mayo's west coast
 * Mayo has Ireland's highest cliffs at Croaghaun, Achill Island, while the Benwee Head cliffs in Kilcommon Erris drop almost perpendicularly 900 ft into the Atlantic Ocean.
 * The northwest areas of County Mayo have some of the best renewable energy resources in Europe, if not the world, in terms of wind resources, ocean wave, tidal and hydroelectric resources

There are nine historic baronies, four in the northern area and five in the south of the county:

North Mayo
 * Erris (north-west, containing Belmullet, Gweesalia, Bangor Erris, Kilcommon, Ballycroy etc.)
 * Burrishoole (west, containing Achill, Mulranny and Newport, County Mayo)
 * Gallen (east, containing Bonniconlon, Foxford)
 * Tyrawley (north-east, containing Ballina, Ballycastle, Killala, Moygownagh)

South Mayo
 * Clanmorris, (south-east, containing Claremorris and Balla)
 * Costello (east-south-east, containing Kilkelly Ballyhaunis etc.)
 * Murrisk (south-west, containing Westport, Louisburgh, Croagh Patrick etc.)
 * Kilmaine (south, containing Ballinrobe, Cong etc.)
 * Carra (south, containing Castlebar, Partry etc.)

Largest towns by population
According to the 2022 census:
 * 1) Castlebar 13,054
 * 2) Ballina 10,556
 * 3) Westport 6,872
 * 4) Claremorris 3,857
 * 5) Ballinrobe 3,148
 * 6) Ballyhaunis 2,773
 * 7) Swinford 1,459
 * 8) Foxford 1,452
 * 9) Kiltimagh 1,232
 * 10) Crossmolina 1,134

Flora and fauna
A survey of the terrestrial and freshwater algae of Clare Island was made between 1990 and 2005 and published in 2007. A record of Gunnera tinctoria is also noted.

Consultants working for the Corrib gas project have carried out extensive surveys of wildlife flora and fauna in Kilcommon Parish, Erris between 2002 and 2009. This information is published in the Corrib Gas Proposal Environmental impact statements 2009 and 2010.

Prehistory
There is evidence of human occupation of what is now County Mayo going far back into prehistory. At Belderrig on the north Mayo coast, there is evidence for Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age) communities around 4500 BC. while throughout the county there is a wealth of archaeological remains from the Neolithic (New Stone Age) period (ca. 4,000 BC to 2,500 BC), particularly in terms of megalithic tombs and ritual stone circles.

The first people who came to Ireland – mainly to coastal areas as the interior was heavily forested – arrived during the Middle Stone Age, as far back as eleven thousand years ago. Artefacts of hunter/gatherers are sometimes found in middens, rubbish pits around hearths where people would have rested and cooked over large open fires. Once cliffs erode, midden remains become exposed as blackened areas containing charred stones, bones, and shells. They are usually found a metre below the surface. Mesolithic people did not have major rituals associated with burial, unlike those of the Neolithic (New Stone Age) period. The Neolithic period followed the Mesolithic around 6,000 years ago. People began to farm the land, domesticate animals for food and milk, and settle in one place for longer periods. These people had skills such as making pottery, building houses from wood, weaving, and knapping (stone tool working). The first farmers cleared forestry to graze livestock and grow crops. In North Mayo, where the ground cover was fragile, thin soils washed away and blanket bog covered the land farmed by the Neolithic people.

Extensive pre-bog field systems have been discovered under the blanket bog, particularly along the North Mayo coastline in Erris and north Tyrawley at sites such as the Céide Fields, centred on the northeast coast.

The Neolithic people developed rituals associated with burying their dead; this is why they built huge, elaborate, galleried stone tombs for their dead leaders, known nowadays as megalithic tombs. There are over 160 recorded megaliths in County Mayo, such as Faulagh.

Megalithic tombs
There are four distinct types of Irish megalithic tombs—court tombs, portal tombs, passage tombs and wedge tombs—examples of all of which can be found in County Mayo. Areas particularly rich in megalithic tombs include Achill, Kilcommon, Ballyhaunis, Moygownagh, Killala and the Behy/Glenurla area around the Céide Fields.

Bronze Age (ca. 2,500 BC to 500 BC)
Megalithic tomb building continued into the Bronze Age when metal began to be used for tools alongside the stone tools. The Bronze Age lasted approximately from 4,500 years ago to 2,500 years ago (2,500 BC to 500 BC). Archaeological remains from this period include stone alignments, stone circles and fulachta fiadh (early cooking sites). They continued to bury their chieftains in megalithic tombs which changed design during this period, more being of the wedge tomb type and cist burials.

Iron Age (ca. 500 BC to AD 325)
Around 2,500 years ago the Iron Age took over from the Bronze Age as more and more metalworking took place. This is thought to have coincided with the arrival of Celtic speaking peoples and the introduction of the ancestor of the Irish language. Towards the end of this period, the Roman Empire was at its height in Britain but it is not thought that the Roman Empire extended into Ireland. Remains from this period, which lasted until the Early Christian period began about AD 325 (with the arrival of Saint Patrick into Ireland, as a slave) include crannógs (Lake dwellings), promontory forts, ringforts and souterrains of which there are numerous examples across the county. The Iron Age was a time of tribal warfare and kingships, each fighting neighbouring kings, vying for control of territories and taking slaves. Territories were marked by tall stone markers, Ogham stones, using the first written down words using the Ogham alphabet. The Iron Age is the time period in which the mythological tales of the Ulster Cycle and sagas took place, as well as that of the Táin Bó Flidhais, whose narrative is set in mainly in Erris.

Early Christian period (ca. AD 325 to AD 800)
Christianity came to Ireland around the start of the 5th century. It brought many changes including the introduction of the Latin alphabet. The tribal 'tuatha' and new Christian religious settlements existed side by side. Sometimes it suited the chieftains to become part of the early Churches, other times they remained as separate entities. St. Patrick (4th century) may have spent time in County Mayo and it is believed that he spent forty days and forty nights on Croagh Patrick praying for the people of Ireland. From the middle of the 6th-century hundreds of small monastic settlements were established around the county. Some examples of well-known early monastic sites in Mayo include Mayo Abbey, Aughagower, Ballintubber, Errew Abbey, Cong Abbey, Killala, Turlough on the outskirts of Castlebar, and island settlements off the Mullet Peninsula like the Inishkea Islands, Inishglora and Duvillaun.

In 795 the first of the Viking raids took place. The Vikings came from Scandinavia to raid the monasteries as they were places of wealth with precious metal working taking place in them. Some of the larger ecclesiastical settlements erected round towers to prevent their precious items from being plundered and also to show their status and strength against these pagan raiders from the north. There are round towers at Aughagower, Balla, Killala, Turlough and Meelick. The Vikings established settlements that later developed into towns (Dublin, Cork, Wexford, Waterford etc.) but none were in County Mayo. Between the reigns of Kings of Connacht Cathal mac Conchobar mac Taidg (973–1010) and Tairrdelbach Ua Conchobair (1106–1156), various tribal territories were incorporated into the kingdom of Connacht and ruled by the Siol Muirdaig dynasty, based initially at Rathcroghan in County Roscommon, and from c. 1050 at Tuam. The families of O'Malley and O'Dowd of Mayo served as admirals of the fleet of Connacht, while families such as O'Lachtnan, Mac Fhirbhisigh, and O'Cleary were ecclesiastical and bardic clans.

Anglo-Normans (12th to 16th centuries)
In AD 1169 when one of the warring kings in the east of Ireland, Dermot MacMurrough, appealed to the King of England for help in his fight with a neighbouring king, the response resulted in the Anglo-Norman colonisation of Ireland. County Mayo came under Norman control in AD 1235. Norman control meant the eclipse of many Gaelic lords and chieftains, chiefly the O'Connors of Connacht. During the 1230s, the Anglo-Normans and Welsh under Richard Mór de Burgh (c. 1194 – 1242) invaded and settled in the county, introducing new families such as Burke, Gibbons, Staunton, Prendergast, Morris, Joyce, Walsh, Barrett, Lynott, Costello, Padden and Price, Norman names are still common in County Mayo. Following the collapse of the lordship in the 1330s, all these families became estranged from the Anglo-Irish administration based in Dublin and assimilated with the Gaelic-Irish, adopting their language, religion, dress, laws, customs and culture and marrying into Irish families. They became "more Irish than the Irish themselves".

The most powerful clan to emerge during this era were the Mac William Burkes, also known as the Mac William Iochtar (see Burke Civil War 1333–1338), descended from Sir William Liath de Burgh, who defeated the Gaelic-Irish at the Second Battle of Athenry in August 1316. They were frequently at war with their cousins, Clanricarde of Galway, and in alliance with or against various factions of the O'Conor's of Siol Muiredaig and O'Kelly's of Uí Maine. The O'Donnell's of Tyrconnell regularly invaded in an attempt to secure their right to rule.

The Anglo-Normans encouraged and established many religious orders from continental Europe to settle in Ireland. Mendicant orders—Augustinians, Carmelites, Dominicans and Franciscans began new settlements across Ireland and built large churches, many under the patronage of prominent Gaelic families. Some of these sites include Cong, Strade, Ballintubber, Errew Abbey, Burrishoole Abbey and Mayo Abbey. During the 15th and 16th centuries, despite regular conflicts between them as England chopped and changed between religious beliefs, the Irish usually regarded the King of England as their King. When Elizabeth I came to the throne in the mid-16th century, the English people, as was customary at that time, followed the religious practices of the reigning monarch and became Protestant. Many Irish people such as Grace O'Malley, the famous pirate queen, had close relationships with the English monarchy, and the English kings and queens were welcome visitors to Irish shores. The Irish however, generally held onto their Catholic religious practices and beliefs. The early plantations of settlers in Ireland began during the reign of Queen Mary in the mid-16th century and continued throughout the long reign of Queen Elizabeth I until 1603. By then the term County Mayo had come into use. In the summer of 1588, the galleons of the Spanish Armada were wrecked by storms along the west coast of Ireland. Some of the hapless Spaniards came ashore in Mayo, only to be robbed and imprisoned, and in many cases slaughtered.

Almost all the religious foundations set up by the Anglo-Normans were suppressed in the wake of the Reformation in the 16th century.

Protestant settlers from Scotland, England, and elsewhere in Ireland, settled in the County in the early 17th century. Many would be killed or forced to flee because of the 1641 Rebellion, during which a number of massacres were committed by the Catholic Gaelic Irish, most notably at Shrule in 1642. A third of the overall population was reported to have perished due to warfare, famine and plague between 1641 and 1653, with several areas remaining disturbed and frequented by Reparees into the 1670s.

17th and 18th centuries
Pirate Queen Grace O'Malley is probably the best-known person from County Mayo between the mid-16th century and the turn of the 17th century. In the 1640s, when Oliver Cromwell overthrew the English monarchy and set up a parliamentarian government, Ireland suffered severely. With a stern regime in absolute control needing to pay its armies and allies, the need to pay them with grants of land in Ireland led to the 'to hell or to Connaught' policies. Displaced native Irish families from other (eastern and southern mostly) parts of the country were either forced to leave the country or were awarded grants of land 'west of the Shannon' and put off their own lands in the east. The land in the west was divided and sub-divided between more and more people as huge estates were granted on the best land in the east to those who best pleased the English. Mayo does not seem to have been affected much during the Williamite War in Ireland, though many natives were outlawed and exiled.

For the vast majority of people in County Mayo the 18th century was a period of unrelieved misery. Because of the penal laws, Catholics had no hope of social advancement while they remained in their native land. Some, like William Brown (1777–1857), left Foxford with his family at the age of nine and thirty years later was an admiral in the fledgeling Argentine Navy. Today he is a national hero in that country.

The general unrest in Ireland was felt just as keenly across Mayo, and as the 19th century approached and news reached Ireland about the American War of Independence and the French Revolution, the downtrodden Irish, constantly suppressed by Government policies and decisions from Dublin and London, began to rally themselves for their own stand against British rule in their country. 1798 saw Mayo become a central part of the United Irishmen Rebellion when General Humbert from France landed in Killala with over 1,000 soldiers playing to support the main uprising. They marched across the county towards the administrative centre of Castlebar, leading to the Battle of Castlebar. Taking the garrison by surprise Humbert's army was victorious. He established a ' Republic of Connacht' with John Moore of the Moore family from Moore Hall near Partry as its head. Humbert's army marched on towards Sligo, Leitrim and Longford where they were suddenly faced with a massive British army and were forced to surrender in less than half an hour. The French soldiers were treated honourably, but for the Irish the surrender meant slaughter. Many died on the scaffold in towns like Castlebar and Claremorris, where the high sheriff for County Mayo, the Honourable Denis Browne, M.P., brother of Lord Altamont, wreaked a terrible vengeance – thus earning for himself the nickname which has survived in folk memory to the present day, 'Donnchadh an Rópa' (Denis of the Rope).

In the 18th century and early 19th century, sectarian tensions arose as evangelical Protestant missionaries sought to 'redeem the Irish poor from the errors of Popery'. One of the best known was the Rev. Edward Nangle's mission at Dugort in Achill. These too were the years of the campaign for Catholic Emancipation and, later, for the abolition of the tithes, which a predominately Catholic population was forced to pay for the upkeep of the clergy of the Established (Protestant) Church.

19th and 20th centuries
During the early years of the 19th century, famine was a common occurrence, particularly where population pressure was a problem. The population of Ireland grew to over eight million people prior to the Irish Famine (or Great Famine) of 1845–47. The Irish people depended on the potato crop for their sustenance. Disaster struck in August 1845, when a killer fungus (later diagnosed as Phytophthora infestans) started to destroy the potato crop. When widespread famine struck, about a million people died and a further million left the country. People died in the fields of starvation and disease. The catastrophe was particularly bad in County Mayo, where nearly ninety per cent of the population depended on the potato as their staple food. By 1848, Mayo was a county of total misery and despair, with any attempts at alleviating measures in complete disarray.

There are numerous reminders of the Great Famine to be seen on the Mayo landscape: workhouse sites, famine graves, sites of soup kitchens, deserted homes and villages and even traces of undug 'lazy-beds' in fields on the sides of hills. Many roads and lanes were built as famine relief measures. There were nine workhouses in the county: Ballina, Ballinrobe, Belmullet, Castlebar, Claremorris, Killala, Newport, Swinford and Westport.

A small poverty-stricken place called Knock, County Mayo, made headlines when it was announced that an apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Joseph and St. John had taken place there on 21 August 1879, witnessed by fifteen local people.

A national movement was initiated in County Mayo during 1879 by Michael Davitt, James Daly, and others, which brought about a major social change in Ireland. Michael Davitt, a labourer whose family had moved to England joined forces with Charles Stewart Parnell to win back the land for the people from the landlords and stop evictions for non-payment of rents. The organisation became known as the Irish National Land League, and its struggle to win rights for poor farmers in Ireland was known as the Land War.

It was in this era of agrarian unrest that a new verb was introduced to the English language by Mayo - "to boycott". Charles Boycott was an English landlord deeply unpopular with his tenants. When Charles Steward Parnell made a speech in Ennis, County Clare, urging nonviolent resistance against landlords, his tactics were enthusiastically taken in Mayo against Boycott. The entire Catholic community around Lough Mask in South Mayo where Boycott had his estate became a campaign of total social ostracisation against Boycott, a tactic that would one day come to bear his name. The campaign against Boycott became a cause célèbre in the British press after he wrote a letter to The Times. The British elite rallied to his cause and Fifty Orangemen from County Cavan and County Monaghan travelled to his estate to harvest the crops, while a regiment of the 19th Royal Hussars and more than 1,000 men of the Royal Irish Constabulary were deployed to protect the harvesters. However, the cost of doing this was completely uneconomic: It cost the British government somewhere in the region of £10,000 to simply harvest £500 worth of crops. Boycott sold off the estate and the British government's resolve to try to break boycotts in this completely dissolved, resulting in victory for the tenants.

The "Land Question" was gradually resolved by a scheme of state-aided land purchase schemes. The tenants became the owners of their lands under the newly set-up Land Commission.

A Mayo nun, Mother Agnes Morrogh-Bernard, set up the Foxford Woollen Mill in 1892. She made Foxford synonymous throughout the world with high-quality tweeds, rugs and blankets.

Mayo, as all parts of what became the Irish Free State, was affected by the events of the Irish revolutionary period, including the Irish War of Independence and the subsequent Irish Civil War. Major John MacBride of Westport was amongst those who took part in the 1916 Easter Rising and was subsequently executed by the British for his participation. His death served as a rallying call for Republicans in Mayo and led to Mayo men such as P. J. Ruttledge, Ernie O'Malley, Michael Kilroy and Thomas Derrig to rise up during the War of Independence. In the ensuing Civil War, many of these leading figures chose the Anti-treaty side and fought in bitter battles such as those in Ballina, which changed hands between pro and anti-treaty forces a number of times.

In the aftermath of the Civil War, there was a consolidation of many of those with anti-treaty feelings into the new political party Fianna Fáil. PJ Ruttledge and Thomas Derrig would become founding members of the party and served in Éamon de Valera's first-ever Fianna Fáil government as ministers. Mayo politicians would continue to contribute to the national political scene over the decades. In 1990 Mary Robinson, from County Mayo, became the first-ever female President of Ireland, and is widely credited with revitalising the position with importance and focus it had never possessed before. During her tenure she unveiled Ireland's National Famine Memorial which is situated in the village of Murrisk, County Mayo.

In 2011 Enda Kenny became the first politician from a Mayo constituency and the second Mayo native to serve as Taoiseach, the head of government of Ireland. Kenny went on to become the longest-serving Fine Gael Taoiseach in Irish history.

Clans and families
In the early historic period, what is now County Mayo consisted of a number of large kingdoms, minor lordships and tribes of obscure origins. They included:

 * Calraige           – pre-historic tribe found in the parishes of Attymass, Kilgarvan, Crossmolina and the River Moy
 * Ciarraige          – settlers from Munster found in south-east Mayo around Kiltimagh and west County Roscommon
 * Conmaicne – a people located in the barony of Kilmaine, alleged descendants of Fergus mac Róich
 * Fir Domnann        – branch of the Laigin, originally from Britain, located in Erris
 * Gamanraige         – pre-historic kings of Connacht, famous for battle with Medb & Ailill of Cruachan in Táin Bó Flidhais. Based in Erris, Carrowmore Lake, Killala Bay, Lough Conn
 * Gailenga           – kingdom extending east from Castlebar to adjoining parts of Mayo
 * Uí Fiachrach Muidhe – a sept of the Connachta, based around Ballina, some of whom were kings of Connacht
 * Partraige          – a pre-Gaelic people of Lough Mask and Lough Carra, namesakes of Partry
 * Umaill             – kingdom surrounding Clew Bay, east towards Castlebar, its rulers adopted the surname O'Malley

Local government and political subdivisions
Mayo County Council is the authority responsible for local government. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The county is divided into four municipal districts of Ballina, Castlebar, Claremorris and Westport–Belmullet, each with a population of roughly 32,000 to 34,000 people. The council is responsible for housing and community, roads and transportation, urban planning and development, amenity and culture, and environment.

County Mayo is divided into six local electoral areas (LEAs). Councillors are elected for a five-year term.

The county town is at Áras an Contae in Castlebar, the main population centre located in the centre of the county.

National politics
Since 2016, Mayo has been represented on a national political level by four TDs who represent the constituency of Mayo in Dáil Eireann. Previous to 2016 the constituency had five TDs but this was reduced based on the county's current population in line with proportional representation. The electoral divisions of Cong, Dalgan, Houndswood, Kilmaine, Neale, Shrule, in the former Rural District of Ballinrobe, are in Galway West.

Voting patterns and political history
Historically, Mayo has tended to vote Fianna Fáil, as Fianna Fáil managed to position themselves in the 20th century as the party best fit to represent farmers with small holdings, who were plentiful in Mayo. With so many of Mayo's electorate being small farmers, the county became a base for the emergence of Clann na Talmhan, an agrarian party in the 1940s and 1950s. Clann an Talmhan's second leader, Joseph Blowick came from South Mayo and that is where his seat was. The party was not able to last in the long run though as it was unable to hold together its voting bloc of both small farmers in the west of Ireland and large farmers in the east.

Towards the start of the 21st century, the balance of power in Mayo began to shift towards Fine Gael, thanks in part to the emergence of Enda Kenny and Michael Ring. Kenny, who became Taoiseach in 2011, led Fine Gael to a historic victory in the 2011 Irish general election which included securing four out of five available seats for his party in Mayo.

In 2020, Rose Conway-Walsh came within 200 votes of topping the poll and became the first Sinn Féin TD for Mayo since 1927, riding a nationwide surge for Sinn Féin that year.

Despite being historically the third-largest party in Ireland, Labour has struggled to ever make inroads into Mayo. The party has only ever had one TD for Mayo, former party leader Thomas J. O'Connell, who represented South Mayo between 1927 and 1932. While Labour has not proven itself electorally successful in Mayo, Mayo has provided important members to the Labour Party. Mary Robinson from Ballina became the first-ever female President of Ireland as a Labour candidate while Pat Rabbitte, originally from Claremorris, served as leader of the Labour Party from 2002 to 2007. Serving alongside Rabbitte was Emmet Stagg, one of the longest-standing Labour TDs of the modern era, himself from Hollymount not far from Claremorris.

Demographics
Irish history has been defined by waves of emigration due to push and pull factors. Mayo county was one of the worst affected counties by emigration in the ninetieth and twentieth century. Initially triggered by the Great Famine which say the population between 1841 and 1851, the population decline from 388,887 to 274,830. Then in search of work in the newly industrialising United Kingdom and the United States, the population plummeted from 388,887 in 1841 to 199,166 in 1901. It reached a low of 109,525 in 1971. Emigration slowed dramatically as the Irish economy began to expand in the 1990s and early 2000s, and the population of Mayo increased from 110,713 in 1991 to 130,638 in 2011.

Religion
In the 2006 National Census, the religious demographic breakdown for County Mayo was 114,215 Roman Catholics, 2,476 Church of Ireland, 733 Muslims, 409 other Christians, 280 Presbyterians, 250 Orthodox Christians, 204 Methodists, 853 other stated religions, 3,267 no religion and 1,152 no stated religion.

Irish language
9% of the population of County Mayo live in the Gaeltacht. The Gaeltacht Irish-speaking region in County Mayo is the third-largest in Ireland with 10,886 inhabitants. Tourmakeady is the largest village in this area. All schools in the area use Irish as the language of instruction. Mayo has four gaelscoileanna in its four major towns, providing primary education to students through Irish.

Rail
Westport railway station is the terminus station on the Dublin to Westport Rail service. Railway stations are also located at Ballyhaunis, Claremorris, Castlebar, Manulla, Ballina and Foxford. All railway stations are located on the same railway line, with the exception of Ballina and Foxford which requires passengers to change at Manulla Junction. There are currently four services each way every day on the line.

There are also proposals to reopen the currently disused Western Railway Corridor connecting Limerick with Sligo.

Road
There are a number of national primary roads in the county including the N5 road connecting Westport with Dublin, the N17 road connecting the county with Galway and Sligo and the N26 road connecting Ballina with Dublin via the N5. There are a number of national secondary roads in the county also including the N58 road, N59 road, N60 road, N83 road & N84 road. As of 2021, a new road running from northwest of Westport to east of Castlebar is under construction. The road is a dual carriageway with junctions at the N59, N84 and N60 and will open in late 2022.

Air
Ireland West Airport Knock is an international airport located in the county. The name is derived from the nearby village of Knock. Recent years have seen the airport's passenger numbers grow to over 650,000 yearly with a number of UK and European destinations. August 2014 saw the airport have its busiest month on record with 102,774 passengers using the airport.

Places of interest

 * Achill Island
 * Ashford Castle
 * Ballintubber Abbey
 * Blacksod Lighthouse
 * Broadhaven Bay
 * Burrishoole Abbey
 * Céide Fields
 * Clare Island
 * Clew Bay
 * Cong Abbey
 * Croagh Patrick
 * Eagle Island lighthouse
 * Erris
 * Granuaile's Castle, Clare Island
 * Great Western Greenway
 * Ireland West Airport, Knock
 * Joyce Country
 * Killala Bay
 * Knock Shrine
 * List of designated Scenic Roads in County Mayo
 * Lough Mask
 * Mayo Peace Park
 * Moore Hall
 * Moygownagh
 * Mullet Peninsula
 * Murrisk Abbey
 * Murrisk Millennium Peace Park
 * National Museum of Ireland – Country Life
 * National Famine Memorial
 * Nephin
 * Partry Mountains
 * Rockfleet Castle
 * Sruwaddacon Bay
 * Tourmakeady
 * Uggool Beach
 * Westport House
 * Wild Nephin National Park

Media
Newspapers in County Mayo include The Mayo News, the Connaught Telegraph, the Connacht Tribune, Western People, and Mayo Advertiser, which is Mayo's only free newspaper.

Mayo Now is a monthly entertainment and culture magazine for the towns of Ballina, Foxford, Killala, Crossmolina and surrounding areas – this is out on the first Friday of each month.

Mayo has its own online TV channel Mayo TV which was launched in 2011. It covers news and events from around the county and regularly broadcasts live to a worldwide audience. Local radio stations include Erris FM, Community Radio Castlebar, Westport Community Radio, BCR FM (Ballina Community Radio) and M.W.R. (Mid West Radio).

The documentary Pipe Down, which won best feature documentary at the 2009 Waterford Film Festival, was made in Mayo.

Energy controversy
There is local resistance to Shell's decision to process raw gas from the Corrib gas field at an onshore terminal. In 2005, five local men were jailed for contempt of court after refusing to follow an Irish court order. Subsequent protests against the project led to the Shell to Sea and related campaigns.

Energy audit
The Mayo Energy Audit 2009–2020 is an investigation into the implications of peak oil and subsequent fossil fuel depletion for a rural county in west of Ireland. The study draws together many different strands to examine current energy supply and demand within the area of study, and assesses these demands in the face of the challenges posed by the declining production of fossil fuels and expected disruptions to supply chains, and by long-term economic recession.

Sport
The Mayo GAA senior team last won the Sam Maguire Cup in 1951, when the team was captained by Seán Flanagan. The team's third title followed victories in 1936 and the previous year, 1950. Since 1951, the team have made numerous All-Ireland Final appearances (in 1989, twice in 1996, 1997, 2004, 2006, 2012, 2013, twice again in 2016 against Dublin, 2017, 2020, with their latest appearance being against Tyrone in the 2021 final), though the team have failed on all occasions to achieve victory over their opponents.

The team's unofficial supporters club are Mayo Club '51, named after the last team who won the Sam Maguire. The county colours of Mayo GAA are traditionally green and red.

The county's most popular association football teams are Westport United and Castlebar Celtic.

Although Gaelic football and association football are the most popular sport in the county, other sports are popular in the county as well such as rugby, basketball, hurling, swimming, tennis, badminton, athletics, handball and racquetball.

Notable people

 * Richard Bourke, 6th Earl of Mayo (1822–1872) – Viceroy of India (1869–1872)
 * Patrick Browne (1720–1790) – physician and botanist
 * Michael Davitt (1846–1906) – Irish republican, agrarian campaigner, labour leader, Home Rule politician and Member of Parliament (MP) who founded the Irish National Land League.
 * Grace O'Malley (circa 1530 – circa 1603) – Lord of the O'Malley dynasty in the 16th century
 * Admiral William Brown (1777–1857) – Founder of the Argentine Navy
 * Charles Haughey (1925–2006) – Taoiseach of Ireland (1979–1982; 1987–1992)
 * Enda Kenny (born 1951) – Politician, leader of Fine Gael (2002–2017), and Taoiseach of Ireland (2011–2017)
 * John MacBride (1868–1916) – Republican and military leader, executed by the British for his participation in the 1916 Easter Rising
 * William O'Dwyer (1890–1964) – 100th mayor of New York City (1946–1950)
 * Michael Ring (born 1953) – Politician and Mayo TD, Minister for Rural and Community Development (2017–2020)
 * Mary Robinson (born 1944) – First female President of Ireland (1990–1997), and United Nations High Commissioner for Human rights.
 * Millie Robinson (1924–1994) – Cyclist: first winner of women's Tour de France (1955) and holder of women's world hour record (1958)
 * Sally Rooney (born 1991) – Author (Conversations with Friends, Normal People), and screenwriter
 * John Ruane (1936–2006) – American jockey, born County Mayo
 * Martin Sheridan, Olympic Games gold medalist representing the United States
 * Louis Walsh (born 1952) – Entertainment manager and judge on The X Factor (UK), and Ireland's Got Talent

title: County Mayo


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Talk:County Fermanagh

Untitled
Please see http://www.enniskillen.com/fermanagh/. Hmm...this is too close to "academic plagiarism" for my taste.

Everyone, can you please have a look at JamieTheFoool's work to make sure it's not similarly questionable? I lack the time right now...voltage converter blown.

I'm thinking this should be filed under "Co. Fermanagh" or "County Fermanagh", or even "Co. Fermanagh, Ireland", given that there are American counties with the same names as the Irish ones. (E.g., Donegal in Pennsylvania.) --LMS

I think we will run into huge problems if we start organising Wikipedia geographic articles on original placenames across the world by obscure American county and village versions of the name that are unknown to anyone else Chrisleigh 12:28, 22 February 2007 (UTC)

Hmm... Given that there is a common US usage of the form "Hicksville Alabama" or "Paris Texas", and that such usage is virtually unknown in the UK and Ireland (ie. the place is just called London or Fermanagh or whatever), and given that County Fermanagh in Ireland can reasonably make the prior claim, I reckon we should keep it as it is - with a link to "Other Fermanaghs" should it prove necessary. --Paul

County Crest
Words on county crest should be in English rather than Irish considering the counties location and political status 86.131.202.57 23:07, 30 October 2005 (UTC)

 * Why does this article use the GAA Crest instead of the County Crest? : Keith :: 13:20, 3 December 2005 (UTC)
 * Because a person took the GAA crest to be the same as the county crest, which before the new versions of the GAA crests began being used, were similar. But i see you made the change anyway, though i ma not sure that the crest you posted is the country crest, as even you stated on the image page the crest is that of the Fermanagh Distict Council, and being that the tradational conties have no political status in the north, i am not sure the district crest would be the same one used by the county, or was used by the county? --Boothy443 | trácht ar 20:46, 3 December 2005 (UTC)
 * You could be right, as I just did a Google Image search for "Fermanagh Crest", so that could just be the DCA crest. If you come accross the County Crest please update the one I posted. : Keith :: 20:50, 3 December 2005 (UTC)
 * Possibly i am not sure either way, for no i suppose it works. I seriously douubt that an official creat could be found from back when the county was a county, or something, if anything it would be a heardeicalic crest used for genaealogy purposes. --Boothy443 | trácht ar 21:22, 3 December 2005 (UTC)
 * BTW i retagged the image so their is a more appropate useage tag or i should say tags for it. --Boothy443 | trácht ar 21:25, 3 December 2005 (UTC) yurt

Famous people from Fermanagh
I would debate that Neil Hannon (The Divine Comedy) is from Fermanagh or brought up there. He was certainly educated there, at Portora Royal School, but was brought up in Fivemiletown, which is decidedly in Tyrone. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Dmccormac (talk • contribs) 20:18, 11 April 2007 (UTC).
 * Neil Hannon lived in Enniskillen before his da moved the family to FMT.

Map
The map's a bit rubbish isn't it? --John 16:14, 11 July 2007 (UTC)
 * I uploaded a newer county map on par with the county maps for counties of ireland. these maps highlights the position of the county within the island of Ireland as well as Northern Ireland thus satisfying the pattern shown for the other county maps. I am aware that the other maps was just of Northern Ireland counties, however the location of the county on an "island-wide" basis is more beneficial to tourists and is a compromise that should satisfy both Nationalists and Unionists. --  RÓNÁN   "Caint / Talk"  17:18, 11 September 2007 (UTC)

Pronunciation
Greetings from your namesake, Fermanagh Avenue in Toronto, Canada. My street takes it's name because it was the birthplace of Colonel Walter O'Hara.

Recently our public transit system (the Toronto Transit Commission) has installed automated stop calling machines - a recorded voice announces the street name as the stop approaches.

The issue: the recorded voice is saying fer-ma-NAW. I say "fer-MAN-ah". Given that the street is a namesake of your county, how do you pronounce it?

Thanks. Happy wanderer (talk) 16:09, 17 December 2007 (UTC)

As a related issue - the final IPA symbol in the proposed pronunciation of Fermanagh (/fɚr'mænɘ/) is ɘ, the symbol for the close-mid central unrounded vowel, something that I find highly unusual. is it not much more likely that what is meant here is a mere shwa ə? Compare the sound examples for both, to clarify. Please, whoever proposed this pronunciation check this. If noone objects, I will change it.Iago 212 22:24, 23 March 2009 (UTC)

 * Yes, your version is correct Iago; I wouldn't have realised this myself since I know little of the IPA system! Well spotted. In answer to Happy wanderer's question (although it comes a little late), you are correct; the pronunciation over here puts the stress on the second syllable, "fer-MAN-ah". Fattonyni (talk) 13:27, 24 March 2009 (UTC)

westernmost part of the United Kingdom
This is incorrect. Rockall is the westernmost part of the United Kingdom. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 217.39.157.117 (talk) 13:43, 19 December 2008 (UTC)

County Fermanagh navigation box
In the interest of adding consistency and better inter-linking between articles on places in Fermanagh, I've created a navigation box using  and basing it upon  and other counties' templates. See what you think and discuss on the talk page there if you think it could do with any changes.

Also, feel free to start adding it to the bottom of articles! Fattonyni (talk) 11:53, 23 March 2009 (UTC)

bratz
bratz are dolls that have movies and books

Northern Ireland county maps
There is a discussion ongoing about the locator maps for Northern Ireland counties — see here. ~Asarlaí 19:50, 11 July 2010 (UTC)

Fermanagh Orangeism
Please stop removing this topic, it is an organisation within Fermanagh worthy of a note on this page as is the GAA. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Ni fact finder (talk • contribs) 23:09, 12 June 2011 (UTC)

Population of County Fermanagh in the 2011 UK Census
As stated in the main article, County Fermanagh is not one and the same with Fermanagh District Council Area. Statistics are no longer collected on a county basis in Northern Ireland for the UK Census (nor have they been since the current 26 council areas came into being in the early 1970s) compiled and annlysed by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Reseacrh Agency whose website NISRA.gov.uk (which provides maps, tables, charts etc.) has proved exceptionally useful for these purposes. The District Council area includes a small rural piece of County Tyrone which lies just east of Irvinestown. This small rural piece of Tyrone lies in the Electoral Ward of Irvinestown within Fermanagh District Council area and for statistical purposes it is catagorised as Small Area N00002994. This used to be known (in the previous 2001 UK Census) as 95PP130002. In 2011 it had a population of 635. Therefore, an acurate figure of County Fermanagh's population can be does by taking this figure away from the figure given for the District Council area, 61,805, leaving us with a County population of 61,170. If anyone has any queries or suggestions please get in contact. Cuirfear fáilte roimh chomhfhreagras i nGaeilge. Correspondance in Irish is welcomed. D.de.loinsigh (talk) 14:19, 15 March 2013 (UTC)

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title: Talk:County Fermanagh


text:
County Fermanagh

County Fermanagh is one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of six counties of Northern Ireland.

The county covers an area of 1,691 km2 and had a population of 63,585 as of 2021. Enniskillen is the county town and largest in both size and population.

Fermanagh is one of four counties of Northern Ireland to have a majority of its population from a Catholic background, according to the 2011 census.

Geography

Fermanagh spans an area of 1,851 km2 (715 sq; mi), accounting for 13.2% of the landmass of Northern Ireland. Nearly a third of the county is covered by lakes and waterways, including Upper and Lower Lough Erne and the River Erne. Forests cover 14% of the landmass (42,000 hectares). It is the only county in Northern Ireland that does not border Lough Neagh.

The county has three prominent upland areas:
 * the expansive West Fermanagh Scarplands to the southwest of Lough Erne, which rise to about 350m,
 * the Sliabh Beagh hills, situated to the east on the Monaghan border, and
 * the Cuilcagh mountain range, located along Fermanagh's southern border, which contains Cuilcagh, the county's highest point, at 665m.

The county borders:
 * County Tyrone to the north-east,
 * County Monaghan to the south-east,
 * County Cavan to the south-west,
 * County Leitrim to the west, and
 * County Donegal to the north-west.

Fermanagh is by far the least populous of Northern Ireland's six counties, with just over one-third the population of Tyrone, the next least populous county.

It is approximately 120 km from Belfast and 160 km from Dublin. The county town, Enniskillen, is the largest settlement in Fermanagh, situated in the middle of the county.

The county enjoys a temperate oceanic climate (Cfb') with cool winters, mild humid summers, and a lack of temperature extremes, according to the Köppen climate classification.

The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty manages three sites of historic and natural beauty in the county: Crom Estate, Florence Court, and Castle Coole.

Geology
The oldest sediments in the county are found north of Lough Erne. These so-called red beds were formed approximately 550 million years ago. Extensive sandstone can be found in the eastern part of the county, laid down during the Devonian, 400 million years ago. Much of the rest of the county's sediments are shale and limestone dating from the Carboniferous, 354 to 298 million years ago. These softer sediments have produced extensive cave systems such as the Shannon Cave, the Marble Arch Caves and the Caves of the Tullybrack and Belmore hills. The carboniferous shale exists in several counties of northwest Ireland, an area known colloquially as the Lough Allen basin. The basin is estimated to contain 9.4 trillion cubic metres of natural gas, equivalent to 1.5 billion barrels of oil.

The county is situated over a sequence of prominent faults, primarily the Killadeas – Seskinore Fault, the Tempo – Sixmilecross Fault, the Belcoo Fault and the Clogher Valley Fault which cross-cuts Lough Erne.

History
The Menapii are the only known Celtic tribe specifically named on Ptolemy's 150 AD map of Ireland, where they located their first colony—Menapia—on the Leinster coast c. 216 BC. They later settled around Lough Erne, becoming known as the Fir Manach, and giving their name to Fermanagh and Monaghan. Mongán mac Fiachnai, a 7th-century King of Ulster, is the protagonist of several legends linking him with Manannán mac Lir. They spread across Ireland, evolving into historic Irish (also Scottish and Manx) clans.

The Annals of Ulster which cover medieval Ireland between AD 431 to AD 1540 were written at Belle Isle on Lough Erne near Lisbellaw.

In the early 9th century, the Erne was considered to be the boundary of Connacht and Ulster, specifically the over-kingdom of Airgíalla. The Fir Manach proper, Tirkennedy and Magherastephana, along with Clankelly were part of the western Airgíalla group-kingdom of Uí Creamthainn with its seat at Clogher, whereas Lurg was associated with the northern Airgíalla branch of Uí Fiachrach centred at Ardstraw.

Fermanagh was a stronghold of the Maguire clan and Donn Carrach Maguire (died 1302) was the first of the chiefs of the Maguire dynasty. However, on the confiscation of lands relating to Hugh Maguire, Fermanagh was divided in a similar manner to the other five escheated counties among Scottish and English undertakers and native Irish. The baronies of Knockninny and Magheraboy were allotted to Scottish undertakers, those of Clankelly, Magherastephana and Lurg to English undertakers and those of Clanawley, Coole, and Tyrkennedy, to servitors and natives. The chief families to benefit under the new settlement were the families of Cole, Blennerhasset, Butler, Hume, and Dunbar.

Fermanagh was made into a county by a statute of Elizabeth I, but it was not until the time of the Plantation of Ulster that it was finally brought under civil government.

The closure of all the lines of Great Northern Railway (Ireland) within County Fermanagh in 1957 left the county as the first non-island county in the UK without a railway service.

Administration
The county was administered by Fermanagh County Council from 1899 until the abolition of county councils in Northern Ireland in 1973. With the creation of Northern Ireland's district councils, Fermanagh District Council became the only one of the 26 that contained all of the county from which it derived its name. After the re-organisation of local government in 2015, Fermanagh was still the only county wholly within one council area, namely Fermanagh and Omagh District Council, albeit that it constituted only a part of that entity.

For the purposes of elections to the UK Parliament, the territory of Fermanagh is part of the Fermanagh and South Tyrone Parliamentary Constituency. This constituency elected Provisional IRA hunger-striker Bobby Sands as a member of parliament in the April 1981 Fermanagh and South Tyrone by-election, shortly before his death.

2011 census
On Census Day 27 March 2011, the usually resident population of Fermanagh Local Government District, the borders of the district were very similar to those of the traditional County Fermanagh, was 61,805. Of these:
 * 0.93% were from an ethnic minority population and the remaining 99.07% were white (including Irish Traveller)
 * 59.16% belong to or were brought up in the Catholic religion and 37.78% belong to or were brought up in a 'Protestant and Other Christian (including Christian related)' religion
 * 37.20% indicated that they had a British national identity, 36.08% had an Irish national identity and 29.53% had a Northern Irish national identity

2021 Census
On Census Day (2021), the usually resident population of Fermanagh Local Government District, the borders of the district were very similar to those of the traditional County Fermanagh, was 63,585. Of these:

 * 58.8% belong to or were brought up in the Catholic religion and 35.5% belong to or were brought up in a 'Protestant and Other Christian (including Christian related)' religion.

Industry and tourism
Agriculture and tourism are two of the most important industries in Fermanagh. The main types of farming in the area are beef, dairy, sheep, pigs and some poultry. Most of the agricultural land is used as grassland for grazing and silage or hay rather than for other crops.

The waterways are extensively used by cabin cruisers, other small pleasure craft and anglers. The main town of Fermanagh is Enniskillen (Inis Ceithleann, 'Ceithleann's island'). The island town hosts a range of attractions including the Castle Coole Estate and Enniskillen Castle, which is home to the museum of The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers and the 5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards. Fermanagh is also home to The Boatyard Distillery, a distillery producing gin.

Attractions outside Enniskillen include:
 * Belleek Pottery
 * Castle Archdale
 * Crom Estate
 * Cuilcagh Boardwalk Trail
 * Devenish Island
 * Florence Court
 * Marble Arch Caves
 * Tempo Manor

Settlements
The classification of settlements by NISRA defines six categories following the 2011 census (ignoring Belfast and Derry City which have their own separate categories), namely; Large towns, Medium towns, Small towns, Intermediate settlements, Villages and Small villages or hamlets. The majority of the settlements in County Fermanagh lie within the final category, five within the village category and one each in the intermediate settlements and medium towns categories. No settlements in the county are classified as Large towns or Small towns.

Large towns
(population of 18,000 or more and under 75,000 at 2011 Census)
 * none

Medium towns
(population of 10,000 or more and under 18,000 at 2011 Census)
 * Enniskillen

Small towns
(population of 5,000 or more and under 10,000 at 2011 Census)
 * none

Intermediate settlements
(population of 2,500 or more and under 4,500 at 2011 Census)
 * Lisnaskea

Villages
(population of 1,000 or more and under 2,500 at 2011 Census)
 * Ballinamallard
 * Irvinestown
 * Kesh
 * Lisbellaw
 * Maguiresbridge

Small villages or hamlets
(population of less than 1,000 at 2011 Census) • Aghadrumsee

• Arney

• Ballycassidy

• Belcoo

• Bellanaleck

• Belleek

• Boho

• Brookeborough

• Carrybridge

• Clabby

• Coa

• Derrygonnelly

• Derrylin

• Donagh

• Ederney

• Florencecourt

• Garrison

• Killadeas

• Killesher

• Kinawley

• Lack

• Letterbreen

• Lisnarick

• Magheraveely

• Monea

• Newtownbutler

• Pettigo (partially)

• Rosslea

• Springfield

• Tamlaght

• Teemore

• Tempo

• Wattlebridge

Population of Settlements
Population statistics were not made available from the 2001, 2011 and 2021 censuses, where noted with an "N/A".

Subdivisions
Baronies

Parishes
 * Clanawley
 * Clankelly
 * Coole
 * Knockninny
 * Lurg
 * Magheraboy
 * Magherastephana
 * Tirkennedy

Townlands

Media
Newspapers
 * The Fermanagh Herald
 * The Impartial Reporter

Education
There are 41 primary schools currently in operation in County Fermanagh, 10 secondary schools, one special school and one further education college.

Primary Schools • Aghadrumsee Primary School

• Ballinamallard Primary School

• Belleek Primary School

• Brookeborough Primary School

• Bunscoil an Traonaigh, Lisnaskea-The only Irish Medium School in the county

• Derrygonnelly Primary School

• Enniskillen Integrated Primary School

• Enniskillen Model Primary School

• Florencecourt Primary School

• Holy Trinity Primary School -Amalgamation of St. Theresa's and St. Michael's PS

• Irvinestown Primary School

• Jones Memorial Primary School

• Kesh Primary School

• Killyhommon Primary School, Boho

• Lack Primary School

• Lisbellaw Primary School

• Maguiresbridge Primary School

• Moat Primary School, Lisnaskea

• St Columban's Primary School, Belcoo

• St Davog's Primary School, Belleek

• St John the Baptist Primary School, Roscor

• St Joseph's Primary School, Donagh

• St Joseph's Primary School, Ederney

• St Macartan's Primary School, Aghadrumsee - Amalgamation of Cornagague PS, Magheraveely and Corranny PS

• St Martin's Primary School, Garrison

• St Mary's Primary School, Brookeborough

• St Mary's Primary School, Killesher

• St Mary's Primary School, Maguiresbridge

• St Mary's Primary School, Arney

• St Mary's Primary School, Newtownbutler

• St Mary's Primary School, Teemore

• St Mary's Primary School, Tempo

• St Naile's Primary School, Kinawley

• St Ninnidh's Primary School, Derrylin

• St Patrick's Primary School, Derrygonnelly

• St Patrick's Primary School, Mullanaskea

• St Paul's Primary School, Irvinestown

• St Ronan's Primary School, Lisnaskea

• St Tierney's Primary School, Roslea

• Tattygar Primary School, Lisbellaw

• Tempo Primary School Secondary Schools • Devenish College, Enniskillen - Amalgamation of Ballinamallard Duke of Westminster, Kesh Duke of Westminster and Lisnaskea High School

• Enniskillen Royal Grammar School - Amalgamation of Potora Royal School and Collegiate Grammar School

• Erne Integrated College, Enniskillen

• Mount Lourdes Grammar School, Enniskillen - Girls Catholic Grammar

• Saint Kevin's College, Lisnaskea- Amalgamation of St Eugene's College, Roslea and St. Comhghall's College, Lisnaskea

• St Aidan's High School, Derrylin

• St Fanchea's College, Enniskillen

• St Joseph's College, Enniskillen

• St Mary's College, Irvinestown

• St Michael's College, Enniskillen - Boys Catholic Grammar Further Education College Special School Closed Schools
 * South West College, Enniskillen Campus
 * Willowbridge Special School
 * St Mary's High School, Belleek -Brollagh Closed 2021
 * St. Eugene’s College, Roslea - Closed 2017
 * St. Eugene’s Primary School, Knocks - Closed 2013
 * Lisnaskea High School - Closed 2013
 * Corranny Primary School - Closed 2012
 * Cornagague Primary School- Closed 2012
 * Duke of Westminster High School, Ballinamallard - Closed 2004
 * Kesh Duke of Westminster - Closed 2004
 * Ashwoods Primary School - Closed 1968
 * St Mary's Primary School, Bannagh - Closed 1960/70s

Sport
Fermanagh GAA has never won a Senior Provincial or an All-Ireland title in any Gaelic games, it is only one of two counties to win neither title. There are 22 GAA clubs in the county, this is the second least of all 32 counties (Longford now has the least, with 21 GAA clubs).

Only Ballinamallard United F.C. take part in the Northern Ireland football league system. All other Fermanagh clubs play in the Fermanagh & Western FA league systems. Fermanagh Mallards F.C. played in the Women's Premier League until 2013.

Enniskillen RFC was founded in 1925 and is still going. There is also a rugby league team, the Fermanagh Redskins

Famous football players from Fermanagh include –

 * Sandy Fulton
 * Jim Cleary
 * Roy Carroll
 * Harry Chatton
 * Barry Owens
 * Kyle Lafferty

Notable people
Famous people born, raised in or living in Fermanagh include:

 * John Armstrong (1717–1795), born in Fermanagh, Major General in the Continental Army and delegate in the Continental Congress
 * Samuel Beckett (1906–1989), author and playwright from Foxrock in Dublin, educated at Portora Royal School
 * Darren Breslin, traditional musician
 * The 1st Viscount Brookeborough, Prime Minister of Northern Ireland, 1943–1963
 * Denis Parsons Burkitt (1911–1993), doctor, discoverer of Burkitt's lymphoma
 * Roy Carroll (born 1977), association footballer
 * Edward Cooney (1867–1960), evangelist and early leader of the Cooneyite and Go-Preachers
 * Brian D'Arcy (born 1945), C.P., Passionist priest and media personality
 * Brendan Dolan (born 1973), professional darts player for the PDC
 * Adrian Dunbar (born 1958), actor
 * Arlene Foster, Baroness Foster of Aghadrumsee (born 1970), politician
 * Neil Hannon (born 1970), musician
 * Robert Kerr (1882–1963), athlete and Olympic gold medalist
 * Kyle Lafferty (born 1987), Northern Ireland International association footballer
 * Charles Lawson (born 1959), actor (plays Jim McDonald in Coronation Street)
 * Francis Little (1822–1890), born in Fermanagh, Wisconsin State Senator
 * Terence MacManus (c. 1823–1861), leader in Young Irelander Rebellion of 1848
 * Michael Magner (1840–97), recipient of the Victoria Cross
 * Peter McGinnity, Gaelic footballer, Fermanagh's first winner of an All-Star Award
 * Martin McGrath, Gaelic footballer, All-Star winner
 * Ciarán McMenamin (born 1975), actor
 * Gilla Mochua Ó Caiside (12th century), poet
 * Aurora Mulligan, director
 * Barry Owens, Gaelic footballer, two-time All-Star winner
 * Sean Quinn (born 1947), entrepreneur
 * Michael Sleavon (1826–1902), recipient of the Victoria Cross
 * Patrick Treacy, author and one-time physician to Michael Jackson
 * Joan Trimble (1915–2000), pianist and composer
 * Oscar Wilde (1854–1900), author and playwright, educated at Portora Royal School
 * Gordon Wilson (1927–1995), peace campaigner and Irish senator

Surnames
The most common surnames in County Fermanagh at the time of the United Kingdom Census of 1901 were:
 * 1) Maguire
 * 2) McManus
 * 3) Johnston
 * 4) Armstrong
 * 5) Gallagher
 * 6) Elliott
 * 7) Murphy
 * 8) Reilly
 * 9) Cassidy
 * 10) Wilson

Railways
The railway lines in County Fermanagh connected Enniskillen railway station with Derry from 1854, Dundalk from 1861, Bundoran from 1868 and Sligo from 1882.

The railway companies that served the county, prior to the establishment by the merger of Londonderry and Enniskillen Railway, Enniskillen and Bundoran Railway the Dundalk and Enniskillen Railway which was later named the Irish North Western Railway, thus forming the Great Northern Railway (Ireland). By 1883 the Great Northern Railway (Ireland) absorbed all the lines except the Sligo, Leitrim and Northern Counties Railway, which remained independent throughout its existence.

In October 1957 the Government of Northern Ireland closed the GNR line, which made it impossible for the SL&NCR continue and forced it also to close.

The nearest railway station to Enniskillen is Sligo station which is served by trains to Dublin Connolly and is operated by Iarnród Éireann. The Dublin-Sligo railway line has a two-hourly service run by Iarnród Éireann. The connecting bus from Sligo via Manorhamilton to Enniskillen is route 66 operated by Bus Éireann.

title: County Fermanagh