Foxford

Infobox Irish Place
name = Foxford
gaeilge = Béal Easa
crest

motto =
map

pin coords = left: 95px; top: 54px
north coord = 53.9833 | west coord = 9.1167 | irish grid = G268062
area = | elevation = 48 m
province = Connacht
county = County Mayo
population = | town pop = 1,058 [cite web | title=Population | work=Mayo-Ireland - Foxford | url=http://www.mayo-ireland.ie/Mayo/Towns/FxFrd/Fxfrd.htm | accessdate=2007-12-02] | rural pop =
census yr = 2006
web = |

Foxford (Irish place name|Béal Easa|Mouth of the rapids/waterfall) is a small town some 16 km south of Ballina in County Mayo, Ireland. The town stands on the N26 national primary route from Swinford to Ballina and has a railway station served by trains between Dublin and Ballina.

Situated between the Nephin and Ox Mountains, Foxford lies on the River Moy, a salmon-fishing river, and close to Loughs Conn and Cullin, which have some brown trout fishing. [ [http://www.wherewisemenfish.com/_Ireland_Fishing_Lough_Conn_and_Lough_Cullin_Trout.html Ireland Boat Fishing Lough Conn and Lough Cullin. Ireland Trout fly boat fishing guided fishing trips and vacations ] ] The Foxford Way is an 86-km waymarked tourist trail that circles Foxford, taking in the Ox Mountains, roads, bogland, archeological sites, lakeshores, and river banks.

Foxford developed around the eponymous Woollen Mills which have been producing the famous Foxford blankets since 1892.

Transport

*Foxford railway station opened on 1 May 1868. [cite web | title=Foxford station | work=Railscot - Irish Railways | url=http://www.railscot.co.uk/Ireland/Irish_railways.pdf | accessdate=2007-09-06] In 1963, despite local opposition, it was closed. It reopened in 1988 and is now served by the Ballina-Manulla Junction train. The line is owned by the state company Iarnród Éireann, and was previously owned by the Midland Great Western Railway.

Notable people

*The poet and theatre director F. R. Higgins was born in Foxford.
*The town is the birthplace of Admiral William Brown, father of the Argentine Navy, hero of the South American Wars of Independence, and defender of Buenos Aires during the Argentina-Brazil War. Statues and monuments to him are found throughout Argentina, and his name is honoured with several streets, squares, towns, and associations. Busts of Admiral Brown have also been erected in Foxford and Dublin.

ee also

* List of towns and villages in Ireland.

External links

* [http://www.mayo-ireland.ie/Mayo/Towns/FxFrd/Fxfrd.htm Mayo on the Move: Foxford]
* [http://www.foxfordwoollenmills.ie/html/history.asp History of the Foxford Woollen Mills]
* [http://www.irishrail.ie/your_journey/your_station.asp?letter=F&action=showdetail&station_id=61 Foxford railway station]
* [http://www.mayoecho.com Mayo Echo - Mayo's Free Weekly Newspaper (Published Online)]

References