Mohill today is fighting for survival like many rural towns in Ireland. However, the spirit and character of a strong community remain - and are well illustrated in an article from The Irish Times in 2018 on how Mohill was fighting back and reinventing itself with positivity and shopfront painting >>>
In 2020, proposals were adopted to improve
Mohill Public Realm. You can read my submission - made in consultation with Mohill Historical Society below.
The old home of Lord Leitrim, Lough Rynn Castle, is now a beautiful 4-star hotel that offers an outstanding, warm welcome and wonderful food amidst the restored gardens of the estate.
For some great books with relevance for Mohill and the surrounding area, see below.
For anyone trying to connect with Mohill friends and family, past and present, consider joining the Facebook closed group @OldMohill.
Also on Facebook, for GAA fans, CLG Maothail has a great page
@MohillGAA. And Mohill Events & Festival Group's Facebook page occasionally lists events on in Mohill, including links to local clubs, pubs, etc, see @mohilleventsandfestival.
"Mohill is our town . . .
. . . In its plain way I think it beautiful. There is no desolate big street. The simple streets link perfectly into one another. I like the town best in winter, the outskirts glistening with frost, the excitement on the faces of people in from the countryside for the late Saturday-night shipping, children and parcels being dragged under the street-lamps. When the shopping is done, they go to the bars to meet the people they know and to discover the news, each locality to its own bar. In early March, on a Thursday market day, once I see the bags of seed potatoes and bundles of cabbage plants – Early York and Flat Dutch, Greyhound and Curly – on the corner outside Luke Early’s bar, each bundle tied with baler twine of all colours, I know the winter is almost over. I think of Mohill as one of the happiest towns in the world.
From John McGahern, 'County Leitrim: The Sky Above Us' published in 'Love of the World' Faber & Faber 2009 © John McGahern Estate
Notable Mohill people
Mohill has had a number of people who made a mark across the globe, including those below. Read more about each person by clicking here or on the images below.
Charles Reynolds (Cathal Mac Raghnaill) (c1496 – July 1535)
Charles Reynolds was born in 1496 or 1497 in Mohill. By 15, he was a novice at the Augustinian Priory of St Mary in Mohill and became fluent in English, Irish and Latin. He opposed Henry VIII of England's separation from the Catholic Church, and in May 1535 he secured a papal promise to excommunicate King Henry of England, which earned him an attainment of treason.
Turlough O'Carolan (1670-1738)
Turlough O'Carolan (Toirdhealbhach Ó Cearbhalláin) was one of Ireland's best music composers and harpists, and is remembered as the 'last of the Irish bards'. He spent most of his life as a travelling harpist but had a home near Mohill with his wife Mary and seven children.
The statue of Turlough O'Carolan in Mohill was unveiled in 1986, and is by sculptor Oisín Kelly (1915-1981).
Rev Joseph G. Digges (1858-1933)
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Rev Joseph G. Digges is regarded as the father of Irish Beekeeping. From his home at Clooncahir, he travelled extensively throughout Ireland, attending agricultural shows and lecturing, and promoted the "Congested Districts Hive". His Manual of Modern Beekeeping came to be regarded as the standard book of bee keeping in Ireland.
Fr Tom Ellis (1906-1945)
St. Thomas of Mohill
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Fr. Tom Ellis was a Mohill-born, missionary priest, who is revered in China. Shortly after being ordained in April 1931, he set off to Nancheng (now Hanzhong) China. He was known for helping the suffering, including during the war years. He died in China in 1945.
Other famous Mohill people
Read about people associated with the War of Independence and Civil War era here >>>
Lord Leitrim and people associated with the Famine and post-Famine Mohill are covered in the History section, since most of this website deals with his era.
In 2018, I asked OldMohill members on Facebook to suggest other famous Mohill people: see their suggestions here >>>
Building History & Heritage into the Mohill Public Realm Plan
In consultation with Mohill Historical Society, in November 2020, I made a submission to Leitrim County Council on its proposed Public Realm Improvement plan for Mohill town.
The focus of the submission was a request to build more historical and heritage references into the plan - reminding the Council of Mohill's unique and comprehensive 15 centuries of visible history.
Some pages from the submission are below.
Access the original Leitrim County Council documents here >>>
For the full submission (and higher resolution text), click here or the button below >>>>
© Fiona Slevin | Last updated February 2024
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.