Mayo

Fun fact: Grace O’Malley, who was known as the Pirate Queen and who was feared for her raids on English ships in the 16^th century, was born in Co Mayo.

Not a lot of people will know this, but Sligo isn’t the only county that can boast a link to the hit TV series ‘Normal People’: Castlebar in Mayo is the birthplace of the author Sally Rooney.

Mayo has a rich and wild tapestry: Achill Island is one of many locations in the county that offer a wide range of water activities, including surfing, diving, snorkelling and paddle boarding.

In common with some of its neighbours in the West, Mayo has been highly successful in attracting foreign direct investment in recent years making it a county that can offer high-value jobs in an ideal location. Castlebar, Ballina and Mayo are the main employment hubs and a suite of international companies operating in the pharmaceutical, medtech and software sectors, to name but a few, are always on the look out for talented people looking to develop their careers. Allergan, Baxter, Hollister, Meissner and Lionbridge are just some of the major companies with operations in Mayo. To see what jobs are available to suit your skills check out WesternJobs.ie.

Getting a foot on the property ladder is significantly easier in Mayo than it is in many Irish counties. Buying a  house in Mayo comes in around €100,000 cheaper than the average Irish house price. The national average house price was €308,497 while the Mayo average was €199,646 when the latest Daft Property Report for Q1, 2023, was published. This makes it possible for people with relatively modest incomes to own their own home, and renting is also an affordable option – rent in Mayo averages out at €1,156 per month compared with €1,750 nationally, according to Daft’s Rental Price Report Q1, 2023.

As every parent in Ireland knows to their cost, childcare bills can seriously limit your disposable income. Mayo, however, is one of the cheaper counties when it comes to paying to have your children looked after. Data collected by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs in November 2019 shows that the average weekly full-time childcare fee in Mayo is €157.48, representing a considerable saving on the €246.03 forked out by parents in Dublin Dun Laoghaire/Rathdown.

Mayo can square up to any county in Ireland when it comes to offering opportunities for adventure sports or beautiful scenic walks or cycles. It can also offer fine food, music and dance in a wide range of towns and villages, but there is no doubt that Westport and Achill Island are the jewels in the county’s crown. As well as being a popular holiday and short-break destination, Westport was voted the best place to live in Ireland by readers of The Irish Times in 2012.

Those who relocate to Mayo from the east of the country will appreciate the benefit of reduced commuting time. Census figures released in 2017, show that commuters in Mayo spend only 23.3 minutes getting to work, more than 10 minutes less per journey than commuters in Wicklow or Meath. With its beautiful, unspoilt beaches along the Wild Atlantic Way, Mayo offers exceptional opportunities for quality of life. People can choose to live close to the ocean while still enjoying a short commute or they can opt to make their home in or near one of the county’s many charming villages or towns.

GMIT became part of the new Atlantic Technological University in the West and North-West in 2022. It offers courses in Business, Engineering, Heritage, Outdoor Education, Nursing, Health Sciences and Social Care or Technology in Castlebar with other courses available in campuses in Galway. In addition, students from Mayo are not far away from Institute of Technology Sligo or National University of Ireland Galway. Mayo also has a wide range of primary and secondary schools.