- published: 22 Jun 2015
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Islandeady (Irish: Oileán Éadaí) is a village in County Mayo, Ireland, about halfway between the towns of Castlebar and Westport.
The parish of Islandeady meets Castlebar to the east, Westport and Newport to the west, and Aughagower and Killawalla to the south. There is a view of Croagh Patrick to the west and Nephin to the northeast. The main route by road is the N5. The parish has four national schools and a private secondary school.
The name Islandeady or Oiléan Éadaígh is arguably derived from the 13th Century Saint Eiden who founded a church in the hillside cemetery. Islandeady townland was historically called Illaneedan. Tradition says that St.Patrick, on his way to Croagh Patrick, visited Raheens. Also it is noted that Islandeady would have belonged to the 'Patrician lands of Connacht'. The date given by historians to St.Patrick's missionary work in Islandeady is 440 A.D., where he preached on the shores of a lake in the peaceful little parish. Today the modern village lies within the townlands of Rinnaseer and Cloonan.