Mac CONAMHNA, Breandán. The Belderrig Curragh and its People. Curach Dhún Chaocháin agus a Muintir.

Illustrated. First edition. [County Mayo]: published by the author, 2010. Large square quarto. pp. [i–viii], 139. Profusely illustrated throughout with photographic reproductions and diagrams. Original black cloth, lettered in gilt to upper cover and spine; in the original green pictorial dust jacket. A fine, clean copy.

The Belderrig currach was of a design unique to the north Mayo coast and used exclusively there from 1860 to 1960. At twenty three foot long it was one of the largest in use and had a crew of five. This beautiful book tells the story of the boat and the communities it served for over a hundred years.

A detailed and scholarly local history of the Belderrig curragh tradition on the north Mayo coast, combining maritime archaeology, oral history, and documentary research. The work traces the development of the curragh from ancient times through the nineteenth century fishing economy, the Congested Districts Board period, and into modern decline. Particularly valuable are the statistical appendices, including mackerel curing figures (1892–1914), drift-net licensing data, and James Hornell’s 1936 survey of Irish currachs.

The bilingual presentation (Irish and English) enhances its importance as both a cultural and linguistic record of a Gaeltacht maritime community. The inclusion of technical diagrams and measurements of curraghs, alongside rare photographic material, renders the volume a key reference for historians of Irish vernacular boat-building and coastal life.

A scarce and important regional study, seldom encountered in such condition.

Bederrig (Béal Deirg), Co. Mayo, represents one of the last strongholds of the traditional Atlantic curragh, a craft central to subsistence fishing communities along Ireland’s western seaboard.
The reference to James Hornell (1865–1949), noted maritime ethnographer, situates the work within a wider scholarly tradition of documenting indigenous boat forms.
The Congested Districts Board (1891–1923) played a crucial role in attempting to modernise fishing and infrastructure in the west of Ireland, making the sections here of particular socio-economic interest.

[L2 8A]