Tír Sáile, The North Mayo Sculpture Trail is the largest public arts project ever undertaken in Ireland. The project was developed in 1993, during the Mayo 5000 celebrations, a year-long cultural celebration of life in Mayo inspired by the historic Céide Fields landscape.
The development of the sculpture trail realised construction of fifteen mixed media sculptures placed at some of the most spectacular locations all along the Mayo North Coast, stretching from the Moy Estuary to the tip of the Erris Peninsula. The routes visitors need to take in order to find the structures will take visitors right off the beaten path and into the heart of the wild Mayo North landscape.
One of the elements of the brief given to the artists was that some part of their work should last right through the next five millenia and be recognisable at the “Mayo 10,000” celebrations. Some say that if we view the spectacular North Mayo coastline in itself as a monument to Neolithic civilisation, the fifteen sculptures can be seen as a message on its surface.
Tír Sáile, The North Mayo Sculpture Trail was featured in the National Geographic magazine as one of the top sculpture parks.
Copies of the official guide book are available from the Jackie Clarke Collection Pearse St, Ballina, the Céide Fields Visitor Centre and Claggan Island Coastguard Station.
Taking the Tír Sáile tour
Though not a huge area geographically, it’s rich in areas to explore. To take in a tour of Tír Sáile from one end of the trail to the other, incorporating the Spirit of Place installations, we’d recommend you give yourself two days, which will give you lots of options to drive, walk, explore, eat and generally savour the magnificent natural landscape and heritage that permeates the Mayo North area and easily accessible from the Twin Trees Hotel & Leisure Club, Ballina.