Inver, County Mayo

Inver (Irish: An tInbhear) is a Gaeltacht village and townland in northwest County Mayo, Ireland. It is situated in the barony of Erris and civil parish of Kilcommon, bordering Broadhaven Bay. Inver townland has an area of approximately 671.6 acres acres (2.7 km2) and, as of 2011, had a population of 114 people.

The name Inver originates from the Owenduff River, which begins in the townland of Knocknalower and flows into the sea at Inver. According to William Bald’s 1812 map, all the houses in this townland were located along the river. By 1834, the Tithe Composition Book recorded that the townland had been divided into Inver East and Inver West. Today, homes are spread throughout the townland in areas known as Caoldubh, Inver, Gortmeer, and Falrua.

Early history
Archaeological evidence indicates that this townland was inhabited during prehistoric times. In 1835, Samuel Lewis described it as having a "druidical altar" made up of three upright stones supporting a large flagstone.

Inver Castle
The Record of Monuments and Places records a castle in Inver. The castle, which later fell into disrepair, was a possession of the Clan Barrett. In 1589 Richard Oge Barrett and other local nobles rebelled, and were executed. By 1655, the Cormucks, a family from Munster, gained the castle. In 1680, it was acquired by Sir James Shaen as part of a larger grant from the Treasury.

A survey, conducted in 1802 noted that the 'foundations show(ed) the castle to have been very strong... it seem(ed) to have been the principal castle in all Erris.' The Congested Districts Board purchased the townland and the castle ruins around 1920, distributing it among tenants after stripping the land.

Spanish Armada
On 21 September 1588, the "Santiago," a 600-ton supply ship from the Spanish Armada commanded by Captain Juan H. de Luna, wrecked off the coast of Inver. The ship, carrying eighteen men, including an Irish bishop, had earlier lost its main mast off Donegal. A turf boat rescued the ship and towed it to safety, where 120 horses and 60 mules were offloaded to lighten it.

After makeshift repairs in Donegal, the Santiago set sail again without its main mast but was driven by winds onto Inver's shores. The crew learned of another Armada ship, the "Duquesa Santa Ana," stranded in Ely Bay. They abandoned the Santiago and joined their compatriots on the Duquesa Santa Ana, which later wrecked off Donegal.

Inver was well-known to the Spanish Navy for many years. Spanish vessels frequently used Broadhaven Bay as a harbor. The Spaniards were on friendly terms with local Irish chiefs, who relied on them for goods like wine and gold. In return, the Irish provided the Spaniards with information about English patrol ships and safe navigation along the coast to the O'Donnells and O'Neills further north in Ulster. In July 1601, English coastguard Captain Charles Plessington reported to Sir Robert Cecil that Spanish ships regularly arrived in the area to gather news and take on pilots. Plessington described the location as being between Cape Achill and Cape Killala, near certain rocks called the Stags of Broadhaven.

In 1626, Dutch diver Jacob Johnsen was commissioned by the British Admiralty to salvage guns from Armada wrecks in Ireland. Johnsen and his West Indian divers faced hostility from Michael Cormuck and his household at Inver Castle, with Cormuck's wife demanding his divers give her husband £20 for every brass valuable found. Johnsen believed that Cormuck had already salvaged and hidden the guns and initiated legal action against him. By 1634, Johnsen sought advice on how to proceed. In 1649, Justice Cross noted a conspiracy to conceal the truth about the wreck, with Johnsen claiming Cormuck issued orders to the locals threatening death or exile if they revealed the location of the vessel. The case was later dismissed after Johnsen wrote to Dublin Castle saying he would no longer proceed with the case.

Shipwrecks
The rugged coastline near Inver saw other numerous shipwrecks over the centuries. On 22 February 1839, a vessel called "John and Marion Crystal," laden with salt from Liverpool to Ballina, was driven onto the rocks at Inver by a storm, resulting in the loss of five crewmen. The ship was plundered by locals. In the winter of 1893, the "River Nithe," with a cargo of flour from America to Scotland, was driven onto the rocks.

Another vessel carrying butter from Limerick to Glasgow also wrecked, and much of the butter was looted before the coastguards arrived. In the 1890s, the "Annie Greenock," a vessel with a cargo of oats bound from Limerick to Glasgow, sprang a leak off Erris Head and was grounded in Inver harbor, where it became a wreck. In 1885, a three-mast ship laden with corn ran aground on a sandbank at Inver but was eventually refloated.

Later history
During the Public Works for distress in 1846, the road from Barnatra to Inver and from Inver to Graughill was constructed, with stepping stones used at river fords. In November 1868, a bridge at Inver was built with a grant of £90. During the Balfour Relief Works in 1891, extensive repairs were carried out on the coastal road between Barnatra and Kilcommon cemetery. In 1835, William Bald recommended building a small harbor at Inver, but no significant development occurred until 1886, when a landing slip was constructed by the Roads and Harbors Commissioners.

Further work was done in 1909, with the Congested Districts Board spending £123 on a landing stage and £80 on an approach road. Around the same time, a fishing station for curing and smoking fish was established, operated by a Scottish company, and served by three trawlers. The station included accommodation for Scottish workers and a visiting Presbyterian minister for Sunday services.

Religion
Saint Patrick's Church, completed in 1936, is the local Catholic church and is one of five churches within Kilcommon Erris parish in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Killala. The church contains a jewel-like stained glass window attributable to Earley Studios Limited in Dublin.

Amenities
The former vocational school, constructed in 1958, is now in use as a community centre. A cemetery was blessed and opened in Inver in 1969.

Notable people
In 1648 the oracle Brian Rua U'Cearbhain was born in Inver in Falrua.