The Story of the Foxford Name

The Irish name Béal Easa means “mouth of the waterfall.” It describes the place where the River Moy passes through the landscape, and reflects the older Irish name that existed long before the English name Foxford came into use.

Foxford lies in a dramatic part of Mayo, between the Nephin and Ox Mountains and beside the salmon-rich River Moy. The river was central to the settlement from the beginning, providing a natural crossing point and connecting the surrounding countryside with Ballina and the coast.

The modern town began to develop in the seventeenth century. In 1683, John Bingham obtained a patent for markets and fairs and established a new plantation settlement on the eastern bank of the Moy. Earlier records describe the place as Bellass, an English rendering of Béal Easa.

Foxford also became associated with the dramatic events of 1798. General Humbert's French forces passed through the town during the campaign that briefly brought parts of Mayo under French and Irish control. The river crossing made Foxford an important point on the route between Ballina, Castlebar, and Sligo.

But the story that most transformed Foxford came much later. In 1892, Mother Agnes Morrogh-Bernard, a Sister of Charity, established the Foxford Woollen Mills. She recognized that the area had sheep farming, abundant water power, and widespread poverty, and believed that local industry could provide a way for families to earn a living without leaving the area.

The mill became one of Ireland's best-known woollen industries. Its blankets and other woollen goods eventually travelled far beyond Mayo, turning Foxford into a place where traditional local resources were transformed into an enduring craft and business.

The town's name tells a simpler story. Béal Easa looks to the river and the landscape—to water moving through the countryside and the place where that water meets the crossing.

The English name, meanwhile, has its own local tradition. It is said to have been associated with a distinctive rock near the ford that was thought to resemble a fox. Whether or not that explains every stage in the development of the English name, the older Irish name remains a clearer reminder of the landscape itself.

Foxford is a town shaped by water: first by a waterfall and a river crossing, later by water-powered industry, and always by the landscape of north Mayo that surrounds it.