Description

the History of the County of Mayo to the Close of the Sixteenth Century by Hubert Thomas Knox (1846–1921) is a major scholarly work first published in 1908 by Hodges, Figgis & Co., Dublin.

The book provides a detailed reconstruction of Mayo’s political, social, and territorial history up to the end of the 16th century, focusing heavily on Gaelic lordships, Norman invasions, and shifting control of land and power in Connacht.

Knox, a civil servant and historian with strong family connections to County Mayo, drew on annals, genealogies, state papers, and earlier antiquarian studies to produce one of the most comprehensive county histories of Ireland at the time.

The work is especially known for its detailed treatment of:

• Gaelic clans such as the O’Malleys, O’Connors, O’Dowds, O’Flahertys, MacWilliam Burkes, and MacDermots
• Norman and de Burgo (Burke) influence in Connacht
• Anglo-Irish administration and land restructuring
• Medieval warfare, alliances, and shifting power structures
• Development of baronies, territories, and local governance
• Church influence, diocesan history, and monastic sites
• Social and political transformation up to Tudor conquest

The book is also notable for its extensive use of genealogical tables, maps, and documentary appendices, which made it a key reference for later historians and genealogists working on western Ireland.

Knox presents Mayo not as a static region but as a dynamic frontier of competing Gaelic and Norman powers, where land ownership and political authority were constantly negotiated through conflict and alliance.

Although written in the early 20th century, the work remains an important reference in Irish local history, medieval studies, and genealogical research, particularly for understanding the development of Connacht before full Tudor consolidation.

Overall, The History of Mayo stands as a landmark county history that helped establish modern historical scholarship on western Ireland and continues to be cited for its detailed compilation of early sources.