Foxford Béal Easa
Village
Market Square
Foxford Location in Ireland
Coordinates: 53°58′52″N 9°06′50″W / 53.981°N 9.114°W / 53.981; -9.114Coordinates: 53°58′52″N 9°06′50″W / 53.981°N 9.114°W / 53.981; -9.114
Country	Ireland
Province	Connacht
County	Mayo
Elevation	12 m (39 ft)
Population  (2016)[1]
• Total	1,315
Irish Grid Reference	G265040

Foxford (Irish: Béal Easa, meaning 'mouth of the waterfall')^[2] is a village 16 km south of Ballina in County Mayo, Ireland. It stands on the N26 national primary route from Swinford to Ballina and has a railway station served by trains between Manulla Junction and Ballina.

Foxford lies on the River Moy, a salmon-fishing river, close to Loughs Conn and Cullin and between the Nephin and Ox Mountains. The Foxford Way is an 86-km waymarked tourist trail that circles Foxford, taking in the Ox Mountains, bogland, archeological sites, lakeshores and river banks.

Agnes Bernard founded a convent and started a water-powered woollen mill here in 1892.^[3] The Foxford Woollen Mills are known for producing characteristic wool blankets.

Transport

Foxford railway station is on the Manulla Junction to Ballina line which connects to the Westport-Dublin Heuston service. The station opened on 1 May 1868.^[4] After being closed (against local opposition) in 1963 it was reopened in 1988.

The N26 road passes through the town, crossing a narrow bridge over the River Moy.

Notable people

Foxford bridge

• Laura Bernal (1956–2020), Argentina's ambassador to Ireland who died in office, was a regular visitor to Foxford and is buried at Craggagh Cemetery a short distance away.^[5][6]
• Agnes Bernard (1842–1932), founder of convent, woollen mills, and a band in Foxford.^[3]
• Admiral William Brown (1777–1857), founder of the Argentine Navy, hero of the Argentine War of Independence, and defender of Buenos Aires in the Cisplatine War, was born in Foxford.^[7]
• F. R. Higgins (1896–1941), poet and theatre director, born in Foxford.
• Mike Flanagan (1926–2014), soldier who assisted the formation of the Israeli armed forces.
• Marie-Louise O'Donnell (born 1952), academic, broadcaster, politician

Foxford woollen mill