Ballina Béal an Átha | |
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Town | |
 River Moy, Ballina | |
 Coat of arms | |
  Ballina Location in Ireland | |
| Coordinates:54°07′00″N9°10′00″W / 54.1167°N 9.1667°W /54.1167; -9.1667 | |
| Country | Ireland |
| Province | Connacht |
| County | County Mayo |
| Elevation | 7 m (23 ft) |
| Population | 10,556 |
| Time zone | UTC±0 (WET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+1 (IST) |
| Eircode routing key | F26 |
| Telephone area code | +353(0)96 |
| Irish Grid Reference | G240192 |
Ballina (/ˌbæləˈnɑː/bal-ə-NA;Irish:Béal an Átha, meaning 'mouth of the ford') is a town in northCounty Mayo, Ireland. It lies at the mouth of theRiver Moy nearKillala Bay, in the Moy valley andcivil parish of Kilmoremoy, with theOx Mountains to the east and theNephin Mountains to the west. The town occupies twobaronies;Tirawley on the west bank of the River Moy, andTireragh, a barony withinCounty Sligo, on its east banks. At the2022 census, the population of Ballina was 10,556.[1]
TheDolmen of the Four Maols is located on 'Primrose Hill' behindBallina railway station. ThisBronze Agecist is sometimes dated to c2,000 B.C. and is locally known as the 'Table of the Giants'.[2] Legend suggests that themegalithic tomb is the burial place of the 'Four Maols' (from the Irish wordmaol meaning "bald") — four brothers who murderedCeallach, a 7th-century bishop of Kilmoremoy. Hanged atArdnaree, the "hill of executions", tradition says that their bodies were buried under the dolmen.[3] The structure is approximately 5 feet high with three upright stones supporting the capstone. Nearby is a fourth supporting stone.[4]
According toEncyclopædia Britannica, the first signs of settlement on the site of the town date from around 1375, when anAugustinianfriary was founded. Belleek, now part of the town, predates the town's formation, and can be dated back to the 16th century.[5] Ballina was founded as agarrison town in 1723 by O'Hara,Lord Tyrawley.[5]
The lands at Belleek, along with the ecclesiastical settlements atRosserk,Strade,Moyne andRathfran, were purchased byCharles O'Hara, 1st Baron Tyrawley on 17 March 1704/5 from the trustees overseeing the sale of various Irish estates belonging to the recently-deceasedCharles Boyle, 2nd Earl of Burlington and 3rd Earl of Cork.[6]
The Belleekdemesne once stretched for over three kilometres along the left bank of theMoy estuary, from the gate lodge on Castle Road as far as Knockatinnole Wood in the north. From here, the demesne extended westward to the Killala Road, where there was a secondary entrance at a place known as "The Black Woods". During theIrish Rebellion of 1798, a small column of French soldiers advanced through the estate, as part of a reconnaissance group. This gave title to the avenue known as "The Old French Road".[7]
Most of the land of theBarons Tyrawley was let on long leases or for lives 'renewable forever' to the Knox and Gore families.[6] The manor house of the estate,Belleek Manor (formerly known as Belleek Abbey, now the Belleek Castle Hotel and Museum), was constructed between 1825 and 1831 forSir Francis Knox-Gore, 1st Baronet, a formerLord Lieutenant of Sligo, with designs attributed to the Irish architectJohn Benjamin Keane or possiblyFrederick Darley Junior.[8][9] Belleek and some of the original demesne lands remained within the ownership of theKnox-Gore family descendants until the early 1940s, when it was sold by Col. William Arthur Cecil Saunders-Knox-Gore D.S.O. (1888-1975) to Isaac Beckett and Co. Ltd., Ballina,[10] who later sold the property to theMayo County Council in the 1950s.[11] The Doran family acquired theBelleek Manor, adapting it into a hotel. The Belleek Woods remain public, under the management ofCoillte and the Belleek Woods Enhancement Group, and its 200 acres of forest make it one of Europe’s largest urban woodlands.[12]
TheRiver Moy forms the traditional border between County Mayo andCounty Sligo. However, theLocal Government (Ireland) Act 1898 made the right (east) bank of the Moy, including Ardnaree and Crockets Town (the Quay), part of theadministrative county of Mayo.[13] This is a suburb of Ballina. TheBattle of Ardnaree was fought there in 1586.Ardnaree Sarsfields GFC is based there.
The Humbert Memorial Monument was unveiled in Ballina in 1898 byMaud Gonne MacBride for the centennial commemoration of the 1798 landing ofFrench expeditionary forces atKillala Bay led by revolutionaryGeneral Jean Joseph Amable Humbert. The monument commemorates the military triumph over the English garrison at Ballina by a joint Franco-Irish army composed of French soldiers and Irish rebels under the command of General Humbert during the1798 rebellion of theSociety of United Irishmen.[14] Sculpted by Thomas H. Dennany of Monumental Marble Works inGlasnevin,[15] the monument is topped by a statue depicting the 'Maid of Erin' or 'Mother Ireland', with a sword in hand and anIrish Wolfhound by her side. The monument was commissioned and "erected by the voluntary subscriptions of the priests and people of Mayo and Sligo".[14] The monument was moved to its current location on Humbert Street in 1987, where it was re-dedicated by Maud Gonne's son,Seán MacBride.
In the first half of the 19th century, the rural areas around Ballina were heavily dependent on the potato as a primary source of food. When a potato blight struck in 1846, widespread starvation occurred. The Ballinaworkhouse served the entire northwestern coast of County Mayo. As the famine took hold in the rural areas, huge numbers of starving peasants requested admission to the overcrowded facility. In February 1847, people were dying of fever at the rate of almost ninety persons a week.[16] There were attempts at mitigating the crisis by some local citizens. Francis Kinkead, the localChurch of Irelandcurate, who came to Ballina in 1837 and died on 27 January 1847, played a role in organising funds to help relieve the suffering of both the Catholic and Protestant populations. A marble memorial tablet on the wall of the Church of Ireland in Ballina is dedicated to Kinkead.[17]
Until the early 1900s, theIrish language was the primary language spoken in Ballina. AsIrish began to decline in other parts of Ireland during the colonial period, it remained strong in County Mayo and in Ballina. By the 1920s, however, English had become the dominant language in Ballina. In the1926 Census it was found that although many adults in Ballina had Irish as a first language, it was no longer known by young people or used in the community. Ballina was one of the only parts of County Mayo not designated status as aGaeltacht orBreac-Ghaeltacht, a status given in 1929 to regions where more than 80% or 25% respectively of people spoke Irish as a first language.[18]
Ballina andWestport were among the first urban areas in County Mayo to adopt theEnglish language. Records from the surrounding then Irish-speaking rural areas in Mayo and in neighbouring County Sligo suggest that Irish-speakers from those areas felt pressure to use English when in Ballina town.[19] Today onlyCeathrú Thaidhg, 70 km to the west of Ballina remains a majority Irish-speaking area in County Mayo.[citation needed]
During theIrish War of Independence, a number of violent incidents occurred in Ballina. In April 1920, a group of armed men targeted the houses of income-tax collectors living in the town. They forcibly entered the homes, held the occupants at gunpoint, and seized important books and papers related to tax collection. This event was part of a larger, coordinated series of attacks across Ireland, focusing on disrupting the administrative functions of income tax collection.[20] In July 1920, aRoyal Irish Constabulary (RIC) police patrol was held up by armed men about a hundred yards from Ballina's barracks. The raiders demanded the surrender of the police's arms. The police opened fire, and the raiders returned fire, killing a sergeant and wounding a constable. Two other policemen escaped unharmed.[21]
In January 1921,auxiliary police arrested and humiliated several local merchants, reportedly forcing them to march through the town, holding Union Jacks, dragging an Irish flag, and kneeling to kiss the Union Jack. This incident reportedly caused outrage throughout the town.[22] During the evening of 3 April 1921, theIRA attacked a police patrol travelling between Ballina andBonniconlon, wounding one constable. A cache of ammunition was later found in the grove where the attack took place. The police subsequently raided a local dance hall and arrested all men present.[23]
Michael Tolan, a tailor and IRA member from Ballina, was the victim of a murder marked by torture and mutilation. After a raid on his mother's house, Tolan was forced into hiding. On 14 April 1921, Crown forces captured him while he was staying at a friend's home, after which he was detained in a barracks. Despite efforts by his mother and friends to trace his whereabouts, all contact ceased. In June 1921, his mutilated body was discovered in Shraheen bog nearFoxford, bearing bullet wounds, a bayonet injury, and amputated feet. He was identified by his distinctive feet. The manner of his death caused widespread outrage.[24]
In May 1921, two men, Thomas Jordan and William Leydon, were court-martialed atRenmore Barracks in Galway, and found guilty of carrying firearms. During the trial, it was alleged that, on 23 November 1921, seven masked men attempted a raid on a house in Ballina. Four of the raiders entered the house, and during a scuffle, residents managed to unmask two of them, identifying Jordan and Leydon. Despite Leydon's refusal to recognise the court's authority and the testimony of witnesses who provided alibis placing him at a different location at the time of the raid, both he and Jordan were sentenced to one year of hard labour.[25]
On 14 July 1921, the body of RIC Sergeant Anthony Foody was discovered on a road nearBonniconlon, with a card around his neck reading "Remember Dwyer and The Rag". Foody, who had been posted to The Ragg in Tipperary and was on leave when he was shot dead, had been visiting a farm he had purchased with plans to settle there with his family. The card found with Foody's body may have referred to the controversial killing of the Dwyer brothers in Tipperary, allegedly by other RIC members, though accounts of that event vary.[26]
During theIrish Civil War (1922–1923), a number of incidents occurred in Ballina and its surrounding districts.[27] For example, in September 1922,Castle Gore, the Mayo residence of theEarl of Arran, was attacked and set on fire byAnti-Treaty Irregulars. The castle, constructed in 1808 under the supervision of Lord Tyrawley, housed a collection of antique furniture and oil paintings. Around 350 precious works of art were destroyed in the blaze.[28]
In March 1923, an Anti-Treaty Irregular — Nicholas Corcoran — was captured nearLahardane by theFree StateArmy from Ballina and imprisoned in the town. Subsequently, he and other prisoners were taken to clear a barricade from the railway at Ballinahaglish. When Corcoran refused to help remove the barricades, he was shot by a Free State soldier — Vol. Daniel Boyle — while kneeling. Boyle was charged with Corcoran's murder at Ballina District Court the following week.[29]
Ballina Urban District Council was based in offices in Market Square until 2003, when new offices were completed in Arran Place.[30] Ballina Urban District was disbanded in June 2014 alongside all otherTown councils as part of theLocal Government Reform Act 2014.
On 14 April 2023, the US presidentJoe Biden visited the town and gave a keynote speech to tens of thousands of people on the final part of his four-day visit to the island of Ireland. His speech commemorated the 25th anniversary of theGood Friday Agreement. His speech also highlighted his family links to both Ballina andCounty Mayo.[31][32]
In November 2024, Ballina completed the €7.5 million redevelopment of its historic military barracks (built in 1742) into the Ballina Innovation Quarter. Several businesses have occupied parts of the site and, if expanded as planned, it is expected to support up to 200 direct and 60 indirect jobs when fully operational.[33]
The town's architectural heritage includes the 15th-centuryMoyne Abbey, andSt Muredach's Cathedral, which is theCathedral church of theRoman Catholic Diocese of Killala. Work on the cathedral began in 1827. The stone was quarried locally and the roof and ceiling were completed before theGreat Famine (1845). The spire was completed in 1855 and by 1875 the organ had been commissioned.
Ballina has a number of listed buildings, includingGeorgian housing on the banks of the Moy, the Ice House building (since converted into a hotel),[34] and the formerProvincial Bank of Ireland building (now housing the Jackie Clarke Museum).[citation needed] The streets of Ballina consist mainly of three and four-storeyGeorgian andVictorian buildings, though the structures of several buildings are far older.[citation needed]
The primary schools that serve the town include Scoil Iosa of the Convent of Mercy (mixed), Scoil Padraig (all-boys), the Quay NS (mixed), Culleens NS on the Killala Road (mixed), Breaffy NS (mixed), Behy NS (mixed) and Scoil na gCeithre Maol (mixed), agaelscoil situated on the Killala Road. There are also at least three montessori schools and many pre-schools.
There are three secondary schools;St Muredach's College (all-male),[35] Moyne College (mixed),[36] and St Mary's Secondary School (all-female).[37][38]
A large special education facility opened on McDermott Street (Convent Hill) for the 2009–2010 school year to serve as a new, joint-campus space[39] for two pre-existing special schools, St. Dympna's School and St. Nicholas' School.[39]
TheNewman Institute is located in a building near St Muredach's Cathedral.[40] It is a charitable organisation working in conjunction with theRoman Catholic Diocese of Killala in the field of Catholic education.[41]
BCRfm (Ballina Community Radio) is the community radio station in the town. TheWestern People is a local newspaper, based in Ballina, which was previously also printed at its premises in the town.[citation needed] Two weekly freesheets, theMayo Advertiser andThe Northwest Express are distributed throughout Ballina. There is also a monthly magazine called "Mayo Now" that was launched in March 2015.[citation needed] TheConnaught Telegraph, published inCastlebar, and theMayo News, published inWestport, also carry local news related to Ballina.[citation needed]Mid West Radio is the local station, with an office in the town.[citation needed]
Historically, a number of newspapers have been directly linked with the town, including:[42]
[ M/W = merged with; C/A = continued as ]
Throughout the 1980s, Ballina had a number of local radio stations before the advent of legalised local radio in 1989.[citation needed] These stations included Alternative Radio West (which operated from Lord Edward Street) and Castle Radio (which was based in Belleek Castle).[43]
TheN26 is the main road to Dublin: it leaves the town south toFoxford, and afterSwinford joins theN5 toDublin.N59 comes fromBelmullet andCrossmolina in the west, and goes through the town toSligo to the northeast. TheR314 is aregional road toKillala, and thenBallycastle. TheR294 goes to southCounty Sligo via 'the Windy Gap' in theOx Mountains. It is used as an alternative route to Dublin, viaTubbercurry andBoyle.
There are two main bridges straddling the Moy in the town centre. The first, the Armstrong and West, or Lower bridge, was built in 1835. The second, the Hamm bridge or Upper bridge, was built in the following year of 1836 by Thomas Hamm at a cost of £3,000.00. Both bridges are limestone, and have 4 and 5 arches respectively. Traffic flows in a one-way direction around these 2 bridges and is often heavily backed up on both sides, the reason for calls for a third bridge further down the river.
The Salmon Weir Bridge is a pedestrian bridge over theRiver Moy from Barrett St. to Ridge Pool Rd. The bridge, which was designed to resemble a fishing rod, was opened in July 2009.
Ballina Bus Station is host to aBus Éireann bus depot. As of 2008, Bus Éireann reportedly stated an intention to develop services similar to the 24-hour Dublin-Belfast route on the Ballina-Dublin route.[44][needs update] The route currently runs seven services a day between Ballina and the capital. In 2007, Bus Éireann launched a direct bus fromDublin Airport to Ballina.[citation needed] A Ballina toEnniscrone bus is run by several companies during the summer months.[citation needed]
Ballina railway station is located on the N26 beside the bus station. DepartingIarnród Éireann passenger trains stop atFoxford before terminating atManulla junction, where passengers can connect to trains going toCastlebar,Westport orDublin (Heuston Station). Trains to Dublin operate three times daily; on Friday evenings a train operates direct from Dublin to Ballina.Ballina is a major rail freight hub, with a direct freight line from the town toWaterford Port transporting pulpwood forCoillte, and as of late 2009, a directDublin Port line.[citation needed]
Ireland West Airport (Knock Airport, NOC) is about 50.7 km, or 31.5 miles from Ballina.Bus Éireann runs a shuttle service about five times a day from the airport toCharlestown, from where commuters can get a connecting bus to Ballina.
Between 2009 and 2011,[45] the former Newman Institute building on Barrett Street was redeveloped into the Ballina Arts Centre, a multi-disciplinary creative hub.
In 2009, the Jackie Clarke Collection went on display when the Clarke Museum opened in the old provincial bank.[46] During his lifetime, Clarke sourced and purchased a number of rare documents, including sole surviving copies of publications, rare handbills and proclamations, unpublished manuscripts and political writings. He donated his collections to the state, under the condition that they would stay in Ballina.[47]
Other attractions include the Belleek Castle Museum.
Ballina's location on theRiver Moy favourssalmon fishing, and one of the most popular spots, the Ridge Pool, is situated in the centre of the town.[48] The Ballina Salmon Festival is held annually in July in the town. The festival includes Heritage Day, where most of the centre of the town is closed to traffic and the streets fill with arts and craft stalls and demonstrations of transport from days gone by. The festival finale is a Mardi Gras followed by a large fireworks display.[citation needed]
Ballina Stephenites is one of the localGaelic Athletic Association club teams. The name also refers to the town's Gaelic Athletic Association grounds,James Stephens Park.
Ballina Town and Ballina United are two of the town's soccer clubs, the former playing their home matches at Belleek Park.Ballina R.F.C. is located in the Quay and compete in division 2B of the All Ireland League.[citation needed]
Ballina's athletics club has a floodlight outdoor 400m track and a cross country pitch which sometimes holds theAAI Connacht and Mayo finals. The local triathlon club, Liquid Motion, holds a triathlon in the town every summer.[citation needed]
In basketball, Team Loftus Recycling represent the town in Men's Division 1.[citation needed] Ballina also has Mayo's only Gymnastics Training Centre, Nadia Gym. The town also has a martial arts school, Moy Valley Freestyle, and aJikishin Kage-ryukenjutsu club.[citation needed]
Ballina Golf Club is an 18-hole parkland golf course on the outskirts of the town on theBonniconlon Road.[citation needed]
A short livedgreyhound racing track was opened by the Ballina Greyhound Racing Company Ltd in the town on 6 May 1948.[49] The site near Coolcran farm was replaced by the Dunleavy cattle farm market in 1956.[50]
Ballina is twinned with:
Humbert despatched [sic] a small group of French to reconnoitre the strength of the British garrison at Ballina; the group [..] came through the Belleek demesne
Ballina native Ivan also prospered…
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