Ballyshannon Béal Átha Seanaidh | |
|---|---|
Town | |
 Ballyshannon from the Belleek Road | |
 Coat of arms | |
| Motto: Fluminis Corona (Crown of the River) | |
  Ballyshannon Location in Ireland | |
| Coordinates:54°30′05″N8°11′24″W / 54.5015°N 8.1901°W /54.5015; -8.1901 | |
| Country | Ireland |
| County | County Donegal |
| Government | |
| • Dáil Éireann | Sligo–Leitrim |
| • EU Parliament | Midlands–North-West |
| Population | 2,246 |
| Eircode routing key | F94 |
| Telephone area code | +353(0)71 |
| Irish Grid Reference | G876614 |
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1821 | 3,831 | — |
| 1831 | 3,775 | −1.5% |
| 1841 | 3,513 | −6.9% |
| 1851 | 3,698 | +5.3% |
| 1861 | 3,197 | −13.5% |
| 1871 | 2,958 | −7.5% |
| 1881 | 2,840 | −4.0% |
| 1891 | 2,471 | −13.0% |
| 1901 | 2,359 | −4.5% |
| 1911 | 2,170 | −8.0% |
| 1926 | 2,112 | −2.7% |
| 1936 | 2,223 | +5.3% |
| 1946 | 2,514 | +13.1% |
| 1951 | 2,813 | +11.9% |
| 1956 | 2,434 | −13.5% |
| 1961 | 2,322 | −4.6% |
| 1966 | 2,233 | −3.8% |
| 1971 | 2,325 | +4.1% |
| 1981 | 3,066 | +31.9% |
| 1986 | 3,015 | −1.7% |
| 1991 | 2,838 | −5.9% |
| 1996 | 2,775 | −2.2% |
| 2002 | 2,715 | −2.2% |
| 2006 | 2,686 | −1.1% |
| 2011 | 2,503 | −6.8% |
| 2016 | 2,299 | −8.2% |
| 2022 | 2,246 | −2.3% |
| [1][2][3][4][5][6][7] | ||
Ballyshannon (Irish:Béal Átha Seanaidh, meaning 'the mouth of Seannach's ford')[8] is a town inCounty Donegal,Ireland. It is located at the southern end of the county where theN3 fromDublin ends and theN15 crosses theRiver Erne. The town was incorporated in the early 17th century, receiving atown charter in March 1613.[9]
Ballyshannon, which means "the mouth of Seannach'sford",[8] after a fifth-century warrior, Seannach, who was reputedly slain there, lies at the mouth of theriver Erne. Just west of the town, the Erne widens and its waters meander over a long sandy estuary. The northern bank of the river rises steeply away from the riverbank, while the southern bank is flat with a small cliff that runs parallel to the river. The town looks out over the estuary and has views of mountains, lakes and forests.[citation needed]
Archaeological sites dating as far back as theNeolithic period (4000 BC – 2500 BC) have been excavated in Ballyshannon and surrounding areas, representing settlement and ritual activity from early periods of human settlement. Finds have ranged fromfulachta fiadh (burnt mounds) dating from theBronze Age (2500–500 BC), to a possible brushwood trackway thought to date to an earlier Neolithic period, through an early find of a pair of goldsun-discs fromc. 2500–2150 BCE[10][11] to the recent discovery of a previously unknown medieval church and cemetery containing hundreds of skeletons thought to date from between 1100 and 1400. This site yielded numerous artefacts including silver long cross pennies and halfpennies dating from the reign ofHenry III (1251–1276) andEdward I (c. 1280–1302). Other finds included bone beads, shroud pins, and pieces ofquartz which were found placed in the hands of many of the skeletons.[citation needed]
Other nearby sites include a Neolithic tomb, and the grave ofAed Ruad, High King of Ireland, upon which St. Anne's church (Church of Ireland) was supposedly built, occupying the highest of the town's vantage points—Mullgoose. Nothing remains to mark either tomb, the last vestige of the mound on Mullaghnashee having been obliterated in 1798 when a fort was constructed on the hill-top. The 18th-century churchyard and the paupers' burial ground were both referred to asSidh Aedh Ruaidh, the Fairy Mound of Red Hugh. The 'sheeman' (Anglicisation of the Irishsidh) in Mullgoose means 'fairies'. Popular belief assigned the interior of hills to fairies' dwelling places and local tradition has handed down accounts of the exploits of the fairy folk, including among the Finner sand-hills and in the Wardtown district of Ballyshannon. In 1906, the hill-top at Mullgoose was excavated and found to contain subterranean chambers.[12]
TheVikings, according to theAnnals of Ulster, attacked nearbyInishmurray Island in 795. Later they used theRiver Erne to attack inland, burningDevenish Island monastery in 822. The annals also record that in 836, all the churches of Loch Erne, together with Cluain Eois (Clones) and Daimhinis (Devenish Island) were destroyed by the "gentiles". In 923 and 916 respectively, "a fleet of foreigners on Loch Erne plundered the islands of the lake", as well as the surrounding territories.[citation needed]
In March 1613, Ballyshannon was incorporated as a borough byJames I.[9] In 1775, the salmon-leap of Assaroe at Ballyshannon was praised by the travellerRichard Twiss inA Tour in Ireland:[13]
The Giants Causeway is an object which is scarcely worthy of going so far to see; however that is to be determined by the degree of curiosity of which the traveller is possessed. But the salmon-leap at Ballyshannon is a scene of such a singular nature, as is not to be found elsewhere, and is as peculiar to Ireland as the bullfights are to Spain...
It was in Ballyshannon, around 1793, thatRobert Stewart, 2nd Marquess of Londonderry, who would later becomeChief Secretary for Ireland and BritishForeign Secretary, had a vision of "the radiant boy". Stewart, who would later become Lord Castlereagh, was serving as a youngBritish Army officer andMP forCounty Down in theIrish Parliament at the time. Lodging in the old Military Barracks in the town, he retired for the night. Looking into the fire, he reportedly saw the form of a boy emerge from the flames, grow larger and larger and vanish.[14] "The radiant boy" is a common figure in English and Irish folklore, and is often supposed to foretell death.William Allingham later wrote a poem about the incident.[15]
TheEnniskillen and Bundoran Railway (E&BR) opened in 1868 and had a station at Ballyshannon.[16] TheGreat Northern Railway (GNR) operated the E&BR line from 1876 and absorbed the company in 1896.[17] Thepartition of Ireland in 1922 turned the boundary withCounty Fermanagh into an international frontier. Henceforth Ballyshannon's only railway link with the rest of theIrish Free State was viaNorthern Ireland, and as such was subject to delays for customs inspections. TheGovernment of Northern Ireland closed much of the GNR network on its side of the border in 1957, including the E&BR as far as the border.[18][19] This gave the Republic of Ireland no practical alternative but to allow the closure of the line through Ballyshannon between the border andBundoran. Thereafter, the nearestrailheads for Ballyshannon wereSligo in the Republic of Ireland andOmagh in Northern Ireland, until in 1965 theUlster Transport Authority closed the line through Omagh as well.[18][20]
Ahydroelectric power station was built in the town in the 1950s. The project or "scheme" brought engineers, electricians, and specialists in hydroelectricity from many parts of the country and abroad to the town, which experienced a "boom" during the decade-long construction period. The scheme involved building a dam upriver from the town and digging out a deep channel or tailrace to lower the riverbed through the town to increase the head of water at the dam to drive the turbines.[21] The new plant was namedCathaleen's Fall hydroelectric power station. Before the station was built, the river was wide, and the water level much higher than it is today. A long bridge spanned from the northern shore to the 'port' on the southern bank. The waters spilled over a number of waterfalls, among themAssaroe Falls, before meandering out to sea. Today, however, the river runs through a narrow channel, far below the level of either bank and a narrower single arch bridge has replaced the old one. The newly built Ballyshannon–Bundoran bypass has added a new, more modern bridge over the river. A pedestrian bridge was also constructed to mark the millennium.[citation needed]
During theSecond World War, the British and Irish governments quietly reached an agreement to create an air corridor between nearbyBelleek and Ballyshannon, the "Donegal Corridor", which was used by BritishRoyal Air Force flights fromNorthern Ireland into the Atlantic Ocean.[22] This was used by the aircraft which located theGerman battleship Bismarck.[23]
TheRory Gallagher International Tribute Festival[24] takes place in Ballyshannon on June Bank Holiday weekend.
Ballyshannon Folk Festival is an annual festival that takes place over the August bank holiday weekend.[25] It is one of the longest-running folk and traditional festivals in the world.[citation needed]
Ballyshannon & District Museum is located on the second floor of Slevins Department Store in Ballyshannon. The museum, which opened in April 2013, has exhibitions on Rory Gallagher, the Battle of Ballyshannon (1598), the Great Famine and workhouse, the local fishing industry, sport, World Wars I and II, and the Donegal Railway.[citation needed]
Bus routes from Ballyshannon, operated byBus Éireann, serveCavan,Dublin, Sligo and Galway.Ulsterbus[26] also has services toBelfast andDerry inNorthern Ireland. Feda ODonnell[27] has routes to and fromGweedore to the west of Ireland, includingSligo andGalway, via Ballyshannon.
The nearest railway to Ballyshannon is atSligo railway station which is served by trains toDublin Connolly and is operated byIarnród Éireann.[28]
The localGaelic games club isAodh Ruadh. Other local sports clubs include Ballyshannon RFC (rugby), Erne Wanderers (soccer) and the Eightyeighters (Basketball).[citation needed]
There are a number ofnational (primary) schools serving the area. The local secondary school is Coláiste Cholmcille Secondary School.[citation needed]
Ballyshannon istwinned with:
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