Ballybay

Ballybay (Irish: Béal Átha Beithe, meaning "mouth of the ford of the birch")[2] is a town in County Monaghan, Ireland. It is centered on the crossroads of the R183 and R162 regional roads.

Ballybay

Béal Átha Beithe
Town
Main Street, Ballybay
Motto(s): 
Bheith i Lár Báire
"be at the centre"
Ballybay
Location in Ireland
Coordinates: 54°12′00″N 6°50′00″W
CountryIreland
ProvinceUlster
CountyCounty Monaghan
Elevation
61 m (200 ft)
Population
 (2016)[1]
 • Total1,241
Time zoneUTC±0 (WET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+1 (IST)
Eircode routing key
A75
Telephone area code+353(0)42
Irish Grid ReferenceH743188

Geography

The town is the meeting point for roads going to Monaghan, Castleblayney, Carrickmacross and Clones. The town grew up from the convergence of the roads. The town is built beside a large lake, Lough Major (In Irish "Lough Mór") and the smaller Lough Minor. The Dromore River also runs through the south of the town, past Pearse Brother's Football Grounds, and past the Riverdale Hotel.

History

The town grew up in the 18th century, gaining its prosperity from the linen industry founded by the Jackson family. The Town council (Ballybay Development Committee) was established around 1870. Later, on 1 January 1921, an Irish Republican Army ambush led by Stephen Wise killed one Royal Irish Constabulary man, one civilian and three Auxiliaries were wounded during the Irish War of Independence

Buildings of note
First Presbyterian Church, Ballybay was built in the late 18th century and expanded in the late 19th century

Ballybay Market House is a four-bay two-storey building built in 1848. Ballybay also has a hotel, Riverdale, as well as Ballybay Community college, the local secondary school.

Transport

Rail transport

Ballybay railway station opened on 17 July 1854, was closed to passenger traffic on 14 October 1957 and finally closed altogether on 1 January 1960.[3]

Coach/bus transport

Local Link route M2 links the village with Monaghan several times daily Mondays to Saturdays inclusive. Collins Coaches provide a daily service from the town to Dublin via Carrickmacross, Ardee and Slane.[4] Bus Éireann route 162 serves the town on schooldays linking Ballybay to Doohamlet, Castleblayney, Newbliss, Clones and Monaghan.[5]

Tourism

Today the town welcomes tourists and bird watchers who frequent the town to make use of the newly renovated lake district built around the local Lough Major. The town is also a destination for fishermen who travel to the town to take part in various fishing competitions. Many tourists travel to The Ballybay Wetlands Centre, which is a popular area for birdwatchers and hikers.

Sport

The local GAA club is Ballybay Pearse Brothers. The club's home ground is Pearse Park, located on the outskirts of the town. Since 1935, the club has won the Monaghan Senior Football Championship on 8 occasions, most recently in 2012. As of November 2019 Ballybay have 3 players on the Monaghan senior football panel.

The singer / songwriter Tommy Makem wrote a lighthearted song about the town, "In the Town of Ballybay".

The Jackson family of Ballybay were involved with the United Irishmen movement.[6][7] One such Ballybay Jackson and United Irishman, James Jackson, fled to the United States where he became a politician,[8] and owner of the Forks of Cypress Plantation. He is also a white ancestor of author Alex Haley and is a character and subject of his book Queen: The Story of an American Family and the miniseries Alex Haley's Queen.

International relations
See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in the Republic of Ireland

Twin towns – Sister cities

Ballybay is twinned with the town of Osterhofen/Gergweis in Bavaria.

On 4 November 2008 an informal reception was held in Ballybay Town Council chambers for a visiting group from Osterhofen / Bavaria who were dressed in traditional Bavarian costume. The visit was organised in celebration of the 50th visit to the town by Karl–Heinz Herzegger, who had been instrumental in the setting up of the original twinning agreement.[9]

See also

References
  1. "Census 2016 Sapmap Area: Settlements Ballybay". Central Statistics Office (Ireland). Retrieved 14 February 2018.
  2. "Béal Átha Beithe/Ballybay". Placenames Database of Ireland (logainm.ie). Government of Ireland - Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht and Dublin City University. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  3. "Ballybay station" (PDF). Railscot - Irish Railways. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 September 2007. Retrieved 10 September 2007.
  4. "Collins Coaches Dublin Commuter Timetable" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 September 2013. Retrieved 24 April 2013.
  5. "Bus Éireann Table 162" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 October 2012. Retrieved 24 April 2013.
  6. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 11 January 2012. Retrieved 15 July 2011.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. "The Silver Bowl: Lisnaboe JACKSONs".
  8. "LAUDERDALE COUNTY, ALABAMA: HISTORY OF THE SHOALS". TimesDaily. 25 February 1999. Retrieved 21 September 2008.
  9. "Town Twinning - Ballybay and Gergweisweb". Ballybay - Clones Municipal District. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
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