Ballinasloe

All you want to know about Ballinasloe

Ballinasloe
Béal Átha na Slua
Coat of arms of Ballinasloe
Location
Location of Ballinasloe
centerMap highlighting Ballinasloe
Irish grid reference
M854307
Statistics
Province: Connacht
County: County Galway
Elevation: 65 m (213 ft)
Population (2006)
 - Town:
 - Environs:		  
6,051 
563
Website: www.ballinasloe.com

Ballinasloe (Irish: Béal Átha na Slua, meaning Mouth of the Ford of the Hosts) is a town in the eastern extremity of County Galway in Ireland.

The town developed as a crossing point on the River Suck, a tributary of the Shannon. The Irish placename — meaning the mouth of the ford of the crowds — reflects this purpose. The latter part of the name suggests the town has been a meeting place since ancient times. A new public marina has been developed on the river in recent years that allows traffic from the Shannon navigation to access the town.

St. John's Church, Ballinasloe

The patron saint of Ballinasloe is Saint Grellan, whom tradition believes built the first church in the area at Kilcloony. A local housing estate, the branch of Conradh na Gaeilge, and formerly a school are named after him.

Contents

October Fair and Festival

Every October, Ballinasloe is host to the ancient annual October Fair. Chiefly agricultural in the past, it is now focused on the horse. The Ballinasloe Fair is one of the oldest horse fairs in Europe; bathed in history it dates back to the 1700s. Today the ever popular fair is still held, along with a festival that attracts up to 100,000 visitors from all over the world. The town also boasts a successful summer festival called An tSúca Fiain.

Economy

The biggest local employers are Portiuncula and St. Brigid's hospitals. From its establishment in 1936, the Dubarry shoe manufacturing company has been based in the town, although manufacturing at the plant ceased in November 2004.[1]. The American pen manufacturing company A. T. Cross had a factory in the town for many years as did electrical components company Square D.

Transport

Ballinasloe railway station opened on 1 August 1851.[2] The main Dublin to Galway transport artery, the N6 road, passes through the town, which is also served by the Dublin–Galway railway line. From 1828 to the 1960s, Ballinasloe was the terminus of the Grand Canal.

Sport

Ballinasloe itself harbours historically rich soccer, golf, and rugby clubs, whilst also containing the Duggan Park Gaelic Athletic Association grounds. Gaelic games are perhaps the most deeply entrenched and most popular sporting culture in the town, most of all in its surrounding hinterland. The local GAA clubs are Ballinasloe GAA (incorporating St Grellan's Gaelic football club and Ballinasloe Hurling Club) and Ballinasloe Camogie Club.

Schools

In Ballinasloe there are three national schools (Gaelscoil Uí Cheithearnaigh, Creagh National School and Scoil an Chroí Naofa) and two secondary schools (Garbally College and Ard Scoil Mhuire).

See also

External links

  • ballinasloe.com: Ballinasloe Town website with up-to-date local news and information on the town for visitors and residents alike
  • ballinasloe.org: An independent site with articles on Ballinasloe's history as well as a tips on genealogical research.
  • ballinasloe.pl: Polskie Ballinasloe website for the town's Polish community

References

  1. ^ "Case Study of Dubarry by Enterprise Ireland"
  2. ^ "Ballinasloe station". Railscot - Irish Railways. Retrieved on 2007-09-03.
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballinasloe"

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