Ballylongford
Ballylongford
Béal Átha Longfoirt | |
---|---|
Village | |
Coordinates: 52°32′46″N 9°28′41″W / 52.546°N 9.478°W | |
Country | Ireland |
Province | Munster |
County | County Kerry |
Elevation | 4 m (13 ft) |
Population | 391 |
Irish Grid Reference | Q996449 |
Ballylongford (historically Bealalongford, from Irish: Béal Átha Longfoirt, meaning 'ford-mouth of anchorage')[2] is a village near Listowel in northern County Kerry, Ireland.
Geography
The village is situated near the estuary of the Ballyline River,[3] on Ballylongford Bay, a tidal estuary of the River Shannon, close to Carrigafoyle Island and on the coast road between Tarbert and the seaside town of Ballybunion.
The farmland in the area is used primarily for dairying, which is a mainstay of the local economy.[4][5]
Three kilometers to the north, on Carrigafoyle Island, stands the castle and anchorage commemorated in the name of the village. For centuries, Ballylongford shared the political, military and religious fate of the castle and the nearby
History
In 1580, during the
King James I restored the castle to the O'Connors in 1607 but in 1651 during the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland, it was again captured, this time by Cromwellian forces under Edmund Ludlow. Ludlow was Henry Ireton's second in command and, after Ireton's death, commander in chief in Ireland. Ludlow ensured that the castle could never again be fortified and garrisoned, by knocking the outer defensive walls.[11]
The O'Connor lands were confiscated under the
On the other side of the creek, the O'Connors built the
The village in its present form dates from the end of the eighteenth century, though a bridge over the ford existed long before then. The old bridge was destroyed by flood in 1926. A reinforced concrete bridge was completed in 1930 and stands to this day. Photographs taken at the turn of the century show the village to have been largely made up of thatched houses, but many of these were burned by the Black and Tans during the War of Independence.[citation needed]
A concrete coastal artillery fort, Fort Shannon, is located six kilometers from the village. Constructed in 1940, it is the only such fortification built by the Irish Defence Forces during World War II, termed the Emergency in Ireland.[15][16]
Economy and amenities
Farming, fishing and tourism are key contributors to the local economy.[4][5] As of August 2018[update] there were renewed proposals to open a liquefied natural gas terminal in the area.[17]
Ballylongford parish is within the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kerry and is served by the church of St Mary, Asdee, and the church of St Michael the Archangel, Ballylongford.[18] The latter church was built in the 1870s to a Hiberno Romanesque style.[19] A former church in the area, Aghavallin church, on the edge of Ballylongford, dates from the 14th century.[20] Now in ruin, at different times it served both the Roman Catholic and Church of Ireland adherents of the area, before it was closed in 1829 and a new church built on the opposite side of the road.[citation needed]
People
- Brendan Kennelly, poet and novelist, was born in Ballylongford in 1936, and a festival celebrating his work is held annually.[21][22]
- Horatio, and later Lord, Kitchener was born in Ballylongford in 1850.[23]
- Father Malachi Martin, Roman Catholic priest, former Jesuit and author.[24]
- Detective Garda Jerry McCabe, of the Garda Síochána, was born in Ballylongford. He was killed in 1996 by members of the Provisional IRA during the attempted robbery of a post office in Adare, County Limerick.[25]
- Gaelic League and one of the founders of the Irish Volunteers was born in the village in 1875.[26] Ballylongford's local Gaelic football Club is known as "O'Rahilly's Gaelic football Club".[27]
See also
- Ballylongford GAA
- List of abbeys and priories in Ireland (County Kerry)
- List of towns and villages in Ireland
References
- ^ "Census 2016 - SAPMAP Area - Settlements - Ballylongford". Census 2016. Central Statistics Office Ireland. April 2016. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
- ^ "Béal Átha Longfoirt / Ballylongford (archival records)". logainm.ie. Irish Placenames Commission. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
- ^ "Flood Risk Review Report – UoM 24 Ballylongford" (PDF). Jacobs/Office of Public Works (Ireland). 2011. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
- ^ a b c "North Kerry - Ballylongford". gokerry.ie. Go Kerry Tourism. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
- ^ a b "Ballylongford Snaps". ballylongfordsnaps.com. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
The mainstay of the local economy is dairy farming, with tourism also important
- ^ Samuel Lewis (1837). "Ballylongford". A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland. Lewis – via libraryireland.com.
- ^ "Carrigafoyle Castle". ballylongford.com. Archived from the original on 8 December 2002. Retrieved 8 December 2002.
- ^ "Carrigafoyle Castle C15th Anglo Norman". neothemi-ireland.com. Archived from the original on 6 December 2004.
- ^ a b "Historic Houses and Castles - Carrigafoyle Castle". discoverireland.ie. Fáilte Ireland. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
- ^ "Beautiful Ballylongford; where the past comes to life". The Kerry Man. 1 September 2010. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
- ^ a b "Carrigafoyle Castle". gokerry.ie. Go Kerry Tourism. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
- ^ "Lios Laichtín / Lislaughtin". logainm.ie. Irish Placenames Commission. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
- ^ "Lislaughtin Abbey". kerrygems.com. 22 February 2014. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
- ^ "Lislaughtin Franciscan Friary". monastic.ie. Monastic Ireland. Archived from the original on 18 January 2017.
- ^ "Coastal Defence Artillery Collection". Irish Military Archives. Archived from the original on 2 April 2014.
- ^ "Ireland's Emergency Fortress (Fort Shannon, County Kerry) by Pat Dargan" (PDF). artilleryclub.ie. Artillery Club Ireland. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
- ^ "Long delayed €500m gas terminal on Shannon Estuary back on after deal struck". independent.ie. Independent News & Media. 24 August 2018. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
- ^ "Parishes - Ballylongford". dioceseofkerry.ie. Diocese of Kerry. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
- ^ "Saint Michael The Archangel's Catholic Church, Ballylongford, County Kerry". buildingsofireland.ie. National Inventory of Architectural Heritage. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
- ^ "The Unruly Mediaeval Clergy in a Parish in North Co Kerry". patrickcomerford.com. Patrick Comerford. September 2017. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
- ^ "Poet Brendan Kennelly is honoured in native Ballylongford". irishexaminer.com. Irish Examiner. 23 January 2017. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
- ^ "Poets from far and wide celebrate Ballylongfords Kennelly Festival". independent.ie. Independent News & Media. 16 August 2001. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
- ^ "The Career of Lord Horatio Kitchener". irelandsown.ie. Irelands Own. 29 June 2016. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
- ^ "The strange case of Father Malachi Martin, the Kerry priest who stars in Netflix's new documentary". independent.ie. Independent News & Media. 13 January 2017. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
- ^ "Garda Jerry McCabe to receive posthumous Freedom of Limerick". irishexaminer.com. Irish Examiner. 13 June 2018. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
- ^ "My Grandfather – The O'Rahilly". irelandsown.ie. Irelands Own. 3 May 2016. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
- ^ Kennelly, Paddy (1984). The History of the O'Rahilly's Ballylongford GAA Club. Cork: C.N.B. Press.