Images of Ballylynan
Photos kindly donated by William
Muldowney
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- Murphy's pup in Ballylynan Main Street c1968
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- Murphy's pup in Ballylynan Main Street 2005
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- Ballylynan Main Street c1968
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- Old School c2008
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- Old School c2008
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- A busy street
scene in Ballylynan c1968
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- Carlow Road out of Ballylynan in 1967
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- Ballylynan old chapel c2005
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- Flemings pub in Ballylynan Main Street c1968
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- Flemings pub in Ballylynan Main Street 2005
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- Garda (Police) Station Ballylynan c1968
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- Ballylynan new chapel c2005
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- Carlow Road near Ballylinan c1967
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- Carlow Road, Ballylynan c1967
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- Nolan's of Ballylynan 2005
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- Nolan's of Ballylynan c 1968
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The Beauties of Ireland
by James Norris Brewer (1826) (p. 103).
- Ballylinan
- Queens County
- Leinster
Colonel Weldon’s judicious improvements at
Kilmaroney, on the south, are too remote to form a
distinguishable feature, and the village of Ballylinan,
through which it passes, possesses little claim to
attention. Towards the north of this village, the Rev.
Arthur Weldon’s house and plantations, termed Rahin, may be
seen; and beyond that place, on the Maryborough road, is
situated Ballyadams Castle. The ruins of the embattled
walls, projecting towers, and elevated keep of this ancient
edifice, embosomed in venerable trees, produce an
interesting and highly picturesque effect. On the opposite
hill are the ruins of Ballyadams Church, containing the
monument, with the full sized recumbent effigies, of Robert
Bowes, Esq. of Ballyadams Castle, and his wife, Alice
Hartpole, of Shrule Castle. The head of one of these figures
has been broken off; the other has been thrown on the
ground, where it lies at present in an uninjured state. Near
these ruins are two very ancient wells, ia a bed of solid
lime stone, of a cylindrical form, and about fifteen inches
in diameter. The depth of the one exceeds three feet, while
the other is less than two. Medicinal qualities are
attributed to these wells, of which in the opinion of the
peasantry, St. Patrick was the founder and patron; and under
an impression of their efficacy in the cure of head aches
and disorders in the eyes, they are occasionally resorted to
for relief.
SOUTHVILLE
To the north of Ballyadams Castle, and on
the Maryborough road, lies Southville, a residence of the
late Richard Grace, of Boley, Esq. M.P. whose name must not
be mentioned without the humble tribute of our admiration. —
This enlightened, benevolent, in the neighbourhood of
Ballylinan there was dug up, by some peasants, in 1786, an
earthen urn, containing a great number of small silver
coins, several of which are deposited in the museum of
Trinity College, Dublin. The whole of the coins are believed
to bear reference to Irish monarch and chiefs, between the
years 862 and 900. This gentleman enjoys greatly the
the benefit of his parishioners, the valuable rectory of
Killabin, is of the earliest established family now extant
in this district.
BALLYLINAN
according to the
LEWIS TOPOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY OF IRELAND 1837
by Samuel Lewis,
BALLYLINAN, a village, in the parish of
KILLEBAN, barony of BALLYADAMS, QUEEN'S county, and province of
LEINSTER, 3 miles (S.W.) from Athy, on the road to Castlecomber;
containing 94 houses and 533 inhabitants. In the strata of the
neighbouring lands are numerous marine exuviae; and some valuable
coal mines, called the Wolf-Hill and Mordulah collieries, are worked
by steam-engines recently erected. Great quantities of fine
flag-stones were formerly raised on the adjoining townland of Boley;
but on the discovery of similar quarries near Carlow, more
conveniently situated for conveyance by canal, they were abandoned.
Stones containing a large proportion of iron are found on the lands
called Iron Park; but no works have been yet established. The
village is a constabulary police station, and has a penny post to
Athy. Fairs are held in it on Jan. 11th, Feb. 10th. May 10th, Sept.
2nd, and Nov. 26th; and petty sessions every Saturday. To the north
is Rahin, the seat of Lieut.-Col. Weldon, a handsome mansion
surrounded by thriving plantations; and at a short distance are the
luxuriant woods of Gracefield Lodge, the seat of the ancient family
of Grace, whose old mansion has been taken down and replaced by an
elegant villa in the later English style, from a design by Mr. Nash,
completed in 1817; the grounds have been tastefully embellished, and
the approach from the Kilkenny side presents some beautiful and
interesting mountain scenery. In the village are the ruins of an old
church, near which some ancient coins have been dug up; and on the
Marquess of Lansdowne's estate of Luggaghcurran, in the vicinity,
are the remains of a cromlech, consisting of five upright pillars,
about 4 1/2 feet high, and a table stone 8 1/2 feet long, 7 wide,
and 2 1/2 feet in thickness. On the highest point of the Boley
hills, and near the woods of Gracefield, is Dundrom, an extensive
earthwork consisting of a vast mound, the summit of which is 130
yards in diameter, enclosed by a high bank, and surrounded at the
base by a fosse 30 feet wide at the bottom. Within the enclosure is
a well of fine water, and from the mound is a view of uncommon
extent. This post was occupied by a party of the insurgents in 1798.
Source:
Irish
Midlands Ancestry
Ballylynan or Ballylinan 1850's
A village or small town in the parish of Killeban, barony of
Ballyadams, Queen's co., Leinster. It stands on the eastern verge of
the county, on the road from Dublin to Kilkenny, 3 miles south-west of
Athy. Sir Charles Coote, describing it in 1801, says, "The only good
dwelling house in the town is inhabited by Mr Grace, who had a cotton
factory, where thicksets were manufactured, about 4 years ago but it
is now discontinued." The village presents a poor appearance;
yet possesses interest from some antiquarian associations. on
the north side of it are the house and plantations of Rahin, the seat
of the Weldon family, the towns proprietors: a family who are reputed
to have settled here in the reign of James 1, or upwards of a century
previous to the removal of the Ballylinch family of Grace from Co
Kilkenny to this vicinity. Within view of he village, and
crowning a hill at no great distance, are the ruins of Ballyadams
Castle. The area of the village, 24 acres. Pop., in 1831
5333: in 1841, 445. Houses 89.
Ballylinan is an
ancient town-land centred on the present day village and a gateway
to the beautiful yet haunting area of Slieve Margy. An earthen-ware
urn was found in the area in 1786 containing a great number of
silver coins dating from AD862 to AD870 inscribed “O’Laghis King”
(the O‘Mores) and “Dunamaise",
Ballylehane was the scene of the great slaughter of the O'More Clan
(300 killed) in 1315. But in 1346, the castles of Lea, Kilmeade and
Ballylehane were taken by the O'More, O'Connor and O'Dempsey clans.
This castle came into the possession of the Hovenden family in the
mid 16th Century. Ballyadams Castle was built in the 15th Century.
The castle was taken by the Earl of Desmond in 1548 after the
O'More's had burnt the town of Athy. By 1551 it was in the
possession of a Welshman, John Bowen, the renowned Shane-a-pika.
Ballylynan Castle was said to belong to the O'More's but it fell to
the Grimes or Grahams after the Battle of Agharoe (the field of
blood). The landlords of Ballylynan were the Weldons who came during
the reign of King James I, and they remained landlords up to the
1920s. When the Weldon estate came into being at the end of the 17th
Century, Ballylynan was no more than a small cluster of cottages. It
owes its development to two factors, the proximity of Rahen House,
main house of the Weldon Estate, and its location on the Athy -
Castlecomer Road which provided access to the mines.
Ballylinan
It's name comes from
the old Irish "Baile Uí Laighneáin" which is translated as the
"Town of Lynan".
(Its not known who "Lynan" is)
Ballylinan (sometimes spelt Ballylynan) is a small village
on the County Laois/County Kildare border. It is mainly a farmland
area with no real industrialisation. Its population is unknown as
many new housing developments have changed the area dramatically.
It has five pubs, the most noted of which is The Horse and
Coach, and all pubs as well as shops, church, Garda (police)
station, school and garage are all on one road, the N78.
The town has a traditional history of being very good at
football (see Ballylinan GAA). Some new housing developments are;
"Rahin Wood", "The Village", "White Thorn Grove", "Cottage Gates"
and "Gracefield Manor" which are still currently being built.
Source: From Wikipedia, the free
encyclopaedia
