Copy from Wikipedia
New page
{{bdm}}
{{Infobox settlement
|name = Ballyshannon
|other_name = {{pad top italic|Béal Átha Seanaidh}}
|settlement_type = Town
|image_skyline = Ballyshannon in the Morning Sun 2012 09 17.jpg
|image_caption = Ballyshannon as seen from the Beleek Road in the morning
|image_seal = HerbBallyshannon3.gif
|pushpin_map = Ireland
|pushpin_label_position = right
|pushpin_map_caption = Location in Ireland
|coordinates_display = inline,title
|coordinates_region = IE
|subdivision_type = Country
|subdivision_name = [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]]
|subdivision_type1 = [[Provinces of Ireland|Province]]
|subdivision_name1 = [[Ulster]]
|subdivision_type3 = [[Counties of Ireland|County]]
|subdivision_name3 = [[County Donegal]]
|established_title =
|established_date =
|leader_title1 = [[Dáil Éireann]]
|leader_name1 = [[Donegal South–West (Dáil Éireann constituency)|Donegal South–West]]
|leader_title2 = [[European Parliament constituency|EU Parliament]]
|leader_name2 = [[North-West (European Parliament constituency)|North–West]]
|unit_pref = Metric
|area_footnotes =
|area_total_km2 =
|population_as_of = 2011
|population_footnotes =
|population_total = 2504
|population_density_km2 = auto
|timezone1 = [[West European Time|WET]]
|utc_offset1 = +0
|timezone1_DST = [[Irish Standard Time|IST]] ([[Western European Summer Time|WEST]])
|utc_offset1_DST = -1
|latd = 54.5015
|longd = -8.1901
|coordinates_format = dms
|coordinates_type = dim:100000_region:IE
|elevation_footnotes =
|elevation_m =
|area_code = +353 71 98 5
|blank_name = [[Irish grid reference system|Irish Grid Reference]]
|blank_info = {{iem4ibx|G876614}}
|website = {{URL|www.ballyshannon.ie}}
|footnotes =
}}
{{Historical populations|state=collapsed
|1821|3831
|1831|3775
|1841|3513
|1851|3698
|1861|3197
|1871|2958
|1881|2840
|1891|2471
|1901|2359
|1911|2170
|1926|2112
|1936|2223
|1946|2514
|1951|2813
|1956|2434
|1961|2322
|1966|2233
|1971|2325
|1981|3066
|1986|3015
|1991|2838
|1996|2775
|2002|2715
|2006|2686
|footnote=<ref>[http://www.cso.ie/census Census for post 1821 figures.]</ref><ref>http://www.histpop.org</ref><ref>http://www.nisranew.nisra.gov.uk/census</ref><ref>{{cite book
|last=Lee|first=JJ| authorlink =John Joseph Lee|editor-last=Goldstrom|editor-first=J. M.|editor2-last=Clarkson
|editor2-first=L. A.|title=Irish Population, Economy, and Society: Essays in Honour of the Late K. H. Connell
|year=1981|publisher=Clarendon Press|location=Oxford, England
|chapter=On the accuracy of the [[Great Famine (Ireland)|Pre-famine]] Irish censuses}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal | last = Mokyr | first = Joel
| author-link = Joel Mokyr | last2 = O Grada | first2 = Cormac
| author2-link = Cormac Ó Gráda | title = New Developments in Irish Population History, 1700-1850 | journal = The Economic History Review | volume = 37 | issue = 4
| pages = 473–488 | month = November | year = 1984
| url = http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/120035880/abstract | doi = 10.1111/j.1468-0289.1984.tb00344.x | postscript = <!--None-->
}}</ref>
}}
'''Ballyshannon''' ({{Irish place name|Béal Átha Seanaidh|The Mouth of Seannachs ford}}) is a town in [[County Donegal]], [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]]. It is located at the southern end of the county where the [[N3 road (Ireland)|N3]] and [[N15 road (Ireland)|N15]] cross the [[River Erne]], and claims to be the oldest town in Ireland.<ref>http://www.accommodation.ie/donegal/ballyshannon.htm</ref><ref>http://www.discoverireland.com/us/ireland-places-to-go/placefinder/b/ballyshannon-donegal/</ref><ref>http://www.creevyexperience.com/about-creevy-experience-accommodation-donegal.html</ref><ref>http://donegaldirect.com/ws_business_details.aspx?BusinessID=1920&Region=Ballyshannon&BusinessNm=Ballyshannon+Cycle+Hub</ref>
==Location==
[[File:Ballyshannon, County Donegal - geograph.org.uk - 504795.jpg|left|240px|thumb|Ballyshannon town centre.]]
Ballyshannon, which means "The Mouth of Seannach's [[Ford (crossing)|Ford]]", after a fifth-century warrior, Seannach, who was slain there, lies at the mouth of the river Erne. Just west of the town, the [[River Erne|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. From its idyllic setting, the town looks out over the estuary and has panoramic views of mountains, lakes and forests.
==History==
Archaeological sites dating as far back as the [[Neolithic British Isles|Neolithic]] 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 from ''fulachta fiadh'' (burnt mounds) dating from the [[Prehistoric Ireland#Copper and Bronze Ages (2500–500 BC)|Bronze Age]] (2500–500 BC), to a possible brushwood trackway thought to date to an earlier Neolithic period, 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 artifacts including silver long cross pennies and halfpennies dating from the reign of [[Henry III of England|Henry III]] (1251–1276) and [[Edward I of England|Edward I]] (c.1280–1302). Other finds included bone beads, shroud pins, and pieces of [[quartz]] which were found placed in the hands of many of the skeletons.
Numerous other sites from various periods are thought to exist, including a neolithic tomb, and the grave of [[Red Hugh O'Donnell|King Red Hugh]] (''Aedh Rua'') 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 as ''Sidh Aedh Ruaidh'', the Fairy Mound of Red Hugh. The 'sheeman' (Anglicisation of the Irish ''sidh'') 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, especially among the Finner sand-hills and in the Wardtown district of Ballyshannon.
[[File:Ballyshannon.jpg|thumb|220px|Lough Erne and Ballyshannon.]]
The [[Vikings]], according to the [[Annals of Ulster]], attacked nearby [[Inishmurray]] Island in 795. Later they used the [[River Erne]] to attack inland, burning [[Devenish 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.
In 1775 the salmon-leap of Assaroe at Ballyshannon was famously praised by the [[Netherlands|Dutch]] traveller Richard Twiss in [http://books.google.ie/books?id=ujpIAAAAMAAJ ''A Tour in Ireland''] (p. 157):
<blockquote>''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....''.</blockquote>
It was in Ballyshannon, around 1793, that [[Robert Stewart, 2nd Marquess of Londonderry|Viscount Castlereagh]], the future [[Chief Secretary for Ireland]] and, later, British [[Foreign Secretary]], had his famous vision of '''the radiant boy.''' Known at the time as [[The Honourable|The Hon.]] Robert Stewart (he became Lord Castlereagh in 1796), he was serving as a young [[British Army|Army]] officer and [[Member of Parliament|M.P.]] for [[Down (Parliament of Ireland constituency)|Down]] in the [[Irish Parliament]] at the time. Lodging in the old Military Barracks in the town, Stewart (as he then was) retired for the night. Looking into the fire he saw the form of a boy emerge from the flames, grow larger and larger and vanish.<ref>Hyde, Montgomery ''The Strange Death of Lord Castlereagh'' William Heinemann 1959 pp.161-2</ref> The radiant boy is a well-known figure in English and Irish folklore, and is often supposed to foretell death. [[William Allingham]] later wrote a poem about the incident.<ref>Hyde, p.162</ref>
The [[Enniskillen and Bundoran Railway]] (E&BR) opened in 1868 and had a station at Ballyshannon.<ref name=Hajducki6>{{cite book |last=Hajducki |first=S. Maxwell |authorlink= |year=1974 |title=A Railway Atlas of Ireland |location=Newton Abbott |publisher=[[David & Charles]] |isbn=0-7153-5167-2 |at=map 6}}</ref> The [[Great Northern Railway (Ireland)|Great Northern Railway]] (GNR) operated the E&BR line from 1876 and absorbed the company in 1896.<ref>Hajducki, ''op. cit.'', page xiii</ref> The [[partition of Ireland]] in 1922 turned the boundary with [[County Fermanagh]] into an international frontier. Henceforth Ballyshannon's only railway link with the rest of the [[Irish Free State]] was ''via'' [[Northern Ireland]], and as such was subject to delays for [[customs]] inspections. The [[Government 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.<ref name=Hajducki39>Hajducki, ''op. cit.'', map 39</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=McCutcheon |first=Alan |series=Railway History in Pictures |title=Ireland |volume=2 |year=1970 |location=Newton Abbott |publisher=[[David & Charles]] |isbn=0-7153-4998-8 |pages=153, 207}}</ref> This gave the Republic no practical alternative but to allow the closure of the line through Ballyshannon between the border and Bundoran. Thereafter the nearest [[railhead]]s for Ballyshannon were {{rws|Sligo}} in the Republic and [[Omagh]] in Northern Ireland, until in 1965 the [[Ulster Transport Authority]] closed the line through Omagh as well.<ref name=Hajducki39/><ref>McCutcheon, 1970, pages 155, 209</ref>
A [[hydroelectric power]] station was built in the town in the 1950s. The project, or 'Scheme' as it was then referred to, 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. This involved building a dam upriver from the town at Cathleen's Falls (also known as [[Assaroe Falls]]) and digging out a deep channel to lower the riverbed through the town to increase the head of water at the dam in order to drive the turbines. 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 them Cathleen's 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.
During the [[Second World War]] the British and Irish governments quietly reached an agreement to create an air corridor between nearby [[Belleek, County Fermanagh|Belleek]] and Ballyshannon, the "[[Donegal Corridor]]", which was used by British [[Royal Air Force]] flights from [[Northern Ireland]] into the [[Atlantic Ocean]]<ref name=indy>{{cite web
| last = Guidera
| first = Anita
| authorlink =
| coauthors =
| title = Plaques mark secret wartime air corridor in Donegal
| work =
| publisher = Irish Independent
| date = April 19, 2007
| url = http://www.independent.ie/national-news/plaques-mark-secret-wartime-air-corridor-in-donegal-44249.html
| doi =
| accessdate = 2008-09-04 }}</ref>
. This was used by the aircraft which located the [[German battleship Bismarck]].<ref>{{cite book
| last = Kennedy
| first = Ludovic
| authorlink =Ludovic Kennedy
| coauthors =
| title = Pursuit: The Sinking of the ''Bismarck''
| publisher = Book Club Associates
| year = 1975
| location = London
| url =
| doi =
| id =
| page = 137
| isbn = 0-00-634014-8
}}</ref>
==Local attractions==
* [http://www.goingtomyhometown.com The Rory Gallagher International Tribute Festival] takes place in Ballyshannon on June Bank Holiday weekend.
2012 Rory Gallagher International Tribute Festival takes place between Thursday 31 May & Sunday 3 June 2012.
* [http://www.ballyshannonfolkfestival.com Ballyshannon Folk Festival] takes place every year on the August bank holiday weekend.
==Transport and communications==
[http://www.buseireann.ie Bus Eireann] offers routes to cities and major towns in the Republic of Ireland including [[Cavan]] and [[Dublin]]. [http://www.ulsterbus.co.uk Ulsterbus] offers services to cities and major towns in [[Northern Ireland]] including [[Belfast]] and [[Derry]]. [http://www.fedaodonnell.com/ Feda ODonnell] offers routes to and from [[Gweedore]] to the west of Ireland, including [[Sligo]] and [[Galway]], via Ballyshannon.
The nearest railway to Ballyshannon is [[Sligo station]] which is served by trains to [[Dublin Connolly]] and is operated by [[Iarnród Éireann]], [http://www.irishrail.ie Official site - Timetables, bookings and operations]
Commercial [[broadband]] is available in Ballyshannon, installed by [[Donegal County Council]] and provided by all major broadband providers.
==Notable people==
[[File:Rory Gallagher Statue - Ballyshannon.jpg|210px|thumb|A statue of Ballyshannon native, rock singer, guitar player [[Rory Gallagher]]]]
The [[Gallagher (surname)|Gallagher]] [[clan]], originated in the [[barony]] of Tirhugh to the north of Ballyshannon. The guitarist and singer [[Rory Gallagher]] was born in Ballyshannon and the town centre contains a statue (pictured right) erected in his memory. Rory sometimes wears a Donegal jersey.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.donegaldemocrat.ie/news/local/rory-s-rocking-again-for-donegal-1-4285490|title=Rory's rocking again for Donegal|newspaper=Donegal Democrat|date=20 September 2012|accessdate=20 September 2012}}</ref>
;Others born here include:
* [[William Allingham]], poet
* [[Mark Boyle (Moneyless Man)]]
* [[William Conolly]], politician
* [[Charlie McGettigan]], singer and Eurovision Song Contest winner
* [[Gelasius Ó Cuileanáin]] (probably)
* [[Des Cahill]]'s wife Caroline<ref>{{cite news|first=Michael|last=Daly|url=http://www.donegaldemocrat.ie/news/local/des-cahill-up-for-the-match-and-donegal-1-4279019|title=Des Cahill, up for the match - and Donegal|newspaper=Donegal Democrat|date=19 September 2012|accessdate=19 September 2012}}</ref>
;Famous mothers
* Hazel (Corscadden) Blair, mother of British Prime Minister [[Tony Blair]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ballyshannon.ie/Article_Listings.aspx?tscategory_id=276&category_name=Local+Map|title=Local Map}}</ref>
* Charlotte Mathilda Blake Thornley (1818–1901), mother of novelist and short story writer [[Bram Stoker]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bram_Stoker|title=Bram Stoker}}</ref>
;Footballers
* [[Gary Walsh (Gaelic footballer)]]
* [[Brian Murray (Gaelic footballer)]]
;Burial place of:
* [[James Myles]], politician
==International relations==
{{See also|List of twin towns and sister cities in the Republic of Ireland}}
===Twin towns — Sister cities===
Ballyshannon is [[town twinning|twinned]] with:
* [[Grenay, Pas-de-Calais|Grenay]], [[France]] [[Image:Flag of France.svg|20px]]
* [[Séné]], [[France]] [[Image:Flag of France.svg|20px]]
==Sport==
* Local [[Gaelic Athletic Association]] club is [[Aodh Ruadh]].
* The local rugby club is Ballyshannon R.F.C.
* The local soccer club is Erne Wanderers.
==Schools==
*Creevy National School, Creevy, Ballyshannon.
*Kilbarron (St. Anne's) National School.
*The Holy Family National School (formerly known as St. Joseph's Primary School).
*St. Catherine's Primary School (known in [[Irish language|Irish]] as Scoil Naomh Chaitríona).
*Gaelscoil Eirne, an Irish-medium national school
*Coláiste Cholmcille Secondary School.
==Adult education==
*[[Ballyshannon VTOS]]
==See also==
* [[List of populated places in the Republic of Ireland|List of populated places in Ireland]]
* [[List of abbeys and priories in the Republic of Ireland#County Donegal|List of abbeys and priories in Ireland (County Donegal)]]
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
{{Commons category|Ballyshannon}}
{{Wikisource1911Enc}}
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20091027070927/http://www.geocities.com/johngall_99 Ballyshannon Website]
* [http://www.ballyshannon.ie Ballyshannon Council Website]
* [http://www.BallyshannonOnline.com Ballyshannon Online]
* [http://www.ballyshannonfolkfestival.com Ballyshannon Folk & Traditional Festival]
* [http://www.goingtomyhometown.com The Rory Gallagher International Tribute Festival]
* [http://www.aodhruadh.org Aodh Ruadh GAA Club Website]
* [http://www.donegalvec.ie/vtos Vocational Training Opportunites Scheme (VTOS)]
* [http://www.ballyshannonshow.com Ballyshannon Agricultural Show Website]
{{County Donegal}}
[[Category:Ballyshannon| ]]
[[Category:Towns and villages in County Donegal]]
{{usedwp|Ballyshannon}}