Balally (),

County Dublin County Dublin ( or ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland, and holds its capital city, Dublin. It is located on the island's east coast, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Until 1994, County Dubli ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, is a

townland A townland (; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a traditional small land division used in Ireland and in the Western Isles of Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of medieval Gaelic origin, predating the Norman invasion, and mo ...

and residential area between Dundrum village and the Sandyford Industrial Estate in

Sandyford Sandyford () is a suburb of Dublin, located in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, Ireland. Sandyford Business District makes up much of the suburb and encompasses 4 business parks: Sandyford Business Park, Stillorgan Business Park, Central Park and S ...

. Balally Parish itself reaches from Ardglas to the M50 motorway. The area is served by two primary schools (St. Olaf's National School and Queen of Angels) and two secondary schools (St. Tiernan's and Wesley College). Balally is part of the

conurbation A conurbation is a region consisting of a number of metropolises, cities, large towns, and other urban areas which, through population growth and physical expansion, have merged to form one continuous urban or industrially developed area. In most ...

Greater Dublin The Greater Dublin Area (GDA; Irish: ''Mórcheantar Bhaile Átha Cliath''), or simply Greater Dublin, is an informal term that is taken to include the city of Dublin and its hinterland, with varying definitions as to its extent. At the expansive ...

, in the council area of

Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown () is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and the Eastern and Midland Region. It is one of three successor counties to County Dublin, which was disestablished in 1994. It is named after the former ...

. The area contains a

Luas Luas (, Irish language, Irish: ; meaning 'speed') is a tram system in Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. There are two main lines: the Green Line (Luas), Green Line, which began operating on 30 June 2004, and the Red Line (Luas), Red Line ...

tram station, located near the southern entrance to the new

Dundrum Town Centre Dundrum Town Centre is a shopping mall, shopping centre located in Dundrum, Dublin, Dundrum, Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is one of Ireland's two largest shopping centres with over 131 shops, 47 restaurants, 3 amusement facilities ...

Name and location

Balally townland is in the

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

of Taney in the barony of Rathdown. The townland's Irish name, ''Baile Amhlaoibh'', derives from a reputed association with Olaf (''Amhlaoibh'' or "Olave"), the first king of Viking Dublin, who reputedly built a fort in the area. ''Baile Amhlaoibh'', meaning "the town of Olaf", was anglicised as ''Balally''. The first recorded building in the area is from a record of 1280 when John de Walhope was granted 7 oak trees from the royal forest at

Glencree Glencree ( from the older Gleann Criothach, which translates as Valley of the Shaking Bog) is a valley in the Wicklow Mountains in eastern Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is the third-closest valley in the mountains to Dublin city, the first be ...

to build a house. A later castle, built by William Walsh after 1407, was constructed on or near the site of this house. Balally is located at the foot of the

Wicklow Mountains The Wicklow Mountains (, archaic: '' Cualu'') form the largest continuous upland area in Ireland. They occupy the whole centre of County Wicklow and stretch outside its borders into the counties of Dublin, Wexford and Carlow. Where the mountai ...

and was originally farmland. It now includes several residential streets, including Balally Drive, Balally Hill, Balally Grove, Balally Close, Balally Park, Balally Avenue, Balally Road, and Sandyford Road. It is connected to Sandyford Road at Balally Hill.

Amenities

The local primary school, St. Olaf's National School, had an enrollment of more than 480 pupils as of 2018. The Church of the Ascension of the Lord, the local

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

church, was built in October 1982. Balally Residents Association has been in existence since 1964. IMG BallalyLuasHalt0211

Transport

Balally is served by bus route numbers 44, 44B and 116. The 44 travels on to Enniskerry in the south and Larkhill to the north and runs seven days a week. The 44B service operates on weekdays between Dundrum and Glencullen. The 116 also serves the area, as do routes S8 and L25, which have replaced the former 75 since 26 November 2023.

Balally Luas stop Balally () is a stop on the Luas light-rail tram system in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, County Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It opened in 2004 as a stop on the Green Line (Luas), Green Line and serves Dundrum Town Centre, the southern area ...

is a stop on the

light rail system's green line. It connects the suburb to Brides Glen stop in the south and the city centre and Broombridge station in the North. Some proposals for the Dublin Metro, also known as Metrolink, proposed a station alongside Ballaly's Luas stop on its way from Swords to

. However, as of February 2019, it was questioned whether this section of the line would be completed as originally proposed.{{Cite web , date=2019-02-21, title=Southside section of MetroLink set to be abandoned, url=https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-30906075.html, access-date=2021-12-24, website=Irish Examiner, language=en, archive-date=2021-08-28, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210828115226/https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-30906075.html, url-status=live

Sport

Naomh Olaf is the local

Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sports, amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional Irish sports o ...

club and Balally Celtic is the local

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

club.

References

External links

Detailed Balally Parish Census 2011 Information

Balally Residents Association
Dundrum, Dublin Places in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown