Ballindine () is a village in

County Mayo County Mayo (; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, it is named after the village of Mayo, County Mayo, Mayo, now ge ...

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 ...

. It is located along the

Western Railway Corridor The Western Railway Corridor is a term, used since , for a partly disused railway line running through the west of Ireland. Currently two sections of the line, from Limerick via Ennis to Athenry and from Collooney to Sligo, see regular services ...

, 6.5 km (4 miles) south of

Claremorris Claremorris (; ) is a town in County Mayo in the west of Ireland, at the junction of the N17 and the N60 national routes. As of the 2017, it was the fastest growing town in the county, having seen a 31% increase in population between 2006 and ...

. The N17 road passes through the village, carrying over 10,000 vehicles daily, and it connects to the R328 road on the south side of town.

History

The remains of a possible fort are located in a field next to the National School. Folklore states that Ballindine got its name from this fort—''Baile an Daingin'' meaning "Town of the Fortress" and that the

souterrain ''Souterrain'' (from French ', meaning "subterrain", is a name given by archaeologists to a type of underground structure associated mainly with the European Atlantic Iron Age. These structures appear to have been brought northwards from Gaul d ...

, just outside it, was connected underground to the ruins of the old church in Cloonmore about 2 km (1.25 miles) to the east and also to the ruins of the old church in Garryduff, 5 km (3 miles) west. Ballindine is in the Roman Catholic parish of Kilvine. Church records are held at the South Mayo Family Research Centre in

Ballinrobe Ballinrobe () is a town in County Mayo in Ireland. It is located on the River Robe, which empties into Lough Mask two kilometres to the west. As of the 2022 census, the population was 3,148. The town is in a civil parish of the same name. Hist ...

. Old school records dating to the 1800s are held in the present National School.

Events and community

The village has had a monthly cattle and sheep fair since the 1960s and the Ballindine September fair was well known in West of Ireland. The July fair was also called 'The Gooseberry Fair' and Ballindine marked this tradition with an annual 'Gooseberry Festival' until 2002. The Western

Alzheimer's Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

Foundation is headquartered in Ballindine.

Sport

The Ballindine

Gaelic footballer Gaelic football (; short name '')'', commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA, or football, is an Irish team sport. A form of football, it is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score ...

s join with Irishtown to form the Davitts team who play in red and black. The combined Davitts club plays in Division 1A league and Senior Championship. In 2011 Davitts won the Intermediate County Championship after beating Burrishoole in the final. They went on to win the Intermediate Connacht Championship after defeating Padraig Pearses.

Transport

Ballindine railway station was opened on 30 April 1894, and closed on 17 June 1963. The N17 passes through the village. However, as of 2010, the village was due to be bypassed as part of the Claremorris–Tuam dual-carriageway which (as of 2012) was in the early stages of planning.

Notable people

* Sabina Coyne, actress and wife of the

President of Ireland The president of Ireland () is the head of state of Republic of Ireland, Ireland and the supreme commander of the Defence Forces (Ireland), Irish Defence Forces. The presidency is a predominantly figurehead, ceremonial institution, serving as ...

Michael D. Higgins Michael Daniel Higgins (; born 18 April 1941) is an Irish politician, poet, broadcaster, and sociologist who has been serving as the president of Ireland since 2011. Entering national politics through the Labour Party, he served as a senator ...

, is a native of Cloonrane, 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 ...

County Galway County Galway ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Northern and Western Region, taking up the south of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht. The county population was 276,451 at the 20 ...

one kilometre south of Ballindine. * Pippa Hackett, Green Party) Senator. *

Pat Rabbitte Pat Rabbitte (born 18 May 1949) is an Irish former Labour Party politician who served as Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources from 2011 to 2014, Leader of the Labour Party from 2002 to 2007 and a Minister of State from 19 ...

, former leader of the Labour Party, was born in Woodstock, a townland near the village, and still owns a family home there.

References