Ballycassidy () is a small

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

and

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 ...

(of 83 acres) in

County Fermanagh County Fermanagh ( ; ) is one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of six counties of Northern Ireland. The county covers an area of and had a population of 63,585 as of 2021. Enniskillen is the ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

, 6.5 km north of

Enniskillen Enniskillen ( , from , ' Ceithlenn's island') is the largest town in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is in the middle of the county, between the Upper and Lower sections of Lough Erne. It had a population of 14,086 at the 2011 censu ...

on the eastern shore of Lower

Lough Erne Lough Erne ( , ) is the name of two connected lakes in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is the second-biggest lake system in Northern Ireland and Ulster, and the fourth biggest in Ireland. The lakes are widened sections of the River E ...

. It is situated 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 ...

Trory Trory () is a townland (of 335 acres), small village and civil parish in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, 3 miles (5 km) north of Enniskillen. The townland is situated in the historic barony of Tirkennedy, but the civil parish cover ...

and the historic

barony Barony may refer to: * Barony, the peerage, office of, or territory held by a baron * Barony, the title and land held in fealty by a feudal baron * Barony (county division), a type of administrative or geographical division in parts of the British ...

Tirkennedy Tirkennedy () is a barony in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. To its west lies Lower Lough Erne and south Upper Lough Erne, and it is bordered by seven other baronies: Clanawley and Magheraboy to the west; Lurg and Omagh East to the nort ...

. In the 2001 Census it had (with Laragh and

) a population of 315 people. It is situated within

Fermanagh and Omagh Fermanagh and Omagh () is a local government district that was created on 1 April 2015 by merging Fermanagh District and Omagh District. It covers most of the Southwest of Northern Ireland. The local authority is Fermanagh and Omagh District ...

district. Ballycassidy is a small rural community, consisting mainly of scattered homes, the Balcas Sawmill and rich farm land along the Ballycassidy River. There is no pub or grocery store, only a post office. The Ballycassidy River flows into Lower Lough Erne a short distance to the west.

History

In the 14th century, there was a church in Ballycassidy. A

holy well A holy well or sacred spring is a well, Spring (hydrosphere), spring or small pool of water revered either in a Christianity, Christian or Paganism, pagan context, sometimes both. The water of holy wells is often thought to have healing qualitie ...

in the area was associated with

Saint Molaise In Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Anglican, Oriental Ortho ...

who founded the monastery on nearby Devinish.

''Ballycassidy'' racehorse

There is also a racehorse called ''Ballycassidy'', named after the village, who was trained in Wales by Peter Bowen. The horse is notorious for a spectacular fall at Valentines Brook in the

2006 Grand National The 2006 Grand National (officially known as the John Smith's Brewery, John Smith's Grand National for sponsorship reasons) was the 159th official annual running of the Grand National Steeplechase (horse racing), steeplechase which took place ...

at Aintree. He won 16 races over his career and became a favourite with racing fans. He was retired from racing under rules in 2008, but did go on to race in Point to Points, ridden by the then amateur jockey Donal Devereux. ''Ballycassidy'' remains at the Peter Bowen stables.

Gallery

File:Cloughbally Mill, Ballycassidy - geograph.org.uk - 375195.jpg, Mill building

References

NI Neighbourhood Information System

Villages in County Fermanagh Townlands of County Fermanagh Civil parish of Trory Fermanagh and Omagh district {{Fermanagh-geo-stub