Ballykinler (), often transcribed as Ballykinlar, is a

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

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 ...

County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 552,261. It borders County Antrim to 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 ...

. It lies 12 kilometres south west of

Downpatrick Downpatrick () is a town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is on the Lecale peninsula, about south of Belfast. In the Middle Ages, it was the capital of the Dál Fiatach, the main ruling dynasty of Ulaid. Down Cathedral, Its cathedral is sai ...

, in the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

of Tyrella and Dundrum. In the 2001 census it had a population of 348 people. It is within the

Newry, Mourne and Down Newry, Mourne and Down () is a Local government in Northern Ireland, local government district in Northern Ireland that was created on 1 April 2015 by merging Newry and Mourne District and Down (district), Down District. It covers most of the so ...

area and runs parallel to the

Irish Sea The Irish Sea is a body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Celtic Sea in the south by St George's Channel and to the Inner Seas off the West Coast of Scotland in the north by the North Ch ...

coast. Located within the Lecale Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the village is surrounded by low drumlins and marshes. It is also the site of a former

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

base and

internment camp Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without Criminal charge, charges or Indictment, intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects ...

known as

Abercorn Barracks Abercorn Barracks, sometimes referred to as Ballykinlar Barracks or Ballykinler Barracks, is a former military base in Ballykinler in County Down, Northern Ireland. The surrounding training area is retained by the Ministry of Defence. Early hist ...

Etymology

At the time of the conquest of

Ulster Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...

by John de Courcy around 1177, Ballykinlar was called ''Lesscummalscig''. The

tithe A tithe (; from Old English: ''teogoþa'' "tenth") is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Modern tithes are normally voluntary and paid in money, cash, cheques or v ...

s from the area went to Christ Church, Dublin to pay for wax candles hence it became .

Amenities

The village has a shop and

filling station A filling station (also known as a gas station [] or petrol station []) is a facility that sells fuel and engine lubricants for motor vehicles. The most common fuels sold are gasoline (or petrol) and diesel fuel. Fuel dispensers are used to ...

. Public houses in the area include The Four Roads Inn (2 miles from the village) and the Minerstown Tavern (3 miles to the east). The preschool playgroup in the village has received some funding from the National Lottery. Visitors to the area include walkers and hikers on the Ballykinlar to Killough walk which passes the

Blue Flag beach The Blue Flag is a certification by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) that a beach, marina, or sustainable boating tourism operator meets its standards. The Blue Flag is a trademark owned by FEE, which is a Not-for-profit organi ...

at Tyrella. A nearby coastal path is maintained by the

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

, although access is prohibited when shooting ranges are active.

Transport

Ballykinlar Halt railway station was opened in March 1915, but closed on 16 January 1950. A regular bus service runs between Downpatrick and Ballykinlar, via Clough.

Sport

Ballykinlar has three sports pitches, including two changing facilities. It also has several

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 ...

teams. 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, Ballykinlar GAA (''Baile Choinnleora'' in Irish), was founded in 1932. The grounds for this

Gaelic football 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 ...

club is named in memory of the Irish nationalist, trade unionist and journalist Tadhg Barry.Ballykinlar
down.gaa.ie. Accessed 1 October 2022.

Civil parish

The

is in the historic barony of Lecale Upper and contains the settlement of Ballykinler. The civil parish also contains the townlands of Ballykinler Lower, Ballykinler Middle, and Ballykinler Upper.

Bibliography

* ''Prisoners of War - Ballykinlar Internment Camp 1920-1921, ''Liam O'Duibhir 2013 * ''The Ulster Defence Regiment: An Instrument of Peace?'', Chris Ryder 1991

References

External links

Drumaroad History
(archived 2008)

BFBS radio in Ballykinler on 107.5 fm
(archived 2008) {{authority control Villages in County Down