Ballymacnab (from meaning ''"son of the abbot / McNab's town"'') 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

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 ...

County Armagh County Armagh ( ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It is located in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and adjoins the southern shore of Lough Neagh. It borders t ...

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 is within 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 Kilclooney, four miles south of the City of

Armagh Armagh ( ; , , " Macha's height") is a city and the county town of County Armagh, in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Primates of All ...

on the road towards Newtownhamilton. It is within the

Armagh City and District Council Armagh City and District Council was a district council in County Armagh in Northern Ireland. It merged with Banbridge District Council and Craigavon Borough Council in May 2015 under local government reorganisation in Northern Ireland to beco ...

area.

Geography and history

Local buildings and amenities include Saint Patrick's

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, Foley primary school, and Ballymacnab Hall. The local

pub A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the late 17th century, to differentiate private ho ...

, O'Toole's Bar, was originally used a

safe house A safe house (also spelled safehouse) is a dwelling place or building whose unassuming appearance makes it an inconspicuous location where one can hide out, take shelter, or conduct clandestine activities. Historical usage It may also refer to ...

for

priests A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, ...

and is over 200 years old. It was named Northern Ireland Pub of The Year in 2009. Seagahan Lake Reservoir is located to the east of the village, and includes the nearby

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, aqua ...

and Seagahan Water Treatment Works.

Angling Angling (from Old English ''angol'', meaning "hook") is a fishing technique that uses a fish hook attached to a fishing line to tether individual fish in the mouth. The fishing line is usually manipulated with a fishing rod, although rodless te ...

is permitted at the reservoir, subject to certain restrictions. In May 2008,

Northern Ireland Water Northern Ireland Water Limited is the main water company in Northern Ireland. Formerly an executive agency within Northern Ireland Executive, it became a government-owned company on 1 April 2007. The company now sits as an Agency within the ...

commenced a £6.6 Million project to upgrade water treatment technology and infrastructure at the plant in order for it to comply with a new EU directive on water quality. The closest settlements are Granemore to the west, Clady to the south, Corran to the south-west, Keady to the south-west, Armagh to the north and Mullaghbrac to the east. The townland was previously part of lands confiscated from Catholic landowners and thereafter ceded to the Earl of Charlemont during the

plantation of Ulster The Plantation of Ulster (; Ulster Scots dialects, Ulster Scots: ) was the organised Settler colonialism, colonisation (''Plantation (settlement or colony), plantation'') of Ulstera Provinces of Ireland, province of Irelandby people from Great ...

, for example

James Caulfeild, 3rd Earl of Charlemont James Molyneux Caulfeild, 3rd Earl of Charlemont Order of St Patrick, KP (6 October 1820 – 12 January 1892) was an Ireland, Irish politician and peer. He was the son of Hon. Henry Caulfeild, younger son of James Caulfeild, 1st Earl of Charlemo ...

. The lands were worked by tenant farmers under 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 ...

and con-acre system. The majority Catholic population of Ballymacnab was reduced by emigration in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Many of the emigrants settled in the west of

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

and in particular,

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

The Troubles

For more information see The Troubles in Keady; The Troubles in Armagh and Provisional IRA South Armagh Brigade.

Culture

In common with much of County Armagh, the area is referred to in local history and folklore. One famous story concerns the ‘Bull’s Track’. This is a landmark at the junction of the main Armagh/Newtownhamilton road and the Ballymacnab Road that leads to Seagahan Dam. A large stone marks the spot where it is claimed a large black bull landed after having been flung from neighbouring Armaghbreague Mountain by an angry

Saint Patrick Saint Patrick (; or ; ) was a fifth-century Romano-British culture, Romano-British Christian missionary and Archbishop of Armagh, bishop in Gaelic Ireland, Ireland. Known as the "Apostle of Ireland", he is the primary patron saint of Irelan ...

, after the same bull had knocked down the church he was building in Armaghbreague for the third consecutive night. A mark which resembles the imprint of a Bull's Foot remains to this day, and recent refurbishment work to the landmark has attempted to highlight the Bull's Track as a tourist attraction.

Sport

Ballymacnab is home to

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 Ballymacnab Round Towers GAC, which plays its home games at Pairc na nGael. Ballymacnab is also home to the successful Saint Brenda's

camogie Camogie ( ; ) is an Irish stick-and-ball team sport played by women. Camogie is played by 100,000 women in Ireland and worldwide, largely among Irish communities. A variant of the game "hurling" (which is played by men only), it is organised ...

club.

References

Bibliography

* Connolly, S.J. (Ed); (2004). ''The Oxford Companion to Irish History''. . * Burrowes, J; (2003). ''Irish: The Remarkable Saga of a Nation and a City''. . * Coogan, T.P; (2002). ''Wherever Green Is Worn: The Story of the Irish Diaspora''. * Guinnane, T (1997). ''The Vanishing Irish: Households, Migration, and the Rural Economy in Ireland''. . * Sloan, W. Cummings & Devine (Eds) (1997). ''Employment Opportunities and Migrant Group Assimilation: the Highlanders and Irish in Glasgow, 1840-1900'' in ''Proc. Industry, Business & Society''.

External links

Ballymacnab Gaelic Football Club
- Official Site of the local

GAA Gaa may refer to: * Gaa language, a language of Nigeria * gaa, the ISO 639 code for the Ga language of Ghana GAA may stand for: Compounds * Glacial (water-free), acetic acid * Acid alpha-glucosidase, also known as glucosidase, alpha; acid, an e ...

football club.
Saint Brenda's Ballymacnab Camogie Club
- Official Site of the local Camogie club.
Ballymacnab Community Development Association
- Local social, economic and cultural association.
Seagahan Lake Reservoir
- Discover Northern Ireland tourism webpage.

- Extracts from a book Entitled: Country Cracks: Old Tales from the County of Armagh by T. G. F. Paterson, curator of Armagh County Museum. {{authority control Villages in County Armagh Townlands of County Armagh