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Ballymacnab

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Ballymacnab
Baile Mhic an Aba
Town
CountryNorthern Ireland
ProvinceUlster
CountyCounty Armagh
Elevation
350 m (1,150 ft)
Time zoneUTC+0 (WET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-1 (IST (WEST))
Irish Grid ReferenceH886397

Ballymacnab (Irish: Baile Mhic An Aba) is a townland and village in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It is within the Parish of Cill Chluana, 7 miles south of the City of Armagh on the road towards Newtownhamilton. It is within the Armagh City and District Council area.[1]

Geography & History

Republican Plot in Naomh Pádraig Church, Ballymacnab, depicting the four provinces of Ireland.
The entrance to Naomh Pádraig Church, Ballymacnab.

Local buildings and amenities include Saint Patrick's Roman Catholic Church (Template:Lang-ga),[2] Foley school (Template:Lang-ga), Ballymacnab Hall and the recently opened Mac's General Store. The local pub, O'Toole's Bar, was originally used a safe house for priests and is over 200 years old.[3] It was named Northern Ireland Pub of The Year in 2009.[4]

Seagahan Lake Reservoir is located to the east of the village, and includes the nearby dam and Seagahan Water Treatment Works. Angling is permitted at the reservoir, subject to certain restrictions.[5] In May 2008, Northern Ireland Water 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.[6]

The closest settlements are Granemore to the west, Clady to the south, Corran to the south-west, Keady to the north 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,[7] for example James Caulfeild, 3rd Earl of Charlemont. The lands were worked by tenant farmers under the tithe and con-acre system.

The majority Catholic population of Ballymacnab was reduced by emigration in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.[8][9] Many of the emigrants settled in the West of Scotland and in particular, Glasgow.[10][11][12]


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, 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.[13]


Sport

Ballymacnab is home to Gaelic Football side Ballymacnab Round Towers GAA club, who play their home games at Pairc na nGael.[14] On 24th September 2011, the club reached the final of the Armagh Senior Football Championship for the first time in their history, after defeating local rivals Granemore by 2-11 to 0-11. However, in the final they were comprehensively beaten by the favourites Crossmaglen Rangers, one of Ireland's most famous clubs who were making their 55th appearance in an Armagh Senior Final, by a score of 2-22 to 0-03, on 16th October 2011 at the Athletic Grounds in Armagh.[15][16][17]

Ballymacnab is also home to the successful Saint Brenda's Camogie club. [18]


See also


References

  1. ^ "NINIS | Neighbourhood Statistics for NI". Ninis.nisra.gov.uk. Retrieved 2008-10-27.
  2. ^ "Killcluney (Ballymacnab, Clady & Granemore)". Armagharchdiocese.org. Retrieved 2008-10-27.
  3. ^ "About O'Tooles Pub". otoolesbar.net. Retrieved 2010-04-24.
  4. ^ "O'Tooles Pub of The Year 2009". nipubawards.com. Retrieved 2009-12-13.
  5. ^ "Seagahan Lake Reservoir". Discovernorthernireland.com. Retrieved 2008-10-27.
  6. ^ "May 2008". Niwater.com. Retrieved 2008-10-27.
  7. ^ Connolly, S.J. (Ed); (2004). The Oxford Companion to Irish History
  8. ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_history_of_Ireland
  9. ^ Guinnane, T (1997). The Vanishing Irish: Households, Migration, and the Rural Economy in Ireland. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-04307-8.
  10. ^ Burrowes, J (2003). Irish: The Remarkable Saga of a Nation and a City. Mainstream Publishing. ISBN 1-84018-685-2
  11. ^ Coogan, T.P. (2002). Wherever Green Is Worn: The Story of the Irish Diaspora. Hutchinson Press. ISBN 0-09-995850-3
  12. ^ 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.
  13. ^ "The RuraLinks Project BALLYMACNAB C D A". Ruralinks.org. Retrieved 2008-10-27.
  14. ^ http://ballymacnab.armagh.gaa.ie/home/history
  15. ^ http://ballymacnab.armagh.gaa.ie/match-reports/seniorsqualifyforcountyfinal240911
  16. ^ http://www.sportsnewsireland.com/gaa/57790/
  17. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/northern_ireland/gaelic_games/15321352.stm
  18. ^ http://www.ballymacnabcamogie.com/

Bibliography

  • Connolly, S.J. (Ed); (2004). The Oxford Companion to Irish History. ISBN 0-19-280501-0.
  • Burrowes, J; (2003). Irish: The Remarkable Saga of a Nation and a City. ISBN 1-84018-685-2.
  • Coogan, T.P; (2002). Wherever Green Is Worn: The Story of the Irish Diaspora. ISBN 0-09-995850-3
  • Guinnane, T (1997). The Vanishing Irish: Households, Migration, and the Rural Economy in Ireland. ISBN 0-691-04307-8.
  • 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.
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