By Liam Timmons Echoes of the Chenda Melam drums filled Moore Community Hall where the Ballinasloe Indian Cultural Community hosted another fantastic occasion celebrating the vibrant Onam festival. Among the pageantries were dance performances, instrumental performances, and a mouthwatering culinary journey of the country’s best cuisine. This is the second event hosted by the BICC following the success of the EVE-23 gathering in April. Onam itself is a 10-day celebration welcoming the rice harvest, with roots in South India. Additionally, the period commemorates the exiled King Mahabali’s annual return to his state of Kerala after being banished by his opposition. The festivities at Moore Hall saw over 300 participants, including representatives of both the Indian and Irish communities. Activities commenced as early as 07:00 with the creation of Pookalams, carpets of intricate floral designs created by hand. At noon, a formal inauguration ceremony marked the official beginning of the day. A captivating recital followed of the Chenda Melam, a traditional percussion ensemble, along with a group performance of the graceful Thiruvathira dance. The event peaked when a talented group of approximately 50 performers came together for a beautifully choreographed flash-mob, dancing in harmony with a fusion of diverse musical styles. However, the highlight for many attendees was the grand Onam Sadhya, a feast featuring 19 distinct vegetarian dishes. The culinary experience showcased a variety of flavourful plates native to Kerala cooked by volunteers in the community. Dancing and musical recitals continued late into the evening with groups competing for the best performance. The night crowned team Manjappada as champions, followed by second place team Chembada, and third team Shamrocks. The BICC committee were pleased with the events success as a heartwarming family gathering where numerous Irish and Indian guests enthusiastically participated. They expressed their enthusiasm for organising future occasions, intending to host more inclusive and open gatherings for the Ballinasloe community and surrounds which foster cultural exchange and solidarity. BICC President Aju Abraham thanked the events many sponsors including the Ballinasloe Credit Union, Money Maximising, Viswas, Asia Land, Nearby Athlone and Confident Travel Limited. Further updates on upcoming and ongoing activities can be found on their Facebook page at “Bicc Ireland Malayali”.
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With the completion of major groundworks at home and the launch of a kickstart mobile app, Ballinasloe RFC have seen many positive developments during the past months. Lately, many underage players have been emerging with great triumphs, laying a new foundation on the club’s enduring legacy.
Among those are Róisín Power and Catherine Fleming, who both were named to the Connacht U18’s Women’s squad over the Summer. Upon their appointment, the girls trained at bootcamp in Belfast and have since been engaged in their Interprovincials. The U18’s advanced with a 13-5 win over Munster at Musgrave Park, with sights set next on their bout against Leinster. Playing in warm and sunny conditions against fierce opposition, the game was no easy task. After ten minutes of an apparent stalemate between the two teams, Róisin Power breached a strong backline to open the match with a try. The squads went on blow for blow over the remaining runtime, with Connacht eventually taking the day at 19-15. Both girls showed great grit during the final minutes, defending their lead till the bitter end. Meanwhile U19’s Sean Power and U18’s Joseph Smith were named to their respective provincial teams, the later securing his series with a final day victory against Ulster. Aishling Keighery, Róisín O Sullivan and Prudence Mwase were selected on the U16’s Connacht squad at the High Performance Centre, competing against all three regional squads in the Interpro Blitz. The Senior men’s team will compete the Connacht Junior 1B League for the 23/24 season following their promotion, kicking off in early October against Corinthians RFC. The club intends to field a second ‘A’ team for the upcoming year. The club also completed its latest two phases in development plans with the construction of a storage shed and the lay down of a high quality, leisure track along the ground’s perimeter. The walkway, grant aided by Clár, is open for public use although dogs are not permitted on the facility. The next phase of developments will seek the replacement and upgrading of the pitch lighting. A new welcome addition to the club consists the launch of the ‘Ballinasloe RFC’ app, the first of its kind in Connacht. Updates on all activities, news and fixtures from the Broncos to Senior squads can be found on the platform and can be downloaded from the Apple or Play Store. By Evelyn Donellan In January 1944 Mr J.J Bergin, Secretary National Ploughing Association arrived to town accompanied by Mr Cotter, Agricultural Instructor, Roscommon to examine a field in the area with a view to hosting the National Ploughing Championships there.
A meeting in the town itself on the day, had a large attendance from the farming community in the wider environs. Satisfied with the inspection Messrs Bergin & Cotter the National Ploughing Committee decision to go ahead thirlled members of the farming and business communities during the period known as the Emergency. The field was was about one and a half miles from Ballinasloe. Previous ploughing competitions held in the area had attracted the attention of the National Ploughing Committee, this coupled with the co-operation of farmers and people of the locality had left a positive impression on both participants and spectators. John Cobban, Shanboley and John Cunningham were highly commended for their trojan work in the successful organising of similar events. Mr Cotter was confident that a substantial grant would be given from the Agriculture Committees of Galway & Roscommon. A general committee was formed which included members of the local clergy, County Managers, Galway & Roscommon, Secretaries, Agricultural Committees of both counties; members of Ballinasloe Urban District Council & Chamber of Commerce; business people and members of the farming community within a five mile radius. An advertisement in newspapers with the heading “God Speed the Plough” appealed to the public for funds and assured donors of a receipt to be issued on the spot from committee members, Chairman John Cobban; Hon Sec John Cunningham and Bank of Ireland Agent, John Fitzpatrick the Treasurer. Readers were encouraged to “give generously & give promptly”. It was said “the greatest ever-known assembly of wheel ploughs would be seen at Ballinasloe when the four champions from each of seventeen counties would bring their own ploughs to be drawn by eighty pairs of splendid farm horses loaned to the committee by the farmers of Galway and Roscommon”. The two mile road leading to the site of the national event was repaired in good time for the comfort of travellers both human and animal. The “swing” style of ploughing was to make a return enabling all counties to compete in the championship on “terms as nearly equal as can be designed”. A standard of flat ploughing had been established in Leinster & Munster, but not in the north or west, thus excluding Galway from national competitions. This style of ploughing was generally unsuitable for use in the west due to high rainfall, which didn’t allow the soil to dry sufficiently for spring sowing. At that time Galway was the only county to have a printed book of rules for the guidance of county competitions. After discussions it was agreed to adopt a new national standard of ploughing referred to as “bowl-shaped” – a compromise between the Leinster flat and the Connacht partly upright ploughing. It was to be performed using a wheel plough and coulter, suiting all participants as it needed to be well skinned and packed. The County Galway Junior Cross Country Competition was also held on the same day. The All-Ireland Turf Cutting Competition had seen a large influx of people when held in Ballinasloe in 1930s and similar attendance was expected at the ploughing event. Judging by a contest held in Portlaoise the previous year it was expected the ploughmen would eat two tons of bread. The ladies of the local branch of the Red Cross were enlisted to help in catering for the masses. On the eve of the event the town welcomed over eighty ploughmen and many officials who were accommodated in local hotels and private houses. The 14th National Ploughing Championships were held at Ballinasloe on 9 Feb 1944 in a forty- acre field at Ashford, provided by Michael Naughton, which had not been ploughed since famine times. The contests were to begin at 11am and end at 4pm with results announced at 7pm in Ballinasloe. Competitions were held for senior, junior, under 30, under 21 and for the best pair of horses. Several traders attended advertising their products to farmers. One such was Golden Grain, a mercurial seed dressing, manufactured by Hygeia, Galway, said to yield the perfect grain, beet, mangold and turnip crops! Other attractions included tossing the sheaf and guessing weights. A Ceilidhe and dance was held in the Town Hall that night. In 1944 ploughing was predominantly horse drawn, as mechanisation did not fully evolve until the late 1940’s and early 1950’s, due to shortages brought about by World War II. The first tractor ploughing class was introduced in the National Ploughing in Cloghran, Dublin in 1942. In excess of seventy ploughmen from seventeen counties took part in Ashford in 1944, with an attendance in the region of seven thousand. Dignitaries in attendance were Bishop of Clonfert Most Rev Dr Dignan, Patron; Dr Ryan, Minister for Agriculture; Mr F. Fahy, Ceann Comhairle; Mr P. Smith, Parliamentary Secretary to Mr de Valera and Mr D. Allen, T.D., President of the National Ploughing Association. Farmers in the area provided about one hundred and fifty horses to the visiting teams. Prize-winners were: Senior: 1st Wexford 2nd Wicklow 3rd Kilkenny; Junior: 1st Galway 2nd Westmeath 3rd Tipperary North; Senior Individual; William Kehoe, Wexford; runner up, Stephen Dempsey, Wexford: Junior Individual M. Ward, Galway, E O’Meara, Tipperary North. The Wilson Prize, a complete set of harness, went to the ploughman (under 30) who secured the highest marks in National Style Ploughing. The standard of ploughing was said to be greater than the previous year especially in the youth competitions. The R.D.S Cup for the best pair of Irish Draught horses was withdrawn as entries were not up to standard. Patrick Mulvey, Cloniffe, Thomastown won a prize for the best pair of farm horses. The ladies committee were held in very high esteem as the efficiency in which they provided hearty meals to attendees was said to set a precedent for future events throughout Ireland. Later that year a social, organised by members of the local ploughing committee, was held at O’Carroll’s Hotel. Mr John Cobban presided as eighty people were catered for by hotel staff. Mr Nicholas Cotter stated that of the fourteen annual National Ploughing Championships held so far, Ballinasloe was the most successful. This success was largely due to the magnificent work of the ladies who looked after the catering, the farmers and the public who gave great encouragement for the event. Others who paid tribute to the high standard of hospitality were Rev Fr Hughes, Adm., Chief Supt. Doyle, Supt O’Halloran and Maurice Glennon, Principal of the Vocational School. Mrs Cunningham replied on behalf of the ladies. By Damian Mac Con Uladh
Since the successful publication of Killure–Kilgerrill: Its People and Places late last year, Killure Heritage Group took on the task of enhancing the information that was already on the FindAGrave website for Kilgerrill Graveyard, completing the entries on the 150 or so people known to be buried in this small, remote cemetery between Ballinasloe and Kilconnell. Where we could, we added birth/marriage/death dates for the people buried there and linked the various families together and were also able to link the resting places of some emigrant offspring back to their parents in Kilgerrill. In addition, the people who are named on the 30 or so memorials in the graveyard, we were also to add the names of another 12 people we know are buried there from press reports and death notices but are not named on any headstone. On a bitterly cold morning last Christmas, when I was double-checking some inscriptions with TJ Cleary and Gerard Jennings of Killure Heritage Group, a visitor arrived at the cemetery and soon enquired if we knew where the Kenny grave was. TJ was able to help. It turned out that the visitor, Trish Schroeder, was a great-great granddaughter of Peter Kenny (1844–1909) and Margaret Walsh (1851–1916), of Northbrook, Kilconnell, and that she had come all the way from Illinois to retrace her ancestors. Trish had known her great-grandfather Peter Kenny had come from Ballinasloe, but it was only when she saw the headstone on FindAGrave around the time that we had updated the information on it that she knew where to visit. The chances of meeting someone else while visiting Kilgerrill cemetery are slim so the timing couldn’t have been better. As Trish said, some of her Kenny ancestors must have been looking out for her. With TJ’s knowledge, I realised that I know Trish’s second cousin once removed in Ballinasloe, Anthony Lawless, and I was able to put them in contact. Trish says that her grandfather James Brendan Kenney – who was serving in the US Army in Europe at the time – visited Kilgerrill sometime in the 1950s and she produced a photograph from that visit. She was keen to identify the other men in the picture. Mary McLoughlin of Aughrim, whose Goode ancestors are buried in Kilgerrill, contacted Mary Rocke, who was able to put names on the other three. Link to Kilgerrill graveyard Relatives of cross country runner John Flannery Back row, from left: Evelyn Donellan, Kathleen Glynn Fallon, Adam Flannery, Anna Flannery, Sean Flannery, Patricia Giles Page, Andrew Page and Patricia Williams. Front row, from left: Caedan Downes O’Brien, Oliver Donellan, Angela O’Brien, Arianne Flannery, Karen Flannery, Frieda Flannery, Peter Flannery, Nigel Williams and Sean Downes O’Brien. Information banners and historic displays decorated Moore Community Hall during their Heritage Night, depicting the community’s history and offering attendees a glimpse of their shared past. Organiser Xandra Kilduff opened the proceedings introducing Father Michael Molloy, parish priest. Fr Michael launched the Heritage Map Board for public display, designed by graphic artist and historian Padraic Kilduff. What ensued was a day of events for families and visitors alike. Those attending were treated to banners depicting historical places in the parish, a display of the Peter Naughton Collection of vintage farm implements, unusual bottles containing carved images of master craftsman Eddie Henderick, and a painting of Saint Caireac Dergain of Clonburren by Padraic Kilduff. Nollaig Feeney, Heritage Officer from Roscommon, paid a visit, as well as some companions from the Ballydangan Grouse Project . Moore sportsman John Flannery was honoured with a presentation dedicated to his longstanding running career and influence in the community. His niece Patricia Williams showcased some of his many medals spanning his years, now on loan to the hall. Also contributed were a display of books and photographs of his sporting achievements by Nigel Williams. Frank Greally, a friend of Flannery and retired editor of the Irish Runner Magazine, spoke of his era and the wonderful friendships he built in the field of track and race . He later presented Patricia with a Memorial candle, inscribed in her uncle's memory. Also in attendance were some past friends, including Padraig Killeen and Martin Mulvey. A short film of John practising with the Moore Athletics (a club he helped re-organise) was shown alongside an audio recording with James Dockery some years ago. The framed presentation on the sports superstar will remain on exhibit at the Community Hall, inspiring young athletes to match his accomplishments. Before closing out, a DVD was shown documenting a significant day on the community’s calendar. Made some years ago by former Moore Community Chairman Padraig Egan, the video explored the gathering of cars, tractors, ponies, and bicycles to wonder at the arrival of a heavy threshing machine. Within the frames - women were featured baking bread outdoors over open fire, and faces of many locals were shown who have since passed. Many dozen attendees returned home with a greater insight of their parish’s story. The gathering was considered a success by organiser Xandra Kilduff, who you can only assume is already gearing up for next year’s event. Thanks to Sarah Moore for the photos By Barry Lally The Connaught District Lunatic Asylum at Ballinasloe, which opened its doors in November 1833, initially served counties Galway, Roscommon, Mayo, Sligo and Leitrim, and was established under the Lunacy (Ireland) Act of 1821. It was one of 22 such institutions built between 1810 and 1870. The architect was William Murray, whose design was influenced by the panopticon concept devised by the Utilitarian philosopher Jeremy Bentham. The principle behind this layout was to enable the manager and his staff to occupy a central structure with radiating wings from which they could monitor and administer life within the institution. This arrangement allowed the wings to be viewed from the centre, while access was only possible from one wing to the others by passing through the centre.
When the plan for the asylum was first mooted it was announced that provision would be made to accommodate 150 lunatics (schizophrenics) deemed curable. This was immediately denounced as a waste of taxpayers’ money. Doubts were expressed that in the whole of Ireland there could be so many insane persons. It was felt that advertisements would have to be placed in the newspapers to attract patients. Advocates of the asylum proposed an enlightened regime whereby the inmates would be treated with kindness in a setting approximating to a home environment. This, it was believed, would have a positive effect on their prognosis: an idealistic project which, however, never came to fruition for reasons soon to become apparent. Recruiting suitable staff proved to be an intractable problem. Asylum keepers were regarded as the dregs of society engaged in an occupation no respectable young man or woman would dream of taking up. Most of the initial staff members in Ballinasloe had been under notice at St. Patrick’s Institute and the Richmond Asylum in Dublin for gross misconduct, and were given the option of transferring to the Connaught District Asylum. Because of the near- impossibility of finding replacements, the Ballinasloe Board of Governors was obliged to turn a blind eye to their often drunken and lewd behaviour. The first medical officer appointed was Dr. William Heise, who had been managing the Richmond Asylum and was removed from his post in 1831 because of the poor condition of the institution. His appointment to Ballinasloe was terminated after it was discovered that he had made a patient, Emma Kirwan, pregnant. He went on the pursue a successful medical career in Australia. Admissions to asylums were governed by the Dangerous Lunatics Act of 1838, legislation which remained in force, though amended from time to time, up to 1945. Anyone could bring an accusation of dangerous lunacy against another person. Having the accused committed involved a certificate from a medical practitioner and an appearance before two justices of the peace. The so-called lunatic would then be sent to the county jail and from there to the asylum. This had the effect of associating insanity with criminality in the public mind, which impacted negatively on how mental patients were treated well into the following century. Once the legal procedures had been followed, the asylum was required to admit and detain the individual in question regardless of his or her true state of mental health or whether the institution could properly accommodate them. A consequence of the 1838 Act was that the asylum quickly became unmanageably overcrowded. Workhouses used the institution to offload their senile and feeble-minded inmates. It became a dumping ground for society’s rejects in a country that had an apparently insatiable hunger for institutionalism. “The Irish asylums,” a critic has written, “were primarily social rather than medical creations, expanding to meet societal and community requirements, rather than demonstrative medical needs.” In 1951, the town of Ballinasloe had a population of 5,596, of whom no fewer than 2,078 were patients in the mental hospital. The magnitude of the latter figure can be best appreciated when it is recalled that since the 1870s the Ballinasloe institution’s catchment area had been restricted to counties Galway and Roscommon. In 1924, Ballinasloe Asylum was re- named “The Mental Hospital”, surely a problematic change in light of what a contemporary report had to say: “There is an appalling difference between the mental hospital (as an asylum should be) and an ordinary hospital, that in the latter each kind of disease is carefully treated by the best methods, whereas in the former no type of mental disease is fully treated.” Another rebranding occurred in the late 1950s when the authorities chose “St. Brigid’s Hospital” as a sop to popular prejudice, a name that had no association with either the history of psychiatry or the local area. It’s not without significance that at the time there was no question of re-naming, say, Merlin Park or Roscommon County Hospital, presumably because the patients treated at those facilities were suffering from “respectable” conditions that didn’t need to be concealed behind the moniker of a mythical figure. It was not until the 1930s that significant improvements in the institution took place. By now, more members of the nursing staff had formal qualifications. Dr. Ada English promoted occupational therapy, and later in the decade the Admissions block, as well as St. Enda’s and St. Joseph’s, the latter a TB isolation unit, were built. In December 1939 convulsive therapy, using Cardiazol to induce seizures, was introduced, later to be superseded by electroconvulsive therapy. The mid-1950s saw the widespread use of anti-psychotic drugs such as Largactil, which were effective in suppressing symptoms if not in curing the underlying conditions. In the 1980s the emphasis shifted from institutional to community care, so that by 1986 resident patient numbers had fallen to 876. This trend continued, leading eventually to the closure of the hospital in 2013. Today the only part of the complex functioning as a mental treatment unit is a mixed ward, known as the Creagh Suite, catering for up a dozen dementia patients in the Admissions block. The rest of the building is given over to administrative offices. Unfortunately, the original 1833 structure on Church Street was never adequately secured against trespassers. As a result, it has become a prey to vandals and a happy hunting ground for the makers of sensationalist youtube videos. What a sad fate to befall an architectural gem of historical importance once compared to a palace! ‘Celebrating Voluntary Activity & Sporting Achievements in Community Life in Ballinasloe’
What are the People of the Year Awards? These Awards recognise and celebrate the voluntary work that individuals, groups, organisations & schools contribute to their community. There are 8 Award categories in total and they are open to individuals and groups from the Ballinasloe Area and Hinterland. These awards are being organised by Ballinasloe Area Community Development Ltd (BACD). BACD is a not-for-profit registered charity voluntary group striving to carry out both short term and long-term actions to ultimately improve and revitalise Ballinasloe and its hinterland. This is the fourth time for BACD to host these awards, with ceremonies previously held in 2015, 2017 and 2019. The aim of these awards is to acknowledge the tremendous amount of voluntary work carried out in Ballinasloe and hinterland which forms the backbone of our community. Many voluntary groups and individuals make invaluable contributions to our community. Our wish is that such people are formally recognised so that we can publicly acknowledge their efforts and achievements. It is also our wish to honour very special and talented individuals or groups who have achieved excellence and represented our community regionally and nationally. In contrast to previous year’s ceremonies, we will be acknowledging our international athletes who have represented Ireland in their specific sporting fields. Our sport stars will be directly invited, and their achievements acknowledged at the awards ceremony, separate from the 8 award categories. The 2023 People of the Year Awards will acknowledge outstanding people and organisations who, through their commitment to participating in community and voluntary activities, have had a positive and significant impact on the quality of life in their communities in Ballinasloe. There are so many people making a difference in our community this is an opportunity to formally recognise their achievements under the format of People of the Year Awards. We encourage you to please put their names forward for an award. Thank you to our Main Sponsor Ballinasloe Credit Union. The event is also being supported by KPW Design & Print, and the Shearwater Hotel & Spa. A weekend of Traditional Irish Music, Culture & Heritage Feile Cheoil Larry Reynolds have a fantastic new website where you will find all you need to know about this lively music and cultural festival taking place from 7th to 10th September in Ballinasloe. Feile Cheoil Larry Reynolds started out in 2014 in the form of a celebratory concert to honour the musical life of Larry Reynolds, and to promote the East Galway style of music and playing in the region. It has now progressed and grown successfully into a four-day Féile of which we are now in our 10th year. For a full interactive guide to what's on and where visit the website below:They have spread their wings over the years and incorporated a larger programme with something for everyone, including an opening concert, music sessions, music, singing & dance workshops historical walk, art competition, fiddle competition, photo competition, ceili, singers circle, and traditional crafters. The organisers are delighted to have as part of our Féile every year, both local and visiting artists, of the highest calibre. Féile Larry Cheil promotes the East Galway style of music, hosting a series of lectures, with photo exhibitions and archived footage about local musical greats who were synonymous in this style of playing and have left a huge legacy behind them. Musicians and bands such as Paddy Fahy, Eddie Kelly, the Aughrim slopes Ceili Band, the Ballinakill music players and Ballinakill Céili Band, Tom Quinn & Paddy Carty, Mairtin Burns, Joe Burke, and Raymond Roland. They are delighted to welcome old and new faces to our Féile every year and over the past number of years visitors have travelled from America, UK, Italy, Germany, as far north as Belfast, south as Kerry, west to Achill, inside the pale and everywhere in between to join the festivities. By Colm Croffy Locals from Ballydangan and Moore collaborated in producing a promotional video with Roscommon County Council for the Red Grouse Project, an initiative aimed to prevent the extinction of endangered bird species. The widely acclaimed innovative, Ballydangan Red Grouse Project, was founded in 2009 by Moore Gun and Conservation Club and a small group of its village residents. Since then a long standing partnership with Moore District CE Scheme has supported the initiative and is currently employing four workers to help on the land with predator control and nest protection. The project was initially established to protect Red Grouses in Ballydangan, who has experienced a 50% decline nationwide between the 1970s and 2008 and has especially seen a reduction within the local region as a result of commercial peat extraction. The initiative has since diversified and welcomed a breeding site for varying wader species including Lapwing, Curlew, Snipe, and other small ground nesting birds. The community pursuit aims to increase awareness surrounding these species, as well as any other listed mammals, insects and plants found on their sites. The projects leader Pat Feehily, a suckler and sheep farmer from Ballydangan, spoke about the habitat grounds in a recently produced video with Roscommon County Council sharing: “we are blessed to have this natural resource on our doorstep. It is regarded as one of Ireland’s best examples of community conservation.” The wet bogs of Ballydangan store over 10,000 years’ worth of carbon and act as a safe-haven for its vulnerable species with its abundance of insects, as discussed by Moore peatland ecologist David Fallon. The bogland has been attracting visitors from nearby schools, colleges and the general public, as well as international students from the University of Galway to study biodiversity in the area. The project leaders hope to continue educating the public on the declining number of red listed species and other aspects of conservation. The land is currently home to eight to ten pairs of Curlew, previously one of the most common birds in the Roscommon landscape but now down to 150 breeding sets across the Republic. “We have seen a phenomenal increase in the number of ground nesting birds on site and we look forward to its continued success and improve into these numbers in the future” stated Pat. The short promotional video can be found in its entirety on the Roscommon County Council YouTube channel below:
By Colm Croffy
There is a huge upsurge of history and heritage locally and a variety of local groups have taken up the challenge to programme some activity for this year Heritage Council Heritage Week.
Beginning August 12th and concluding on the 20th – there are many events to chose from the town centre as far as Athleague if you have an interest in the Ui Maine Kelly – Kingdom of Lore. Take a look at the calendar below!
The week’s activities concludes with a guided walk around the town, taking in key water related landmarks in the area – in keeping with the National theme by the locality’s newest District Heritage Society.
Starting at the Suck on River Street, moving along to the Elizabethan Bridge, through the town and around by the old Canal Basin before finishing at the Marina, this guided tour will encompass all the key historical places and roles these landmarks played, and continue to play, in the story of Ballinasloe. From the very forming of the settlement, through the medieval period and industry of the 18th and 19th centuries, water has played a central role in the development of the Ballinasloe. This walking tour will visit these sites, as well as give context on their historical importance to the area and how they effected the lives of the townspeople who lived through these periods. The walk with input from local historians and archaeologists is a continuation of the new group’s work this year in renewing and expanding on the knowledge of the rich history and heritage. The Tour Route is just over 2KM in length No charge and all are welcome. The monthly public meetings are proving to be very popular in providing a forum for local individuals and groups to give input on how the society can expand its work and commitment in this regard. The next meeting is on September 6th from 8 to 9pm in the Men's Shed (behind the Credit Union) and again is open to all! The group is also very excited about plans being finalised for Culture Night, an insight into the towns outstanding examples of stained-glass windows. Keep an eye on the new Ballinasloe & District Heritage Society Facebook - page for further information in due course. |
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March 2024
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