Ballylinan or Ballylynan (Irish: Baile Uí Laigheanáin)[2] is a village in County Laois, about 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) from the border with County Kildare in Ireland. The name means "Lynan's town", though exactly who Lynan was is now forgotten.
Ballylinan
Baile Uí Laigheanáin | |
|---|---|
Town | |
Main Street | |
Ballylinan Location in Ireland | |
| Coordinates: 52°56′37″N 7°02′32″W / 52.9436°N 7.0422°W | |
| Country | Ireland |
| Province | Leinster |
| County | County Laois |
| Population | 1,167 |
| Time zone | UTC+0 (WET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-1 (IST (WEST)) |
| Irish Grid Reference | S644885 |
Transport
editA 12-mile railway line linking Ballylinan to the nearby towns of Athy, County Kildare and Wolfhill, County Laois was opened in September 1918 by the British government during WW1 to aid the supply of coal. It was closed at the end of 1929 but the section connecting Ballylinan to Athy was retained for sugar beet traffic until 1963, when it was fully closed. Some of the trackbed still exists around the Athy area. [3]
Development and amenities
edit| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 431 | — |
| 1996 | 406 | −5.8% |
| 2002 | 430 | +5.9% |
| 2006 | 754 | +75.3% |
| 2011 | 1,084 | +43.8% |
| 2016 | 1,101 | +1.6% |
| 2022 | 1,167 | +6.0% |
| [4][5][1] | ||
Ballylinan is mainly a farmland area with no significant industrialisation, although the building of a number of housing developments has mirrored an increase in the area's population.[6] In the 14 years between the 2002 and 2016 census, the population of the town increased nearly three-fold, from 430 people to 1,101 inhabitants.[4][5]
The town has a number of shops, a church, a Garda (police) station, school, garage, park, Pharmacy (just opened), and pub. Most of these are on the one road, the N78.[7]
Ballylinan GAA is the local Gaelic football club.
The National Ploughing Association is based in Ballylinan.
People
edit- William Russell Grace (1832–1904), the first Roman Catholic mayor of New York and the founder of W. R. Grace and Company, was born in Ballylinan.[8]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "Census 2022 - F1015 Population". Central Statistics Office Census 2022 Reports. Central Statistics Office Ireland. August 2023. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
- ^ "Baile Uí Laigheanáin / Ballylynan". logainm.ie. Irish Placenames Commission. Archived from the original on 25 December 2021. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
- ^ "Railway Stations, Ballylinan". Archived from the original on 22 January 2013. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
- ^ a b "Sapmap Area - Settlements - Ballylinan". Census 2016. Central Statistics Office. April 2016. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
- ^ a b "Ballylinan (Ireland) Census Town". City Population. Archived from the original on 25 January 2020. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
- ^ "Laois residents raise concerns for their village ahead of meeting on County Development Plan". Laois Today. January 2022. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
- ^ "Ballylinan, Co. Laois in 1967". Archived from the original on 4 September 2012. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
- ^ "The Honourable William Russel Grace, Mayor of New York". Archived from the original on 13 January 2010. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
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