Ballinamore

Infobox Irish Place
name = Ballinamore
gaeilge = Béal an Átha Móir
crest

motto =
map

pin coords = left: 86px; top: 81px
north coord = 54.05 | west coord = 7.8 | irish grid = H131112
area = | elevation = 74 m
province = Connacht
county = County Leitrim
population = | town pop = 805 [ [http://www.cso.ie/census/documents/census2006_Table_7_and_12.pdf Census 2006] ] | rural pop =
census yr = 2006
web = |

Ballinamore "( _ga. Béal an Átha Móir)" is a small town in County Leitrim, Ireland, km to mi | 21 | abbr=yes | precision=0 from the border with Northern Ireland. It is located on the R202 regional road where it is joined by the R199 and R204. "Béal an Átha Móir" means ‘mouth of the big ford’. This is because it was the main crossing point of the "Yellow River" which flows past the town. This waterway become known as the "Ballinamore-Ballyconnell canal", built to link the Rivers Erne and Shannon in the 1840s. It reopened as the Shannon-Erne Waterway in 1994.

History

The history of Ballinamore has enabled it to grow through the centuries as a town with a large variety of trades and tradesmen. In the 18th century, settlers from County Down were dispossessed by landowners travelled to the west of Ireland looking for new habitats. fact|date=February 2007 They stopped in an area of land they found suitable notably for its location near the rivers Shannon and Erne. This was the origins of Ballinamore. These dispossessed people brought with them numerous skills such as blacksmiths, tinsmiths, skilled craftsmen and farmers. This abundance of skills became a distinctive feature of the town through the 19th and 20th Centuries.fact|date=February 2007

Buildings of note

* Ballinamore Market House is a 3 bay 2 story building currently used as a library.

Transport

Ballinamore railway station opened on 24 October 1887, but finally closed on 1 April 1959. [cite web | title=Ballinamore station | work=Railscot - Irish Railways | url=http://www.railscot.co.uk/Ireland/Irish_railways.pdf | accessdate=2007-09-09] It was part of the narrow gauge Cavan and Leitrim Railway and was the hub of the line, with the locomotive depot and works. It was the point where the line from Dromod through Mohill and Ballinamore to Belturbet branched to Kiltubrid, Drumshanbo and Arigna. [cite book |last= Baker |first= Michael HC |title= Irish Narrow Gauge Railways. A View from the Past|publisher= Ian Allan Publishing|year= 1999 |isbn= 0-7110-2680-7 ]

External links

* [http://www.ballinamore.ie/ Official website]

References