Ballyduff, County Kerry

Ballyduff (Irish "An Baile Dubh", or "Black village") is a village near Listowel, County Kerry, Ireland with a population of 614 (CSO 2002). Located on R551 between Ballyheigue and Ballybunion on hills above Cashen Bay where the River Feale flows to the sea at the mouth of the River Shannon.

History

Near Ballyduff at Rattoo, a "round tower" reaches a height of 28m, with a base circumference of 15m. This is the only complete round tower in Kerry, and possibly dates from the late 10th or early 11th centuries. In the mid 19th century, the tower sat on a raised earth causeway in what was then a swamp. The swamp was drained and the causeway removed in the late 1800s so the fields could be cultivated. On 1st November 1920, the Black and Tans burned the creamery to the ground in Ballyduff and shot local man, John Houlihan, dead. Canon William Ferris, the author of "The Gaelic Commonwealth" and many other works, lived here

Sport

Ballyduff GAA is successful in both Gaelic Football and Hurling. The club won the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final in 1891, when the team was trained and captained by James McDonnell. This is the only time that the title was won by a Kerry team. McDonnell also trained greyhounds and won the prestigious Waterloo cup. Ballyduff won the North Kerry Senior Football title in 2006, after defeating Listowel Emmets in the final. Ballyduff also won the County Senior Hurling Championship in the same year, defeating Causeway by 1-16 to 1-11 in the final.

ee also

* List of abbeys and priories in Ireland (County Kerry)
* List of towns in Ireland

External links

* [http://www.roundtowers.org/rattoo/index1.htm Roundtowers.org]