Ballydesmond

Ballydesmond ("Baile Deasumhan" in Irish) is a rural village in County Cork, Ireland, situated on the Blackwater River, near its rising in Menganine, directly on the Cork-Kerry border. In Irish "Baile Deasumhain", meaning town of the Desmond, was named after the legendary freedom fighter, the Earl of Desmond, who is believed to have taken refuge in the nearby hills.

History

Ballydesmond boasts a history of a quite distinctive nature. Established as a model village, and named after the reigning British King, Kingwilliamstown was later renamed after the Irish War of Independence.

Daniel Buckley and Bridget Delia Bradley from Ballydesmond was saved on the RMS Titanic. [ [http://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/titanic-biography/daniel-buckley.html DB profile] ] [ [http://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/titanic-biography/bridget-delia-bradley.html BDB]

The Tureengarriffe ambush occurred near Ballydesmond, where a number of British army officers were killed during the Irish War of Independence by untrained members of the local flying column of the Irish Republican Army. Nora Herlihy, founder of the Credit Union is from Ballydesmond. [ [http://www.ilcu.ie/anniversary/index.jsp?re=0&re=0&re=0&&1nID=3462&2nID=3463&3nID=3472&pID=3472&nID=3475 NHP] ]

Local economy

Ballydesmond has a thriving local economy, dominated by the number two; two shops, three pubs, two funeral homes, two petrol stations, two quarries and a hairdresser. According to the 2006 census Ballydesmond has a population of 191 people. [cite web | title = Table 7: Persons in each town of 1,500 population and over, distinguishing those within legally defined boundaries and in suburbs or environs, 2002 and 2006 | work = 2006 Census | publisher = Central Statistics Office | date = 2007-04-27 | url = http://search.gov.ie/cached/?url=http://www.cso.ie/census/documents/census2006_Table_7_and_12.pdf | format = pdf | doi = | accessdate = 2008-06-30 ] A new pub and restaurant have been opened in the village. Ballydesmond is also home to the international company - Munster Joinery, which employs over 1,500 people from the locality. Kate O'Keeffe runs her Art on Slate business from Ballydesmond. [ [http://www.artonslate.ie/ Art on Slate, Gifts and giftware, excellent presents, Ballydesmond, Cork, Ireland ] ]

Transport & communications

It is an ever expanding town on the main Cork-to-Tralee link, where the population is increasing in line with national trends. An eircom telecom exchange sits in the centre of the village. There is currently no broadband coverage in Ballydesmond. A bus from Cork to Tralee stops in Ballydesmond. Cork North West TD Michael Moynahin said the exchange would be upgraded to DSL in Q1 2009. SCTV have a transmitter in Ballydesmond. This broadcasts BBC 1 (Channel 51), BBC 2 (Channel 39), ITV Granada (Channel 45) and Channel 4 (Channel 42). This will be upgraded in 2008 for SCTV's digital TV service. Chorus also have a transmitter in Ballydesmond. However, this was turned off in 2007.

Education

There are two primary schools in the district. Ballydesmond National School sits beside the local church. Foilogohig National School, or "Foyle" as it's locally known is in North Ballydesmond. There is also a creche is Ballydesmond. Foyle school may close soon as it has only 6 students. Ballydesmond N.S. recently had a prefab installed.

port & culture

* Ballydesmond has a Gaelic football team which sports the colours of blue and yellow. The team which has not been successful in recent years within the Duhallow division at Junior A level, is equally representative of both sides of the border. Boasting a fine football pitch, the Nora Herlihy Park, unique in that it is one of only two Gaelic Athletic Association pitches named after women, the other being Countess Markevitcz in County Sligo. Ballydesmond also has a lovely handball court. Many of the children who have represented Ballydesmond in handball have gone on to win All-Irelands. Cork GAA footballer Donnacha O'Connor was born and lives in Ballydesmond. Well-known handballer Tony Healy is also from Ballydesmond.

* It lies in the Sliabh Luachra area famed for its traditional Irish music and culture. The Sliabh Luachra Bar (John D's) is in Ballydesmond.

ee also

*List of towns in Ireland

References

External links

* [http://homepage.eircom.net/~ballydes/ Ballydesmond Homepage]
* [http://www.munsterjoinery.ie/ Munster Joinery]