Ballinalee
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Ballinalee, formerly St Johnstown (Irish: Béal Átha na Laogh), is a village in north County Longford, Ireland. It is situated on the River Camlin, and falls within the parish of Clonbroney.
The village name in Irish means "Mouth of the Ford of the Calves". The name "St Johnstown" came from the name of the Church of Ireland Church of St. John. There are two fine Roman Catholic churches in the parish: the Church of the Holy Trinity in the village and the uniquely styled Church of St James in Clonbroney. Ballinalee was the site of the first convent in Ireland at Old Clonbroney. Its remains are still to be seen.
The Parochial hall on the Granard road, opened in 1939, is dedicated to the memory of Thomas Ashe, the Irish patriot. The local National School adjacent to the hall is named after St Samhthann, a direct descendant of St Patrick.
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[edit] History
In 1798, the town was the scene of a massacre of Irish prisoners of war after the Battle of Ballinamuck in a field now called Bully's Acre.
During the Irish War of Independence (1917-1919), the town was the scene of the Battle of Ballinalee, where local leader Sean Mac Eoin (sometimes known as the Blacksmith of Ballinalee) was the leader of a well-equipped battalion of 300 men. They held off 900 RIC/British Army for three days. It was the only successful defence of an Irish town against the British forces. Within the parish is the ruins of Old Clonbroney; it was reportedly the home of the first convent in Ireland, which was founded by St Patrick around 440 AD.
There are two scenic lakes in the parish. Corbeagh lake, or Currygrane Lough, is situated in the middle of the parish and is located within the townlands of Drumeel Corbeagh and Currygrane. It has four small islands on it and one, called "Round Island," is thought to be a Crannog or ancient settlement. The other lake is called Gurteen and is situated near the village and adjacent to the Maguire Park.
It was also the birth place of Henry Hughes Wilson, who was the British Chief of the Imperial General Staff before his assassination by Irish Republicans. He was born in Currygrane near the village
[edit] Sport
The village has a strong tradition in the Gaelic Athletic Association sport of Gaelic football. The name of the local team is "Sean Connolly's". The Club is named after Sean Connolly, the Irish freedom fighter who was born near the pitch in the townland. France Connolly was shot in an ambush at Selton Hill, Co Leitrim in 1921. Their grounds, James McGuire Park, are located on France Road.
The club grounds also hosts an 18-hole Pitch-and-Putt course, which is known as "The Acres" and a Basketball and Tennis Court concrete walkway, as well as a fully equipped gymnasium and meeting room. The underage section of the Club goes under the name of the parish, Clonbroney.
The Club won the Senior Football Championship for the only time in 1917. The Captain of that team was Sean Connolly. Over the years, the club has a proud tradition of supplying officers at Community Board level, including three Co-Chairmen and four Co-Secretaries, as well as a number of other officerships and also a long list of officers at Co Minor board level. Community Games and Soccer are also participated in at parish level, and they have a good tradition of success at the county level.
