Ballylinan
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| Ballylinan Baile Uí Laigheanáin
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| — Town — | |
 Ballylinan
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| Coordinates: 52°56′37″N 7°02′32″W / 52.9436°N 7.0422°WCoordinates: 52°56′37″N 7°02′32″W / 52.9436°N 7.0422°W | |
| Country | Ireland |
| Province | Leinster |
| County | County Laois |
| Population (2006) | |
| • Urban | 754 |
| Time zone | WET (UTC+0) |
| • Summer (DST) | IST (WEST) (UTC-1) |
| Irish Grid Reference | S644885 |
Ballylinan or Ballylynan (Irish: Baile Uí Laigheanáin) is a village on the County Laois/County Kildare border in the Ireland. The name means "Lynan's town", though exactly who Lynan was is now forgotten.
Ballylinan is mainly a farmland area with no real industrialisation, although the building of many new housing developments has changed the area dramatically and increased its population. These developments, some still currently under construction, include "Rahin Wood", "The Village", "White Thorn Grove", "Cottage Gates", and "Gracefield Manor".
The village has a number of shops, a church, a Garda (police) station, school, garage, and five pubs, the most noted of which is Murphy's often referred to as 'Skinners' by the locals. All of these establishments are on the one road: the N78.
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[edit] Sport
Ballylinan has a traditional history of excellence in football (see Ballylinan GAA).
[edit] Events
Ballylinan is also host to Ireland's annual metalfest, Day of Darkness, which takes place for two days every year in July.
[edit] Transport
A railway line linking Ballylinan to the nearby County Kildare town of Athy operated between 1918 and 1963. The line was a freight only service, carrying slate, coal, sugar beet, and occasionally livestock. Some of the trackbed still exists around the Athy area.
[edit] People
- 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.
- Drian Kenna (1993-2011(if Alex has his way)), born in the Sahel, raised in Ballylinan, the driest man on the face of the planet, his ancestors hail from Africa and his birth is said to be directly related to the increase of deforestation in the Sahara Desert, also responsible for the great drought of 1997 in his native Ballylinan, aside from his general dryness he has a constant boner for Home And Away star Brax, although insists that he is straight. His thick accent is difficult to understand, he talks very slowly, almost pausing after each word, and often stops mid-sentence, this is due to his mouth drying out. He also seems to punctuate each sentence by saying "Lad" in an inquisitive manner and one of his many catchphrases is "Will that affect the deposit?". His favourite fruit are raisins.
