Ballymore Eustace
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Ballymore Eustace is a town in County Kildare in Ireland, near the border with County Wicklow. It is situated on the river Liffey, over which stands a relatively rare seven arch bridge. It has a population of roughly 1000. The town's name is sometimes abbreviated (in everyday usage) to "Ballymore" - even though there are several other towns in Ireland called Ballymore (from Irish: Baile Mór, meaning "big town").
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[edit] History
Ballymore Eustace in the 13th century - at the time simply known as Ballymore - was the site of a castle, which in 1244 was granted an eight day fair to be held on site by Henry III. The upkeep of the castle was given to Thomas Fitzoliver FitzEustace in 1373, whose family name came to be associated with the town, lending it its present name. It was a border town of "the Pale", giving it strategic importance in the area, but also leading to its raiding by local families.
In the 19th century, the town's largest source of employment was a cotton mill (owned by the Gallagher family), the ruins of which still stand by the river at a spot known as the "pike hole". This mill employed in the region of 700 people and a row of single-storey houses were built nearby to accommodate a number of their families - this terrace today known as "Weaver's row", running alongside and down the hill from the Catholic church.
[edit] Surroundings
Near the town are the Blessington Lakes which were created artificially in the 1940s by the damming of the river at Poulaphouca, or the "Devil's hole", which was done to generate electricity by the Electricity Supply Board (ESB), and the creation of a reservoir for the supply of water for the city of Dublin at the Water Treatment Works at Ballymore Eustace. Activities such as fishing, sailing, canoeing and windsurfing are regularly seen on the lake. Also near the lake is Russborough House, a fine example of Palladian architecture, which houses the Beit art collection, much of which was donated to the state by Alfred Beit, including works by Goya, Vermeer and Rubens. On the other side of the town, towards Naas, is the Punchestown racecourse, the site of a well-known horse-racing festival, which takes place over three days every April.
Some of the battle scenes in Mel Gibson's (1995) film, Braveheart, were filmed around Ballymore Eustace. The recent film King Arthur was also partly shot in the village.
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