Ballygall

Ballygall
Baile na nGall
Suburb
Ballygall

Location in Ireland

Coordinates: 53°23′01″N 6°16′30″W / 53.3835°N 06.2750°WCoordinates: 53°23′01″N 6°16′30″W / 53.3835°N 06.2750°W
Country Ireland
Province Leinster
County County Dublin
City council Dublin City Council
Government
 • Dáil Éireann Dublin North–West
 • EU Parliament Dublin
Time zone WET (UTC+0)
 • Summer (DST) IST (WEST) (UTC-1)

Ballygall (Irish: Baile na nGall, meaning "townland (baile) or possibly route (bealach) of the Foreigners") is a small suburban area located between Glasnevin and Finglas on the northside of the city of Dublin, Ireland. It was settled by Vikings in the 11th century, and the name preserved as that of a townland.

Etymology

The name is believed to have come from the old route from the Tolka River uphill to Finglas, where there was an early monastic settlement, so the road may have been in use as early as the fifth century AD. The route of the ancient roadway is thought to be similar to the existing route to Finglas via Ballygall Road East, Beneavin Road and Ballygall Road West.

Location

Ballygall lies within the southern part of ancient Fingal, although the modern county of the same name has its southern boundary a bit further north. Ballygall is divided between the barony of Castleknock to the west and the barony of Coolock to the east. Ballygall lies between the villages of Finglas and Glasnevin, and the old parish, now large suburban district, of Ballymun.

The townland has an area of 134 acres (0.54 km2) of which 85 acres (340,000 m2) are in the Barony of Castleknock, Civil Parish of Finglas, and 49 acres (200,000 m2) in the Barony of Coolock, Civil Parish of Glasnevin.[1]

Boundaries

The townland of Ballygall is bordered in the south by Griffith Avenue, in the north by Glasnevin Avenue, to the east by Ballymun Road and the west by Beneavin. The centre of the townland is located where St. Canices Road and Ballygall Road cross in front of the Church of the Our Mother of Divine Grace.

Ballygall House

Historically, a large part of the original townland of Ballygall belonged to the Ball family. Their manor house Ballygall House was built in the early 1500s and was located where the modern housing estate now called Hillcrest Park is located. Ballygall House was located between the present houses number 10 and 60 in Hillcrest Park. The Ballygall estate which belonged to the Ball family in the 16th century was used for agricultural purposes right up to 1964 when the last owners, the Craigie family of Merville Dairy in Finglas, sold it for housing development.

Margaret Ball (b.1515) maintained a Catholic household at Ballygall House where she gave refuge to Catholic clergy and provided education to the children of Catholic families despite being prohibited to do so by Penal Laws. In September 1992 Pope John Paul II beatified Margaret Ball (b. 1515) along with 16 other martyrs who had died at the hands of English authorities in Ireland due to their unwillingness to accept the Protestant faith.

Sculpture of the "Dublin Martyrs", Mayor Francis Taylor and his grandmother-in-law Mayoress Margaret Ball. It stands outside St Mary's Pro-Cathedral in Dublin.

Notable people from Ballygall

References

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