Ballinrobe

Infobox Irish Place
name = Ballinrobe
gaeilge = Baile an Róba
crest

motto =
map

pin coords = left: 83px; top: 96px
north coord = 53.63333 | west coord = 9.2333 | irish grid = M188643
area = | elevation = 45 m
province = Connacht
county = County Mayo
population = 3,160
census yr = 2006
web = |

Ballinrobe ( _ga. Baile an Róba) is a town in County Mayo, Ireland. Ballinrobe is located on the River Robe, which empties into Lough Mask two kilometres to the west.

History

Early history

Dating back to 1390, Ballinrobe is said to be the oldest town in South Mayo. The registry of the Dominican friary of Athenry contains a mention to the monastery de Roba, an Augustinian friary whose recently restored ruins are one of the historical landmarks of the town today. The District Courtroom is housed in the old Market House, a marketing center for local produce established in 1752.

The Union Workhouse

In 1839 the Union Workhouse of the Poor Law Union of Ballinrobe was founded. And as with other law unions of Ireland, Ballinrobe suffered greatly during The Great Famine of 1845 to 1849. With 2000 inmates at the height of the famine, the Workhouse was so overcrowded that on March 23 1847, "The Mayo Constitution" reported:

In Ballinrobe the workhouse is in the most awfully deplorable state, pestilence having attacked paupers, officers, and all. In fact, this building is one horrible charnel house, the unfortunate paupers being nearly all the victims of a fearful fever, the dying and the dead, we might say, huddled together. The master has become the victim of this dread disease; the clerks, a young man whose energies were devoted to the well-being of the union, has been added to the victims; the matron, too, is dead; and the respected, and esteemed physician has fallen before the ravages of pestilence, in his constant attendance on the diseased inmates. This is the position of the Ballinrobe house, every officer swept away, while the number of deaths among the inmates is unknown; and we forgot to add that the Roman Catholic chaplain is also dangerously ill of the same epidemic. Now the Ballinrobe board have complied with the Commissioner's orders, in admitting a houseful of paupers and in striking a new rate, which cannot be collected; while the unfortunate inmates, if they escape the awful epidemic, will survive only to be the subjects of a lingering death by starvation!

Ninety-six people died in just one week in April of 1849. The dead were buried in unmarked, shallow graves, located just outside the boundary on the southwest of the ruins. In 1922, during the Irish Civil War, a great deal of the structure was burned, although some portions remain to this day.

Lituanica II

In 1935, Feliksas Vaitkus, the sixth person to make a successful flight over Atlantic Ocean with a single engine single seat airplane, landed at Ballinrobe. Vaitkus flew his transatlantic flight with "Lituanica II". Vaitkus had to fight the terrible weather conditions and was helped considerably by hourly broadcasts from an Irish radio station. He learned that Dublin was fogged in, as well as all areas heading east as far as the Baltic Sea. Vaitkus knew that he could not make it to Kaunas due to his low fuel supply, and being exhausted after a 23-hour struggle fighting the elements, felt it was best to come down somewhere in Ireland. He spotted an open field at Ballinrobe and came down, with the airplane suffering extensive damage, but he himself suffered no injuries. "Lituanica II" was crated for shipment to Lithuania, where it would be restored. By ship and by train he made his way to Kaunas where he was given a hero’s welcome. [ [http://lithuanian-american.org/bridges/2000/iss6/baranauskas.html "The Second Transatlantic Flight. Felix Waitkus: Forgotten Hero" by Edward W. Baranauskas] ]

Ballinrobe today

Ballinrobe today is once again a thriving market town. Its recent growth is attributable to the Irish construction boom and its development as a dormitory town for both Galway and Castlebar. It also has received many immigrants from the new EU member states. The 2006 census results showed that more than 25% of the town's residents are from overseas.

There are numerous renovated, historic structures in and around the town. Genealogical records (Church of Ireland, Roman Catholic, Civil, Gravestone Inscriptions, etc) for this area are held at the South Mayo Family Research Centre on Main Street in Ballinrobe.

Transport

Ballinrobe lies some 48 km north of Galway, on the N84 road which connects Galway to Castlebar.

A bus service running three times a day between Galway and Ballina passes through Ballinrobe and Castlebar.

Ballinrobe railway station was opened on 1 November 1892, closed to passenger traffic on 1 June 1930 and finally closed altogether on 1 January 1960. [cite web | title=Ballinrobe station | work=Railscot - Irish Railways | url=http://www.railscot.co.uk/Ireland/Irish_railways.pdf | accessdate=2007-09-10] Ballinrobe was a branch line from Claremorris.

port

* Ballinrobe boasts the only race course in Mayo.
* There is also an 18-hole championship golf course nearby.
* Flanagen Park is one of the only pitches with floodlights in Mayo.
*

ee also

*List of towns in the Republic of Ireland
*Market Houses in the Republic of Ireland

External links

* [http://www.hri.ie/Content/HRI/hriracecourses.aspx?id=568 Ballinrobe racecourse official website]
* [http://www.mayococo.ie/EventsFiles/2002_8_10_Ballinrobe.htm Mayococo's Ballinrobe Page]
* [http://www.mayo-ireland.ie/Mayo/Towns/BallinR/BallinR.htm Mayo on the Move's Ballinrobe Page]
* [http://www.lakedistrict.ie/gen/historic.html Lake District Ballinrobe History]
* [http://users.ox.ac.uk/~peter/workhouse/Ballinrobe/Ballinrobe.html History of the Ballinrobe Poor Law Union]
* [http://www.from-ireland.net/lewis/mayo/ballinrobe.htm Irish Genealogy Civil Records]

References