Ballintra () is a village in the parish of Drumholm in the south of

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ga, Contae Dhún na nGall) is a county of Ireland in the province of Ulster and in the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Donegal in the south of the county. It has also been known as County Tyrconn ...

, Ireland, just off the N15 road between Donegal town and

Ballyshannon Ballyshannon () is a town in County Donegal, Ireland. It is located at the southern end of the county where the N3 from Dublin ends and the N15 crosses the River Erne. Incorporated in 1613, it is one of the oldest towns in Ireland. Location B ...

. Ballintra lies on the northern bank of the Blackwater river (sometimes referred to as the Ballintra River). The river rises in the hills that lie inland from the town, and flows through a number of small lakes before spilling over a small waterfall in a gorge behind the village. The Irish meaning of Ballintra, ''Baile an tSratha'', means town by the low-lying land along a river, the village is situated close to Rossnowlagh and Murvagh beaches. The village is situated in a

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

area, and there are a number of quarries in the area.

History

Built heritage

Evidence of prehistoric settlement in the area include a number of ringforts (for example in nearby Moneymore

townland A townland ( ga, baile fearainn; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a small geographical division of land, historically and currently used in Ireland and in the Western Isles in Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of Gaelic orig ...

) and a megalithic wedge tomb (in Ballymagrorty townland). Much of the village itself was laid-out in the late 18th and early 19th century, with the town's bridges dating from the 1780s and 1790s, and Ballintra's Anglican, Catholic and Methodist churches dating to 1795, 1845 and 1896 respectively.

Irish language decline

The 1911 census records only a handful of people in Ballintra who were

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

speakers. In his paper "Irish Speaking in the Pre-famine Period", Dr. Garret Fitzgerald remarks that "near Ballintra the language seems to have disappeared by the time of the Famine. Around Ballyshannon it also seems to have been almost extinct". As late as 1960, up to a few dozen native Irish speakers remained in Tamhnach a' Mhullaigh (known in English as Townawilly or Tawnawully). The Irish scholar and campaigner Máirtín Ó Cadhain visited the area in 1957 to record folklore stores in Irish from a family in the area.

Developments

The 2016 census indicates that approximately 35% of homes in Ballintra were built in the early 20th century or prior, with a further peak in building (20% of homes) built in the 1970s. The latter includes a number of social housing units built by

Donegal County Council Donegal County Council ( ga, Comhairle Contae Dhún na nGall) is the authority responsible for local government in County Donegal, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for hou ...

in the 1970s. Other developments include a bypass road built in the early 1980s. In the 20 years between the 1996 and the 2016 census, the population of the village decreased by 12%, from 217 to 191 residents.

Amenities

Ballintra has one public house, a grocery store, a takeaway, a hairdresser, two primary schools (St. Ernan's NS and The Robertson NS), and three churches (Methodist, Church of Ireland, and Roman Catholic).

Sport

The Ballintra Races is an annual horse race run on a field close to the nearby Murvagh beach. Proceeds from the event go to support amenities in the area. The local

Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sports, amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include t ...

club is called Naomh Bríd (a club which also takes players from

Laghey LaghyLaghy/An Lathaigh

association football (soccer) club is called Copany Rovers (and also represents Laghey).

Transport

Ballintra railway station opened on 21 September 1905, but finally closed on 1 January 1960. The station was on the County Donegal Railways Joint Committee network. By road, Ballintra lies just off the N16 national primary route from

Lifford Lifford (, historically anglicised as ''Liffer'') is the county town of County Donegal, Ireland, the administrative centre of the county and the seat of Donegal County Council, although the town of Letterkenny is often mistaken as holding th ...

to Sligo.

People

* Saint Assicus is buried in Ballymagroarty, Ballintra. He was St Patrick's blacksmith and was en route from Elphin to County Down when he died * Leonard Boyle, a Canadian scholar, was born in Ballintra * Matt Gallagher, Gaelic footballer, All-Ireland winner with Donegal in 1992, played with Laghey-Ballintra club Naomh Bríd * Thomas Morrow, who became a politician in

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, was born in Ballintra * David Walsh, inter-county Gaelic footballer, All-Ireland winner with Donegal in 2012, is a native of Ballintra

References

{{Authority control Beaches of County Donegal Towns and villages in County Donegal