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Ballyjamesduff () is a town in
County Cavan County Cavan ( ; gle, Contae an Chabháin) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is part of the Border Region. It is named after the town of Cavan and is base ...
, Ireland. A former market town, it was the winner of the 1966 and 1967
Irish Tidy Towns Competition Tidy Towns (Irish: ''Bailte Slachtmhara'') is an annual competition, first held in 1958, organised by the Department of Rural and Community Development in order to honour the tidiest and most attractive cities, towns and villages in the Republic ...
.


History

The first mention of Ballyjamesduff is found in The Registry of Deeds, Kings Inns, Henrietta Street, Dublin, Deed No.12-294-5122, drawn up on 12 May 1714. In ''
A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland Samuel Lewis (c. 1782 – 1865) was the editor and publisher of topographical dictionaries and maps of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The aim of the texts was to give in 'a condensed form', a faithful and impartial description ...
'', first published by Samuel Lewis in 1837, its entry reads: :''"Ballyjamesduff, an old market town, in county Cavan, and the province of Ulster. The town is situated on the old mail-coach road from Virginia to Cavan. :''The parish was created in 1831, by disuniting nine townlands from the parish of Castleraghan, five from that of Denn, two from Lurgan, and four from the parish of Kildrumferton."''


Demographics

The population was 2,661 at the 2016 census. At that census, Ballyjamesduff had a similar population to the County Cavan towns of
Bailieborough Bailieborough or Bailieboro (; ) is a town in County Cavan, Ireland. , its population was 2,683, up from 1,529 as of the 1996 census. Bailieborough's proximity to the N3 road (Ireland), N3 National Road has made it a commuter town. History P ...
,
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
and
Kingscourt Kingscourt, historically known as Dunaree (), is a town in County Cavan, Ireland. It is located near the Cavan– Meath border. The town was founded near the site of the old village of Cabra, by Mervyn Pratt, towards the end of the 18th centur ...
: each with about 2,500 people. The town's population is diverse, with about 35% born outside of Ireland.


Transport

The town is located on the R194 and R196 regional roads. Bus Éireann Route 187 provides service to Oldcastle,
Mountnugent Mountnugent, historically known as Dalysbridge (), is a village and townland in southern County Cavan, Ireland. The village is on the R154 regional road, at a river crossing near Lough Sheelin. History The village's more recent name of Mountnug ...
,
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
and Kells.


Notable places in Ballyjamesduff

*
Cavan County Museum Cavan County Museum ( ga, Músaem Chontae an Chabháin) is a museum dedicated to the history of County Cavan. The museum is housed in the former Convent of St Clare in Ballyjamesduff. History The museum was established in 1996, and is housed in ...
, located in the former Convent of St Clare, the Museum collects, conserves and displays the material heritage and culture of County Cavan, over its 6000-year history. In August 2014, Cavan County Museum opened Ireland's largest outdoor WW1 replica trench. * Ballyjamesduff was once noted for having the largest pub to person ratio in Ireland. There was approximately 1 pub for every 34 persons in the town. * The Market House, built in 1815 to commemorate the military achievements at Waterloo of the
Duke of Wellington Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of 19th-century Britain, serving twice as prime minister of ...
, was designed by Arthur McClean a Cavan-born architect who also designed the Anglican church in
Virginia, County Cavan Virginia () is a town in County Cavan, Ireland. Founded in the 17th century as a plantation town, it now holds both local industry and commuter housing. History Foundation Virginia was founded in the early 17th century, at Aghanure (), during ...
. McClean left Ireland around 1825 and settled in
Brockville Brockville, formerly Elizabethtown, is a city in Eastern Ontario, Canada, in the Thousand Islands region. Although it is the seat of the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville, it is politically Independent city, independent of the county. It i ...
, Ontario, Canada where he built a number of Anglican churches. * St Joseph's Town Hall was built in 1959 and was opened officially in 1968 by showband act
Big Tom and The Mainliners Big Tom and The Mainliners were a Country and Irish showband from the Castleblayney area of County Monaghan, Ireland. Timeline 1966–1975 Originally named as "The Mighty Mainliners Showband", the band achieved fame after appearing on RTÉ Te ...
. *
Liffey Meats Liffey may refer to: Geography * Liffey, Tasmania, a town in Tasmania, Australia * River Liffey, a river in the East of Ireland (flowing through Dublin) * Liffey River, Tasmania The Liffey River is a river in Northern Tasmania, Australia. R ...
, a meat processing plant, which gained notoriety when it was revealed they processed
equine Equinae is a subfamily of the family Equidae, which have lived worldwide (except Indonesia and Australia) from the Hemingfordian stage of the Early Miocene (16 million years ago) onwards. They are thought to be a monophyletic grouping.B. J. MacFa ...
and
porcine The pig (''Sus domesticus''), often called swine, hog, or domestic pig when distinguishing from other members of the genus '' Sus'', is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is variously considered a subspecies of ''Sus s ...
meat in
beefburger A hamburger, or simply burger, is a food consisting of fillings—usually a patty of ground meat, typically beef—placed inside a sliced bun or bread roll. Hamburgers are often served with cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, bacon, or c ...
s.


Popular culture


"The Frolics"

Ballyjamesduff annually holds "The Frolics", a music and comedy event.


In song

Ballyjamesduff is referenced in the
Percy French William Percy French (1 May 1854 – 24 January 1920) was an Irish songwriter, author, poet, entertainer and painter. Life French was born at Clooneyquinn House, near Tulsk, County Roscommon, the son of an Anglo-Irish landlord, Christopher F ...
song "Come back Paddy Reilly to Ballyjamesduff", which was written about a man from the area who acted as jarvy (coach driver) for French and decided to emigrate to Scotland. It is said that he drove his horse and cart to
Carrick-on-Shannon Carrick-on-Shannon () is the county town of County Leitrim in Ireland. It is the largest town in the county of Leitrim. A smaller part of the town lies in County Roscommon. The population of the town was 4,062 in 2016. It is situated on a stra ...
, parked the horse and cart outside the railway station and took the train to
Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
. Paddy Reilly is supposedly buried in St Joseph's graveyard in the town of Ballyjamesduff.


Pork Festival

The Pork Festival was an annual town festival started in 1994. This was largely due to a nearby pork-rendering factory supplying a large amount of pork for use in the festival.


People

*
Percy French William Percy French (1 May 1854 – 24 January 1920) was an Irish songwriter, author, poet, entertainer and painter. Life French was born at Clooneyquinn House, near Tulsk, County Roscommon, the son of an Anglo-Irish landlord, Christopher F ...
, poet, songwriter and former Board of Works Inspector of Drains with Cavan County Council. *
John Wesley John Wesley (; 2 March 1791) was an English people, English cleric, Christian theology, theologian, and Evangelism, evangelist who was a leader of a Christian revival, revival movement within the Church of England known as Methodism. The soci ...
, preacher, theologian and founder of the worldwide Methodist Church, preached in Ballyjamesduff and built a church here in the 18th century. *
Pete Briquette Patrick Martin Cusack (born 2 July 1954), known by the stage name Pete Briquette, is an Irish bassist, record producer and composer. He is a member of the Boomtown Rats and has also played in Bob Geldof's band. Boomtown Rats He was born in Bal ...
(born Patrick Cusack), bassist with the
Boomtown Rats The Boomtown Rats are an Irish rock band originally formed in Dublin in 1975. Between 1977 and 1985, they had a series of Irish and UK hits including "Like Clockwork", "Rat Trap", "I Don't Like Mondays" and "Banana Republic". The original line ...
came from Ballyjamesduff. *
Marcus Daly Marcus Daly (December 5, 1841 – November 12, 1900) was an Irish-born American businessman known as one of the three " Copper Kings" of Butte, Montana, United States. Early life Daly emigrated from County Cavan, Ireland, to the United States ...
, known as "the Montana Copper King", was born in 1841 near Ballyjamesduff. *
Ronan Lee Ronan Oliver Lee (born 4 January 1976) is an Irish Australian former politician and research fellow in the at . He was previously a visiting scholar at Queen Mary University of London's International State Crime Initiative. His research focuss ...
, author, academic, and former Member of Parliament for Indooroopilly electorate, Queensland, Australia came from Ballyjamesduff.


See also

*
2013 meat adulteration scandal The 2013 horse meat scandal was a food industry scandal in parts of Europe in which foods advertised as containing spicy beef were found to contain undeclared or improperly declared horse meat – as much as 100% of the meat content in some ca ...
* List of towns and villages in Ireland * Market Houses in Ireland


References


External links

{{Authority control Towns and villages in County Cavan